...ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is a very complex condition that generates a great deal of debate. The debate surrounding this disorder is intense. Debates encompass issues such as, what causes it, how to assess ADHD, and how to deal with it effectively. This essay deals with some of the debates in an attempt to simplify the issues. The first question that needs to be answered is what is ADHD? It is behavioural problems revolving around three main symptoms. One main symptom that an ADHD person displays is the inability to keep their attention focused on something. They are easily distracted, forget instructions and have a poor short term memory. The second main symptom prevalent among those with ADHD is their impulsiveness. They act or shout out inappropriately. They have a short fuse which can lead to temper tantrums. The third main symptom is that those with ADHD are hyperactive. They are unable to sit still and are often restless and fidgety. These factors usually cause problems within the sufferer’s families. ADHD symptoms also cause problems for the sufferer in educational settings, (for children) and in occupational settings, (for adults). There are three subtypes to ADHD. The first subtype is someone who is both hyperactive and impulsive. The second subtype is one who is inattentive only. For example, studies show that at least 40% of people with ADHD have the “Inattentive Type” only. The third subtype is one who shows all of these symptoms combined...
Words: 2279 - Pages: 10
...Mental illness is a worldwide epidemic that affects one in five people around the world (News). Ask anyone and they most likely know someone with a mental illness or struggle with one themselves. The prevalence of these conditions is shocking and continues to rise on a daily basis. While researching this topic, one question stuck out the most: What is the main cause of mental illness? Scientists typically all agree that there is not one solution to this question, seeing as the topic at hand is a complex combination of factors. Everyone's brain is unique and handles situations differently, meaning that finding one cause for mental illness is a difficult search. Although there is not one cause for these conditions, we can reduce the options down...
Words: 1326 - Pages: 6
...Deficit Disorder, or “ADD,” have been popping up in young kids and teenagers all over the country. What’s causing this? The American Psychiatric Association, often referred to as the “APA,” claims that the disorder has always been this prevalent, but it was only recently discovered, hence the increasing number of diagnoses, but there seems to be more to this “disorder” than meets the eye. As the number of cases continues to grow, many believe that the number of people with ADD is actually unchanging, and is in fact, zero. While the APA would like you to think otherwise, ADD and ADHD are fictitious disorders. The cause for question in this conversation of the reality of Attention Deficit Disorder has many aspects. Of them, are the facts that ADD and ADHD are only recognized as psychiatric disorders in the United States of America, the suspicious timing of the entrance of these disorders into the APA’s psychiatric journal: the DSM, and the pharmaceutical industry’s role in treatment. These factors, some big, some small, build the often criticized argument against the authenticity of ADD and ADHD as mental disorders. The United States has been home to many unique and wonderful things, but rarely is any one country the sole victim of a disease, let alone one psychiatric in nature. Of all the countries in the world, the United States is the only one claiming that people are suffering from ADD and ADHD, using the thought process that “…ADHD is a behavioral disorder common to...
Words: 1272 - Pages: 6
...Neurodevelopmental and Neurocognitive Disorders Neurodevelopmental disorders are biological brain disorders that are responsible for early onset brain dysfunctions. There are four primary complication categories with these disorders, cognitive dysfunction, seizures, behavioral problems, and motor dysfunction. The disorders can be genetic or acquired from trauma, heredity, the environment, or illness. One of the disorders covered under this definition would be ADHD, or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. This paper will discuss the behavioral criteria for this disorder, along with the incidence rates, causes, and two treatment options. Neurocognitive disorders are disorders that show a decline in the individual’s cognitive abilities that are observable by others and can be tested with the use of cognitive assessments. The loss of cognitive abilities can be caused from disease, illness, or trauma. The neurocognitive disorders are Delirium, Dementia, and Amnestic. Further discussion will be on dementia from Alzheimer’s. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder If your child has issues with paying attention, difficulty in organizing activities and paying attention to detail, talks excessively, and cannot remain in their seat, they may have ADHD. According to the CDC (2013) the criteria for ADHD would be: Inattention: Six or more symptoms of inattention for children up to age 16, or five or more for adolescents 17 and older and adults; symptoms of inattention...
Words: 739 - Pages: 3
...Association spoke about ADHD and the steps and processes for caring for the disorder. CDC explained how ADHD had increased every year and the average age for a child to diagnose is seven years old. Boys are more affected with ADHD than girls are. Medical treatment for ADHD also increases due to medication and seeing specialist. Social relationship for a child with ADHD has it downfalls. CDC said “Parents report that children with a history of ADHD are almost 10 times as likely to have difficulties that interfere with friendships” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Also children with ADHD show more injuries and hospital visits than a child without ADHD. Lastly the cost of being diagnosed with ADHD can cost over millions of dollars that will included medication, health care, and treatment. From the high percentage of ADHD being diagnosed in children parents’ income have decreases because of the cost of disorder. ADHD has increased since 2003 till 2011. It states that children between the ages of 4-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD has increased numerous times throughout the years. Due to the increase of ADHD study have shown that children are having problems with social skills, parents keeping up with medical bills, the cost of ADHD and how dangerous it can be being diagnosed with ADHD. Social skills average that 7% of children are diagnosed with ADHD. Having mental illnesses and functional impairments can cause a problem for a child diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD medical bills...
Words: 647 - Pages: 3
...you ever wondered how people with ADHD know they have ADHD? The DSM-5, an abbreviation for Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, is a manual to help professionals determine mental disorders. Determining if one has a mental disorder includes a multitude of steps, including evaluation and criteria. The DSM-5 is helpful including things like criterion to a multitude of studies to help inform about the current knowledge of the disorder. In order to understand ADHD, it is important to know how the DSM-5 is used to evaluate as well as the neurological components. In May of 2013, the 5th edition of the DSM was released, and with this came new information and criteria. The DSM-5 edition changes the age criteria. Symptoms for...
Words: 1150 - Pages: 5
...Risks of Mental Health Drugs for Our Youth Rapa Barsel Prof. Stephen Webber ENG 215048VA016-1142-001 February 15, 2014 Although there is a considerable amount of children with mental health disorders, more research and stricter regulations are necessary to investigate the diagnoses and the overuse of prescribing mental health drugs to our children. In our current age of advanced technology, medicine is also advancing. Although, these advances can detect many illnesses earlier on, they may not be an accurate diagnosis for minors. Thousands of children are prescribed antipsychotic drugs without proper medical assessments. I have a two and half year old son and I would not be willing to put him on any mental health drug unless I was absolutely certain it was necessary. These mental health drugs can cause suicidal thinking and behavior. It can also lead to an altered personality, or lack thereof. These drugs can be harmful to brain and physical development in younger children. According to the U.S. Surgeon General (2000), as many as 1 in 10 American children and adolescents a year have “significant functional impairment” as a result of a mental health disorder. The trends in administering psychotropic medication to young children are on a rise in the U.S. Since psychotropic medications are substances that affect brain chemicals related to mood and behavior (NIMH, 2009). These trends have caused a great deal of debate. All parties without an economic agenda agree...
Words: 2127 - Pages: 9
...University Chicago Classifying Psychopathology: Categorical and Dimensional Approaches The classification of mental disorders is a fundamental component to the science and practice of psychopathology (Widiger & Sankis, 2000). Despite this centrality, evidence supporting the distinction between healthy functioning and mental disorders remains disjointed. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) defines a mental disorder in part as “… a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction...
Words: 2487 - Pages: 10
...doing it’s very best to help us with all the right information about ADHD. This site explains are all the different steps that anyone that is trying to get the proper help to find out how to battle this disease. The CDC is one of the government websites that is here to emplace all the right information. Also explain all the different treatments that they can give you on the disease of ADHD that effects not just children but also adults. CDC plays a critical role for Attention/Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Some of the symptoms that an individual might occur from ADHD are how some kids have problems while going to school and at times have problems keeping friends or making any, and there are times they have problems out in society also. The researchers that are trying to find out how to help people with ADHD, but they all have different opinions on how to help, so it leaves people a little confused on who to trust. But the CDC are still doing researching more to help better understanding of ADHD. Helps us get better understanding and risk factors plus treatments to help people living with ADHD. The (NCBDDD) are funding large community based epidemiologic studies in the US, so they can get better understanding of ADHD, are trying to put out the most information that is up-to-date and decisions to recommend personal public status and evolving agencies to assist. Now the project to learn about ADHD in the youth, these two places University of South Carolina and...
Words: 756 - Pages: 4
...“Human madness is oftentimes a cunning and most feline thing. When you think it fled, it may have but transfigured into some still subtler form” (Melville 160). Herman Melville speaks on psychiatric madness. Madness, as a mental state, he says, at times is thought to cease, but when analyzed, has only altered into an indirect complexity. The same is true for various psychiatric disorders. Disorders, include, but are not limited to, Bipolar (Manic Depression), Attention-Deficit (ADHD), Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Major Depression. Each condition varies in definition; however, all mental disorders are loosely described as a behavioral or mental pattern which suppresses an individual's everyday quality of life. The Mayo Clinic goes on to...
Words: 256 - Pages: 2
...Age related disorders Teresa Allen Western International University Abnormal Psychology BEH-440-3281 Mollie Surgine January 22, 2018 Age related disorders Describe the symptoms of childhood anxiety disorders. Separation anxiety disorder is one of the most common in children between the ages of 18 months and 3 years old. Some of the symptoms include extreme anxiety, and often panic whenever they’re separated from parents or someone they feel comfortable being with (Comer, R. J. 2016). In some situations children may feel extreme sickness and the feelings of misery in the sense of being absent from loved ones. In addition, there other symptoms associated with childhood anxiety disorders such as loud outbursts, uncontrollable periods...
Words: 819 - Pages: 4
...behavior throughout its course, and disruptive behavior can be reliably identified in children as young as age. Evidence also suggests that intervention is more effective at the preschool age than when children are older. Effective treatment of disruptive behavior prior to school entry may prevent the associated problems with academic performance and peer relationships that require multiple interventions only a few years later. (CampbellSB) Primary care physicians are often the only professionals to see young children before school entry and are thus critical to early identification. Studies have found that at least 20% of the 2- to 5-year-olds seen in primary care settings have Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, disorders, yet young children with significant psychopathology are frequently not referred for treatment. Identification of child psychopathology is difficult. Found that pediatricians...
Words: 1057 - Pages: 5
...further disabilities. Crisis intervention and management is also addressed to clients and clients family. The nurse ensures that the client is getting the best possible treatment and not overmedicating. They protect the client from any abuse that may be going on in the home by reporting, teaching the client who to call if abuse continues upon dismissal, and monitoring clients while in treatment facility. 2. In addiction to nursing, describe support provided by the interdisciplinary team members. There are many parts of the interdisciplinary team members that help the client get back to a functioning life. Psychiatrist will evaluate the client to identify the mental illness that is displaying and recommend the direction of treatment which may include medication and therapies. The clinical psychologist assess the mental health needs of the client and...
Words: 1954 - Pages: 8
...Bipolar Disorder in Children and Teens Crystal Revis HCS 245 June 10, 2013 Joan Ralph Webber Bipolar Disorder in Children and Teens Bipolar disorder is a very common disorder in adults all across the country, with more than 10 million confirmed cases (Webmd, 2013), and even worldwide. For many years, it was thought that only adults could develop the disorder, but now, with new research, studies have shown that the disorder is showing up more and more in teens and children alike. But with anti-depressant medications being made for adults only, the real question is going to be how to treat these teens and children. “Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood and energy. It can also make it hard for someone to carry out day-to-day tasks, such as going to school or hanging out with friends. Symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They are different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through from time to time. They can result in damaged relationships, poor school performance, and even suicide. But bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives. Bipolar disorder often develops in a person's late teens or early adult years, but some people have their first symptoms during childhood. At least half of all cases start before age 25 (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2012).” Being diagnosed with ADHD as a child can ultimately...
Words: 1265 - Pages: 6
...Mental illness definition rewrite In ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, and Roman writings, mental illness was categorized as a religious or personal problem. In the 5th century B.C, Hippocrates was a pioneer in treating mentally ill people with techniques not rooted in religion; instead, he focused on changing a mentally ill patient’s environment or occupation, or administering certain substances as medications. During the middle Ages, the mentally ill were believed to be possessed or in need of religion. Mental illness is a condition, which effect person’s brain. Therefore it can alter person’s mood or thoughts. If it is serious, a person can lose some of their ability to function in daily life. For example, losing the ability to speak, move or think critically. Currently, I think there is a no treatment for mental illness patients to fully recover their illness. Nowadays, there is lots of surgery’s developing for physical illness problem because it’s depending on bones. However, mental illness is different because brain cannot be fixed in the same way that bones can be fixed. Having a surgery on person’s brain can be somewhat more dangerous and difficult for the doctors. Brain cannot recover easily. Various types of mental illness can affect persons’ behavior, thinking, ability or mood. The most familiar mental illnesses for me are depression and ADHD. Those illnesses impact many people in daily life. They consider as a normal mental illness. Those can occur because...
Words: 814 - Pages: 4