The Background and History of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
There are people who have a natural high level of energy and need to be constantly active; this is frequently called hyperactivity in children. Some children and adults also have difficulty paying attention and often act impulsively. According to the National Institutes of Health, there are disorders that can continue into adolescence and adulthood. Symptoms contain difficulty staying focused and inattentive, difficulty managing controlling behavior, and very high levels of activity.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is an internationally validated medical condition, involving brain dysfunction, in which in individuals have difficulties in controlling impulses, inhibiting their behavior and sustaining their attention span (O’Regan, 2005, p.5). A person who has ADHD has poor attention span which includes forgetfulness, disorganization, and inattention and easily be distracted. These behaviors mentioned display from time to time and have intensity with which they occur. The condition known as the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder been around since the beginning of civilization, the ancient physician Hippocrates described a condition that resembles the symptoms of ADHD. In 1845, a German doctor named Heinrich Hoffman described ADHD in his poem entitled Fidgety Phil, in this poem Phil is described as a boy full of energy and nothing will stop him for being like that, many people blamed Phil’s parents regarding his wild behavior. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder was identified by a physician and professor George Frederick Still in 1902, in his studies of a group of children who showed an abnormal incapacity for attention and restlessness. Professor Still shared that he had treated a group of children who had difficulty controlling and inclined to do whatever they wanted and felt like doing.
Their parents and teachers tried to control them but as a result children became rebellious, therefore the cause of ADHD is by something within the child and not received by environmental factors, children act wild and rebellious not because of their parents but due to some problem with their brains, a biological cause. In 1914 to 1918 after World War I, things occurred that questioned Dr. Still’s research about causes of the condition. Many soldiers of World War I who had fought came home with head injuries. There was also an outbreak of encephalitis a deadly disease caused by mosquitoes. Patients with head injuries and encephalitis were showing similar symptoms, they had difficulty controlling their impulses and failure to focus. This condition of patients clearly had nothing to do with how their parents had raised them, this condition later known as Encephalitic Behavior Disorder (Capaccio, 2007, p.33). Influential researchers analyzed the symptoms as a means of explaining the syndrome; studies revealed that attention rather than hyperactivity was the key feature of ADHD. Modern scientists and doctors began to seriously study the symptoms associated with ADHD, symptoms can be analyzed as a result of how a child had been raised, brain damage, and disease or were they due to other causes.
Dr. Charles Bradley discovered psycho-stimulant amphetamine that can reduce hyperactivity and problems in child’s behavior. He argues that the key element of ADHD condition is the inability to inhibit behavior so that the demands for the future can be met.
Stella Chess used the term “hyperactive child syndrome”, according to him symptoms had nothing to do with environment at home or with brain damage, and hyperactive children behave like that because of their unique biology. During the 1950s to 1960s, large number of children showed signs of ADHD, researchers concluded that poor parenting must have caused ADHD; parents should learn better child-raising skills to improve their children’s behavior. Through the 1960s and 1970s, scientist studied children’s hyperactivity. Virginia Douglas, the most influential Canadian psychologist identified several major characteristics of the syndrome called Hyperkinetic Reaction of Childhood. This hyperkinetic reaction consists of major characteristics such as poor control of impulses and short attention span of a child. The American Psychiatric Association renamed the hyperkinetic reaction to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), this new name appeared in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual third edition, this handbook was used by doctors to determine if a person has a mental disorder. A person with ADD suffers inattention, hyperactivity and poor impulse control then doctors, researchers and scientists finally recognized ADD as a medical condition that could be diagnosed and treated. In 1987, when the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual revised, the Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) was changed to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD; the manual implied that in order for a child to be diagnosed he had to be hyperactive. This implication brought confusion to many people because many children who have this condition are not necessarily hyperactive. To clear up confusion, the fourth edition of DSM described three types of ADHD such as ADHD-I-ADHD symptoms of inattentive but no hyperactivity, ADHD-HI-ADHD symptoms of hyperactive-impulsive then last is ADHD-C-ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity. The child before seven must start symptoms in two or more situation in order to be diagnosed with ADHD. In 2000, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first slow-release ADHD medication; this new medication should be given once a day. In 2001, the American Academy of Pediatrics published general recommendations for treating ADHD. In the same year also the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry published guidelines but with recommendations of stimulants the later 2002, the FDA approved the first non-stimulant medication for ADHD. Potential abuse of psycho-stimulant medications is possible but this does not cause addictions to develop in those being treated properly.
According to the National Resource Center on ADHD (2004), although some are questioning the validity of the ADHD diagnosis, medical professional groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and American Medical Association have documented the strong scientific evidence for this disorder (p.1). According to the American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs, ADHD is one of the best-researched disorders in psychiatry the overall data on its validity are far more convincing than for most mental disorders and even many medical conditions (cited in National Resource Center on ADHD, 2004). Researches clearly indicate that ADHD have a tendency to run in families and that the patterns of transmission are to a large extent genetic. Research continues on finding out innovative methods for treating ADHD and possibly will offer more options for people who cannot take ADHD medications and for those who are not responding well to the methods. Nowadays, studies are necessary to assess the effects of ADHD over the lifespan and to improve ways of diagnosing and treating ADHD in adults focusing on promoting competence and improving functioning. For children who can manage their hyperactive behavior and to control that energy can excel in school, their social life and their careers, parents and teachers can help them in their effort to control their behavior.
The child can identify his or her areas of strength by focusing on, he can develop the confidence and skills to cope up even with difficult situations. Educators, therapists, and physicians regularly teach children that ADHD is a challenge, medications are giving them a reasonable chance of facing the challenges of growing up to become productive citizens.
References
Capaccio, G. (2007). ADD and ADHD. New York: Marshall Cavendish.
National Institutes of Health. (2009, January). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Retrieved March 29, 2009, from http://www.nih.gov/about/researchresultsforthepublic/ADHD.pdf
National Resource Center on ADHD. (2004). Managing Medication for Children and Adolescents with ADHD. Retrieved March 29, 2009, from http://www.help4adhd.org/documents/WWK3.pdf
National Resource Center on ADHD. (2004). The Disorder Named AD/HD. Retrieved March 29, 2009, from http://www.help4adhd.org/documents/WWK1.pdf
O’Regan, F. J. (2005). ADHD. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.