Attention Deficit Disorder :: essays research papers fc

Attention deficit DisorderFor centuries children have been grounded, beaten, or even killed forignoring the rules or not listening to what theyre told. In the de segmentationed it wasthought these bad kids were the products of bad p arenting, bad environment, orsimply being stubborn, however it is now know that many of these children mayhave had Attention Deficit Disorder, or A. D. D., and couldve been helped. A.D. D. is a syndrome that affects millions of children and adults in the UnitedStates and is a very frustrating and confusing syndrome that often goesun referd.While there is no clear-cut definition of A. D. D., its known that itsa genetic disorder that affects males more often than females, in a 31 ratio,and is marked by a classic triad of symptoms, which are impulsivity,distractibility, and hyperactivity (Hallowell 6). There are two general typesof A. D. D., the stereotypical, high-energy, overactive group, and the lessknown underactive ones that often daydream and are ne ver mentally presentanywhere. Typically, raft with A. D. D. are very likable and are usually veryemphatic, intuitive, and compassionate, however they have very unstable moodsthat can range from an ingrained high to an extreme low instantly, for no apparentreason. Usually, they procrastinate often and have trouble finishing projects,while conversely, they can hyperfocus at times and accomplish tasks more prontoand efficiently than a normal person could. Often they have short tempers andlack the impulse to stop themselves from blowing up over minor details(Hallowell 10).Although A. D. D. has simply recently been discovered and there is stillrelatively little known about it, it has an interesting history. In 1902,George Frederic Still first thought that the dilemma of hassle children was abiological defect inherited from an injury at birth and not the result of badparenting. In the 1930s and 40s stimulant drugs were first used tosuccessfully treat many behavior problems due partly to Stills hypothesis. In1960, Stella Chess further boosted research in the field by writing about the hyperactive child syndrome. She stated that the behavior problems werent aproduct of injury at birth, but instead were inherited genetically. Finally, in1980, the syndrome was named A. D. D., due in large part to Virginia Douglaswork to find accurate ways to diagnose it (Hallowell 12).Formally, A. D. D. comes in two types A. D. D. with hyperactivity andA. D. D. without hyperactivity (Hallowell 9). However there are several othersubtypes that are used to diagnose the syndrome and arent formally recognized.