Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

“Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a condition in which a person not only has a great difficulty concentrating for more than a few minutes but also is inattentive, impulsive, and overactive” (The Developing Person Through the Life Span, page 310). Both children and adults are diagnosed with ADHD, but children hold a higher percentage of this diagnosis because the disorder usually appears in early to middle childhood. “The average age of ADHD diagnosis was 7 years of age, but children reported by their parents as having more severe ADHD were diagnosed earlier” (Web, CDC). The symptoms of childhood ADHD, from a personal standpoint, seem to almost mirror what I have observed as normal (developmental) childhood behavior (angst). “The main symptom, (among the three main symptoms) of ADHD is the inability to pay attention. Kids may have trouble listening to a speaker, following directions, finishing tasks, or keeping track of personal items. They may daydream often and make careless mistakes” (WebMD). These characteristics belong to all children which ask the question, emphatically, is childhood ADHD over diagnosed? Pertaining to children, the inability to pay attention is followed by hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Although many children are diagnosed with ADHD, legitimately, there are concerns that children are overmedicated. Maybe parents are as much responsible for over diagnosing children as doctors.
The first of the three main symptoms, the inability to pay attention, should be apparent to parents and medical doctors as the normal behavior of a child, especially if the child is between the ages of two and seven. Being easily distracted, not finishing tasks, not paying attention, making careless mistakes, being forget...

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...994 to four percent from 2005 to 2008” (Web, CDC). These statistical increases in childhood ADHD scream for reform. A new, more invasive, medical intervention should be implemented across the entire country to stop the chemical overmedicating of young children. In conclusion, personally, the lack of attentive parenting and the decline in parents’ involvement and interest in their children, contributes greatly to overmedicating children.

Works Cited

Berger, Kathleen Stassen. The Developing Person Through the Lifespan. New York: Worth Publishers, 2011. Print.
Clinic, Mayo. Attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Children. 1998-2013. Document. 29 November 2013.
Statistcs, National Center for Health. Childhood ADHD, Drug Treatment on the Rise. 2011. Document. 18 November 2013.
WebMD. ADHD in Children Slideshow. 2005-2013. Document. 18 November 2013.