Specific Behaviour Problems: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - Essay Example

? Specific Behaviour Problems: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Introduction The AttentionDeficit Disorder could be presented by children in childhood or adolescent with or without hyperactivity. The most important consideration in this scenario is the fact that these children exhibiting such kind of behaviour are more predisposed to criminal activities both in class and society as a whole (Cooper, et al., 2003). This problem acts as an indication of future problems in life and should be tackled carefully through various suggested intervention measures. Studies have also shown that gender plays an important role in this disorder and males have been seen to express this disorder more often than females. An explanation given for this kind of disparity is the psychological view that female gender is able to learn how to direct the behaviour issues they experience and have more control over them as is opposed to males. However, the likelihood that females will still exhibit criminal behaviours after having developed ADHD is still as possible as that of the male gender. One of the most important points to note is the fact that not all people who have been diagnosed with this disorder have to develop criminal behaviours. The only thing is that the rate of this criminality occurring is higher than it is for normal children (Siegel & Senna, 2004). ADHD has been widely covered in terms of research due to the interest it has elicited in many behavioural outcomes in society. The fact that criminal practice is of greater interest to society has made this disorder receive much attention as forming the basis of explanation given to future criminal practices by these individuals that exhibited the behaviour in their growth stages. This could be attributed to the aspect of co-morbidity that has been established with this disorder as having a link to other external behaviours (Johansson, et al., 2005). This paper takes a critical look at ADHD, its implications for schools and schooling environment, intervention measures, and how this behaviour is likely to be applied in the current and future educational practices (Ghodsian-Carpey & Baker, 1987). Review on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Some form of dysfunctions in the brain or abnormalities on the cerebral structures does affect people leading to them experiencing explosive rage which could be in form of violence episodes. Such explosive rage is thought to cause antisocial behaviour. The ADHD levels in children who pose antisocial behaviours in class have been established to be higher. In addition to that, ADHD has been linked to some conditions known to be risk factors in carrying out offenses, and they could be exhibited as neuropsychological deficits, poor cognitive and academic skills, defiance, aggression, psychological problems, and truancy (Moffitt, 1993). Indeed a real cause of ADHD has not been fully established and all the explanations available are merely based on some intuitions derived from known biological and psychological developments (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Many think it is as a result of chemical imbalance within the central nervous system which is caused by exposure to certain environmental factors such as exposure to toxin at pregnancy, additives taken in food and allergies, including reactions to sugar, caffeine and other foods and colourings, or genetic factors. For those in favour of biochemical imbalance explanation, they pose that this results from a neurotransmitter deficiency and where this imbalance is not treated, such a child develops and shows maladaptive behaviours and these could be followed by long periods of emotional and physical problems (Reiss, 1997). The most common way of identifying ADHD is observing a student in the way he or she behaves. This student will have difficulties in being attentive in class, could be very active and thus hyperactivity, or may carry out an action before thinking, a condition known as impulsivity (Babinski, et al., 1999; Foley, et al., 1996). When such a student is in impulsive condition, excitement to act and cause harm comes prior to the thought process, hence acting before thinking. When children have ADHD, they find it hard to sit still; they might not be able to control the way they behave; and, their level of paying attention to people and in class is very minimal. The ADHD has been classified in three classes as per the APA, and this includes: predominantly inattentive, whereby the children find it very hard to focus their attention or follow the teacher during lessons and end up missing big chunks of their academic work. They also have problems with keeping track of their personal property, and are much disorganized when doing things in class. The other class of ADHD is the hyperactive-inattentive where a child having this mental disorder fidgets quite often and does squirm. These children find it difficult playing without making noise, have a tendency to make noise, prefer not to stay still, and will interrupt other people in their group while speaking since they are so impatient that they cannot wait for their turn to speak. The third class is the combined one in which traits from both the first two classes is seen in these children (Schaeffer, et al., 2003). It has been argued that ADHD is passed down to children genetically through inheritance. Studies involving adopted children and biological children of parents show that their biological children end up acquiring these antisocial behaviours as opposed to the adopted one, a fact that points to genetic endowment (Rushton, et al., 1986). However; the effect the environment has in shaping the expression of this behaviour in children is very critical, especially if the child is still very young. At infant stage, the environment is almost fully covered by parents to these children and as such, children end up growing with similar traits to those of their parents since the parents act as mentors or role models and thus influence the behaviours of these children. As has been noted, most parents find problems of dealing with this disorder because they have inadequate psychological or even physical skills to cope and correct the children. Given that scenario, parents end up responding negatively to the children’s behaviour and act impulsively and as such the child receive poor signals and learn from them in the bad way. Young people look up to their parents and would always want to emulate them because they appear to be heroes in their lives (Plomin, & Daniels, 1987). Behavioural traits emanating from ADHD are common in many societal settings, most especially in classrooms and other social places involving people. Some consequences of these behaviours could be very serious causing injuries and loss of lives, while others are normally mild and simply meant to achieve certain personal motives by the students. The traits could be both physical and verbal actions and are not limited to people but could also be meted on animals and property by the person exhibiting them. These behavioural dimensions are expressed differently, even though a combination of all of them in a given single setting is still possible within a certain span of time. One very important observation made is the extent to which this ADHD can go in a child’s life. Study has shown that the not all children who exhibit ADHD take it into their adulthood. Some children learn how to cope with this disorder as they grow into adolescents and adults and end up seeking or adjusting into socially acceptable behaviours. However, when it comes to treatment or other interventions, it is important that the disorder is detected early enough in a child so that the intervention could be more effective (Soderstrom, et al., 2004; Waddell, et al., 1999). As had been mentioned earlier, both males and females are at risk of developing ADHD behaviour. The most interesting thing in these studies is one relating to females who showed ADHD in their childhood and are growing into adults (Kratzer & Hodgins, 1997). It has been established that females are at a higher risk of developing some form of internalizing disorders. These internalizing disorders are presented in form of shyness, withdrawal, phobias, and depression. These traits make female adults avoid criminal behaviours, even though some still become delinquent in adulthood if they happened to exhibit these delinquent traits in adolescence (Richardson, 2000). Females are more susceptible to developing psychological problems. When these childhood ADHD behaviours are propagated into adolescence and adulthood, they become expressed in externalizing disorder that is exhibited by such traits like aggressiveness, disruption, and non-compliance (Harrell, 1996; Pratt, et al., 2002) Medications and behaviour based therapy have been known to reduce and diminish these traits that come with ADHD personality. When treatment of ADHD is given, it is always bend on treating it as a risk factor for the delinquent or antisocial behaviour. Ritalin or methylphenidate is the drug prescribed for treatment of ADHD. However, good parenting and schooling that is geared towards developing social skills and competence for these children is far more important than medication and should, therefore; be encouraged (Kollins, et al., 2001). The implications for schools The social interactions in school settings are very consistent with the need to have a competent development process for all children. However, the preschool years of child development are not consistent with this goal, yet it plays a very important role in ensuring that the students have an amicable learning process at school. In school, there are certain concepts that are encouraged and these range from self-development; acquisition of pro-social skills, which include cooperation, friendliness and helpfulness; and skills geared towards self-control such as management of anger, negotiating with others, group discussions and solving problems. The children with antisocial behaviour emanating from disorders find it hard to cope with this environment since they exhibit these traits among other students. The implications for these antisocial behaviours are immense and could be very detrimental to both the person exhibiting them and the student community at large (McPartland & Nettles, 1991). Criminal behaviours have been known to occur as a result of these conditions. Students have been seen to treat others with aggression and cruelty causing harm and death in the end. This is why controlling or containing such students is very important if they have to become useful members of society. Parents are in a better position to enable teachers control these problems in school. This is because research has shown that the problems seem to originate from home at preschool periods. In pre-schooling periods, achievement of social competence to avert ADHD related behaviours could be made possible by separating children from parents and letting them engage with their peers where they participate in shared activities of play, most of which are fantasy oriented. This simple act is able to help the children at preschool age to learn the much needed skill of coordinating their social related behaviours. As could be seen, such preschool interactions with peers last for a short while and are often marked with frequent squabbles and less stable friendships. The main focus for children at this stage is peer acceptance and development of play companionships (Morrow & Styles, 1995). Schools should be able to take over from parents by designing activities aimed at catching the interest of these children. This could be done by encouraging them to take sports and structured group games where they are taught rules and ways of handling competition. This is a very essential skill for socially acceptable behaviours. Class participation also needs to be encouraged to beat the problem of shyness and at this stage, development of class friendships with peers is important. This is because children who have ADHD always feel rejected by their peers and end up acting in ways that would attract their attention. Schools have an important role of ensuring that the children who have been identified to exhibit ADHD are well managed and taught how to handle their condition. This could be done through other students by encouraging social skills training. The teachers could silently make the other students like the one identified to have this antisocial behaviour (Berkle, 2001). This is because research has shown that children who are accepted and liked by their peers exhibit courtesy, helpfulness, and are very considerate of how others feel. This social skill training could be able to help the children with ADHD learn to accept their peers and treat them positively. The most common skills that schools could teach these students are cooperation, sharing and helping other people. Group discussions and participation in class could be a sure way of ensuring that these students have a chance to express themselves. However, unstructured groups that are also large in size are not good avenues for ensuring that children with this problem learn the social skills. For that reason, it is important that smaller and structured groups with necessary adult support are given to these students for the sole purpose of guiding them (Prosser, et al., 2002). Applications to current and future educational practice The people with ADHD should not be discriminated against but given a chance to feel part of the society. There needs to be in place an integrated system of intervention to ensure that things work in coherent with the set objectives and goals of helping the ADHD students. All school community members need to be aware of the need to help such students since they are all affected. Successful programs that have been carried out in other academic institutions should be replicated in schools and implemented with close observation. Future school programs need to integrate helpful programs that are aimed at assisting the children with ADHD problems. As such, programs that enhance student cognition, linguistic ability, literacy, social and emotional skills are very critical. Evidence-based programs have also become very helpful and could further prove to be effective in future when well harnessed and applied. These programs could also be very supportive to teachers since they spend most of the time with these children in class (Carbone, 2001). Conclusion ADHD is a very serious condition and could ruin the life of a student. The possibility of this condition being propagated into the adulthood depends on many factors within the environment. The most important idea is self-control where these children could start learning how to control their behaviour as early as possible and try cope with their condition. The medication prescribed for its treatment or management should not be taken as the single measure to assist the children (Frosch, 1983). Parents should realize that they play a very important role in their children’s lives, especially those that have been diagnosed with ADHD. Interventions need to take a holistic approach to ensure a comprehensive and all inclusive process. References American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author. Babinski, L. M., Hartsough, C. S., & Lambert, N. M. (1999). 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