Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

From the day I entered kindergarten class at the age of five my accomplishments in school have been tainted by behavioral problems. Every week my mother would inevitably receive calls from teachers and principals complaining about my inattentiveness and hyperactivity in the classroom. I never had a problem with the work and I was always one of the smartest students in my class so my parents just assumed that I was a rambunctious child. My parents completely subscribed to the belief that “boys will be boys” and although I certainly was reprimanded for my behavior, the last thing to have crossed my parents’ mind was that this type of behavior was a symptom of a disorder. The disorder I am referring to is called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Approximately fifteen million Americans suffer from this disorder yet around the country there are probably thousands of people, just like my parents, who fail to recognize or seek help regarding cases of ADHD. The problem lies in the ignorance of the population. ADHD has dramatic cognitive and behavioral effects on children and without awareness of the symptoms of ADHD, parents, teachers, and students alike are left without the necessary tools and strategies to raise and educate children inhibited by the disorder. To promote awareness, this paper will attempt to shed light on how to recognize Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in young children in order to create strategies to help optimize the time children spend on their studies so they can realize their potential as students.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a neurological syndrome characterized by three main symptoms: impulsivity, distractibility, and hyperactivity (Hallowell, 1...

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... his childhood decided to stop caring and the whole this could have gone crashing down. What I mean by this is that a child with ADHD can grow into a capable adult without having ever received attention from parents or teachers, on the other hand, if the child does not pay enough attention to the disorder that he suffers from, no combination of help from parents and teachers can change what will eventually happen to the child.

Works Cited:

Barkley, Russell A. (2000). Taking Charge of ADHD. New York: Guilford Press.

Hallowell, Edward M. (1994). Driven to Distraction. New York: Touchstone.

Reis, Elizabeth M. (2002). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Implications for the Classroom Teacher. Journal of Instructional Psychology, Sep2002, Vol. 29 Issue 3, p175.

Solden, Sari. (2002). Journeys through ADDulthood. New York: Walker Publishing Co.