The Role Of ADHD In Adolescents

1468 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Adhd research studies

The United States is experiencing a consuming epidemic in which American children are subject to stimulant medication in order to counteract an infamous and widely abused diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by doctors, for teachers, and at the discretion of a parent. The percent of children, ages 4-17 years old, diagnosed with ADHD rose from 7.8% in 2003 to 9.5% in 2007, and finally to 11.0% in 2011-2012, (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, 2018). In total, “the prevalence of ADHD increased 42% from 2003 to 2011 [and even more if one were to count 2012], with increases in nearly all demographic groups in the United States regardless of race, sex, and socioeconomic status,” (Manos, 2017). Furthermore, for every 10 school-aged children in the U.S., more than 1 of them meet the requirements for an ADHD diagnosis, and among adolescents, 1 in 5 high school males and 1 in 11 high school females fit the diagnosis, (Manos, 2017). This steady increase is alarming, but even more bothersome in young children, whose percentage of ADHD increased by over 50% from 2007-2008 to 2011-2012, (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, 2018).

Show More
Related

  • ADHD and Use of Ritalin Have Exploded

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    The noon bell rings at an elementary school in the United States. The children walk in a supervised line from their classrooms to the cafeteria. Their smiles and voices reflect their anticipation and excitement after a long morning of learning. Once inside the cafeteria, they find their friends, sit down, and examine their lunches. I hear laughter and the typical lunch trading by those who didn't get what they expected in their brown bags. In the school office, a short distance from the cafeteria, a large group of children somberly wait in line for their medication. The school secretary is dispensing Ritalin. I'm told this medication will help them manage their attention behavior until they go home. But whom the Ritalin is really for is the issue I feel the need to examine.

    Read More

  • ADHD a Rhetorical Essay

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    ADHD is an exceedingly real diagnosis for many children in the United States. Are we over diagnosing our little ones just to keep from dealing with unpleasant behavior? “ On average 1 of every 10 to 15 children in the United States has been diagnosed with the disorder, and 1 in every 20 to 25 uses a stimulant medication” (Mayes, Bagwell, & Erkulwater, 2008). Several believe that virtually all ADHD diagnoses are retractable with appropriate discipline of children instead of being so hasty in medicating them. The material found on the CDC website describes facts about ADHD, it clarifies the signs, symptoms, types, causes, diagnosis tools, and treatment forms of ADHD. What the article neglects to go into is the reality that there is a considerable amount of controversy surrounding ADHD. The CDCs usage of ethos, pathos, and logos and by what method the website manipulates them to affect the reader will be the basis of this paper.

    Read More

  • A Rise in ADHD Diagnosis Analysis

    1811 Words  | 4 Pages

    ADHD was a little known disorder until the 1990’s, when the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1991 included ADHD as a disability. It started to become more and more known to parents that there could be an explanation to why their child was hyperactive. The Food and Drug Administration also played a part by making the drugs used to treat ADHD more known to the public. What was once seen as a simple fact of childhood was now being seen more as a hyperactive disorder. Companies that made the medications, such as Adderall and Ritalin, would advertise to parents that the medicines would make the child smarter or more inclined to do choirs around the house. The companies would hype up the product to make parents feel like their child needed the medication in order to succeed in schooling at all or just to be a normal child. An Irish company once printed 50,000 copies of a comic book showing superheroes promoting the medication to children, saying it helped them to do their job as superheroes. As interest in ADHD as an answer to childhoo...

    Read More

  • ADHD

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    Swaine, Jon. "Fears American Children Are Being Over-medicated as ADHD Rates Soar." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 02 Apr. 2013. Web. 12 May 2014.

    Read More

  • The Overdiagnosis of ADD/ADHD

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stolzer, PhD, J. M. (2007). The ADHD Epidemic in America. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, 9, 109-116.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of ADHD Drug Overdoses

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    Typical ADHD drug overdoses lead to an estimated 3,000 Emergency Room visits each year (Vinerd. 2006). In 2010 alone, there were 17, 000 human exposures to ADHD medications. This number is just what was reported to the Poison Control Center. Eighty percent of these overdoses occurred in kids younger than 19 years old. The other twenty percent of the overdoses occurred in adults (Stiller, 2013).This leads to the number one question: Who is to blame for these overdoes? Do we blame the doctors prescribing the medications or do we blame society?

    Read More

  • ADHD Stimulant Medication Abuse and Misuse Among U.S. Teens

    1273 Words  | 3 Pages

    U.S. Heath News reported (2013) that 6.4 million children ages 4 to 17 have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Since 2007, the utilization of stimulant medication to treat ADHD has jumped 11% nationally as a whole. It was also reported that the U.S. spends more on prescription drugs to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder than it does for all but six other medical conditions (U.S. News Health, 2013). The number of ADHD diagnosed teens prescribed stimulants, such as Ritalin and Adderall, will be increasing over time as the new guidelines set by the American Academy of Pediatrics now recognizes physicians prescribing ADHD stimulant medications to childre...

    Read More

  • ADHD Impact on family

    706 Words  | 2 Pages

    After reading the articles Driven to Distraction and Lost in Translation, both from Today’s Parent magazine, I have learned many new things. I learned that it is sometimes not very easy to pick out a child with ADHD, even if it is your own child. It could take years to discover that a child has ADHD. It can be easily detected once the child has entered elementary school. One of the signs of ADHD is falling behind in school, or acting up and not being able to pay attention for long periods of time. This causes frustration for the child, the parents, teachers and the other students in the classroom. It is difficult for parents because they do not want to believe that their child has a disability. It is even harder for the child because they are the ones that have to deal with the name calling, being held back a grade or two and just knowing that they are different. The issue of being different for a child living with ADHD is very stressful and could make the child not want to learn new things or pay attention in school. They just give up on trying to learn.

    Read More

  • The True Cause of the ADHD Epidemic

    1291 Words  | 3 Pages

    Koerth-Baker, Maggie. “The Not So-Hidden Cause Behind the ADHD Epidemic.” New York Times, New York Times Company. 15 Oct 2013. Web. 21 April 2014.

    Read More

  • The Overdiagnosis of ADHD in Children

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    ADHD is a disorder that has been on the rise for several years now. The disorder is one that can cause many impairments to a child’s attention span, making it difficult to concentrate and to keep on task, especially on schoolwork. (Graham, 2007) The statistics have been growing ...

    Read More

  • Effects of ADHD on Adults

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    ADHD is known as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Many of the symptoms of adult ADHD are similar to the symptoms of child ADHD. Those who suffer with ADHD struggle with the inability to control their daily lives. ADHD not only affects the individual who has it, but it also affects everyone around them. Extensive research has been conducted on ADHD and to date there are still no definite answers as to what exactly causes this disorder.

    Read More

  • ADHD and Its Treatments

    1853 Words  | 4 Pages

    The purpose of this research was to describe and understand Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the most effective treatment options that are available today. ADHD is a mental health disorder that affects 3-9% of the population in ways that, if left untreated, can wreak havoc on the mind of the sufferer. It makes concentration difficult, large tasks seem insurmountable, and causes impulsive and hyperactive tendencies. Fortunately, research and experiments have led to new and effective treatments to help those who suffer from this disorder (Dupaul 8). This research examined journal articles and internet sources on the topic to help unlock the complexities of the disorder through scientific research. It also was a way to separate the myths of the disorder from the truths, while discovering the causes, diagnosis methods, and best treatment alternatives to battle this prevalent disorder.

    Read More

  • Giving Children ADHD Medication

    1641 Words  | 4 Pages

    Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a psychiatric disorder that causes children to have problems with paying attention, trouble with following instructions, have impulsive behaviors and become easily distracted. Medications, such as Adderall and Ritalin, are used to treat the symptoms of this disorder by helping the patient to focus and pay attention while also curbing their impulsive behavior and hyperactivity. Side effects of these medications are, but not limited to, anxiety, addiction and in some cases psychosis. Proponents of giving ADHD medication to children argue that ADHD is a real disorder in children and the medication does improve the symptoms of the disorder by a large margin as well as being cost effective. Also, not only are the parents happy with the outcome of their children taking the prescribed medication but so are the children themselves. Proponents also argue that by not letting parents of the children, young adults and adults choose to take these prescriptions when diagnosed with ADHD that the medical and psychiatric communities would be in violation of the principle of autonomy. Justice as well would be violated since most of the burden of dealing with all the symptoms caused by this disorder would fall onto those with ADHD and partly on their families. Opponents of giving ADHD medication to children point out that it is not only going to children with ADHD but also being prescribed to those not diagnosed with the disorder as well as the pills being given or sold to other children and young adults. They also claim that the full side effects of ADHD medication are still not known and could have harmful long- lasting side effects on the children taking the medications. In this case, the princip...

    Read More

  • ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Dr. Robert Epstein, Medco’s chief medical officer, seventeen percent of total drug cost spending last year was for behavior medicines; compared with sixteen percent for both asthma and antibiotics, eleven percent for skin disorders and six percent for allergy medicines. There was also a 369% increase in spending on ADHD drugs for kids under the age of five. A lot of children have been diagnosed with ADHD, and many of their parents have opted to give them behavioral drugs. Some parents give the drugs because they are not aware of the long term effects or the psychological dependency, and lastly because they are not aware of the alternatives. As parents we have to be more cognizant of what these disorders are and how they affect the child. Drugs are not always the only solution.

    Read More

  • Addiction in Adolescents

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    Humans are environmentally and genetically predisposed to developing a motivated addictive behavior. Addiction is a brain disease and a behavior. All behaviors are choices. Choices that adolescences make at a young age directly affect the outcomes of their futures. Many factors contribute to an adolescence becoming an addict or exhibiting a drug seeking behavior. Nearly all drugs of abuse increase dopamine release. Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter in drug abuse and addiction. Dopamine plays a role in reward motivated behaviors, motor control and important hormones. It’s known as the “feel good hormone” which is why people abuse drugs that increase the release of dopamine. Since life is unpredictable, our brains have evolved the ability to remodel themselves in response to our experiences. The more we practice an activity the more neurons developed in order to fine-tune that activity causing addictive behaviors to be detrimental.

    Read More

More about The Role Of ADHD In Adolescents

Open Document