Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Among Children - Research Paper Example

Running Head: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Draft Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a condition that causes permanent inattention, hyperactivity, and (or) impulsivity. ADHD begins in childhood and can persist into adulthood. The ADHD symptoms in different patients may be different, but all of them are more or less difficult to control in terms of their level of activity (hyperactivity), holding back (impulsivity) and focus (inattention) (Millichap, 2008). The symptoms of ADHD include the inability to pay attention to details or a tendency to make mistakes in schoolwork or other activities by simple oversight, difficulty sustaining attention in tasks continuously or recreational games, apparent hearing, and difficulty following directions. Atopic eczema is the most prevalent chronic inflammatory disease in children. The prevalence of this disease in Western countries, in children of six years old, reaches 20% (Department of Health, 2010). ADHD is significantly associated with dermatitis. Allergic co morbidities (asthma, allergic rhinitis) are not significantly associated with ADHD (Rubin, Fein & Vandenberg, 1983). The clinical relevance of this association is small, as it does not establish a causal relationship between them and the direction of the association. From time to time, most of the people have trouble concentrating or paying attention in class. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that help transmit messages between nerve cells in the brain (Department of Health, 2010). Besides in the form of tablets, methylphenidate is also available as a patch, called Daytrana, which can be placed directly on the skin to allow the drug to be absorbed. Introduction There are various disorders that prevail amongst the children and female in the current era. One such disorder is the attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) disorder. This paper will elaborate upon the background, features, symptoms and causes of the disorder existing amongst children. It will also discuss the relationship of ADHD to Eczema and explain regarding the safety of the ADHD medications on children. This topic has been chosen o be studied due to the reason that the prevalence of ADHD has become widespread amongst women and children these days. The symptoms of the disorder are now commonly occurring amongst the people of young ages. Therefore, it is necessary that the topic be studied in terms of its relevance, significance and background. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition of prolonged hyperactivity, inattention, and (or) impulsivity. It usually starts in the early phase of an individual's life and may go up to the adulthood of an individual. This disorder is one of the prevailing illnesses in children of young ages. In the United States, there are 3 to 5% of children who suffer from ADHD and this count equates to 2 million children. The disorder occurs 2-3 times more often in boys than in girls (Lakhan, & Hagger-Johnson, 2007). On average, there is at least one child in every class who requires the treatment for ADHD or is undergoing the process. Besides this, there are over 5% adults in the United States who suffer from the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Reason, 1999). There may be different symptoms of ADHD in adults, but they may also be in varying degrees. The individuals, who suffer from the disorder in adulthood, may show hyperactivity, impulsivity and carelessness. In the cases of normal or low activity, the doctors only call the disorder as attention deficit disorder (ADD). This is due to the fact that impulsivity and hyperactivity may lessen with the increasing age (Cohen & Strayer, 1996). Children usually encounter problems in ADHD, when they are at home, in school or with friends and peers. If the disorder is left unattended, it may hinder the learning abilities of the children in future at also become an obstacle for them at the workplace. Moreover, their emotional and social development may also be hindered (Rubin, Fein & Vandenberg, 1983). This, in turn, will lead to the tendency to drug use and antisocial behavior and increases the risk of injuries. The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder may also be considered as the family illness. Each child suffering from ADHD has at least one relative or family member who has this problem. There are even more clear evidences of the disorder being transmitted to the children through genetics, and the fact remains that if one twin is diagnosed with the disorder, the other will have it most of the times (Barkley, 2003). We cannot assume that ADHD is more common, but it is clear that the number of diagnoses of ADHD has increased over the last decade. Therefore, a keen interest in this issue has been shown in the press, information for parents and teachers, as well as in terms of the accessibility and effectiveness of treatment. Symptoms The major symptoms governing the ADHD are as follows: 1. Inattentive Type, whose signs include: inability to pay attention to details or a tendency to make mistakes in schoolwork or other activities by simple oversight, difficulty sustaining attention in tasks continuously or recreational games, apparent hearing, difficulty following directions, organizational problems, displeasure and / or tendency to avoid activities that require mental efforts, tendency to lose items like toys, notebooks, or homework, dispersion and distractibility, tendency to forgetfulness in daily activities (Jancin, 2009) 2. Hyperactive-impulsive type, whose signs include the following? repetitive gestures or movements that show nervousness or restlessness difficulty sitting tendency to run or climb excessively difficulty playing quietly feeling of being always "on the go" excessive or uncontrolled speech (Bagwell, Molina, Pelham & Hoza, 2001) launch to answer questions on impulse without hearing the question completely difficulty taking turns or save row tendency to interrupt or interfere 3. Of combined type, comprising a combination of the above two types and being the most prevalent. The ADHD is much more than a disorder. It is a syndrome of enormous dimensions, which reaches a large number of facets and called "Deficit Syndrome Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with much more property than ADHD (Wood, 1995). In recent years, the research regarding the ADHD is gaining importance a series of increasing co morbid disorders too. Relationship between ADHD and Eczema Atopic eczema is the most prevalent chronic inflammatory disease in children. The prevalence of this disease in Western countries, among six year old children, reaches 20%. The itching caused by the injuries can cause psychosocial distress and sleep disorders. Approximately one third of children with atopic dermatitis develops asthma and allergic rhinitis. Disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common psychiatric disorder in childhood, with a global prevalence greater than 5%. The highest prevalence rates of asthma in children with ADHD suggested a common etiology, but further studies showed no path physiological relationship (Jancin, 2009). However, these studies did not take into account the presence of atopic dermatitis as a potential confounder. ADHD is significantly associated with dermatitis. Allergic co morbidities (asthma, allergic rhinitis) are not significantly associated with ADHD. The association of dermatitis with ADHD is independent of age, sex and psychiatric co morbidity. These points suggest an independent association between BD and ADHD, possibly related to the severity of AD. The results need to be interpreted cautiously, as there may be errors in classification and diagnosis groups with atopic dermatitis or ADHD. If the observation is real, the relationship should be with atop in general and not specific to atopic dermatitis. The clinical relevance of this association is small, as it does not establish a causal relationship between them and the direction of the association. Thus, further studies are needed. It is unclear whether the association is due to shared etiological factors or secondary phenomena, such as pruritus, sleep disorders or psychosocial dysfunction in the course of atopic dermatitis, induce or exacerbate symptoms of ADHD in a subgroup of patients, with the possibility of misclassification of atopic dermatitis symptoms as ADHD (Braaten, & Rosen, 2000). ADHD Medication for Children With the passage of time, there are majority of the people who had troubles with paying attention and concentrating in the class. However, the teenage people with the ADHD showed the symptoms including the inability to follow instructions and pay attention and this factor caused problems for them in the school and numerous other parts of life. Several medicines have been introduced from the reduction or healing of the ADHD (Jones, 2010). The people who have the attention deficit disorder usually act and behave in a little different manner than the normal people. Certain drugs have been discovered and introduced by the scientists that are good for the treatment of the symptoms of ADHD. The people with ADHD are assisted by these drugs to focus and concentrated in a better manner. The chemical signals of the central nervous system are affected by the medicines that contain Methylphenidate. It is indicated by the research that the people with ADHD have been helped largely by these drugs due to the fcat that the level of neurotransmitters are increased by these drugs in the brain. These are called norepinephrine and dopamine (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Neurotransmitters are particular types of chemicals which assist in the transferring of messages between the nerve cells in the brain. Besides all these medicines, there are other tablets available too which help in the curing of ADHD. For instance, methylphenidate is also available as a patch, called Daytrana, which can be placed directly on the skin to allow the drug to be absorbed. The people with ADHD are sometimes prescribed other medications by the doctors (Kollins, 2008). These include the Amphetamine which treats the people ADHD in the same way as the methylphenidate drug does. There are various other types of medicines which are prescribed for ADHD and they function in a different manner in the body. These drugs include extended-release guanfacine (Intuniv), atomoxetine (Strattera). References American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th, text revised Ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Bagwell, C. L., Molina, B. S. G., Pelham, W. E., & Hoza, B. (2001). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and problems in peer relations: Predictions from childhood to adolescence. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 1285-1292 Barkley, R. A. (2003). Issues in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. Brain and Development, 25, 77-83. Braaten, E. B., & Rosen, L. A. (2000). Self-regulation of affect in attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and non- ADHD boys: Differences in empathic responding. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 313-321. Cohen, D., & Strayer, J. (1996). Empathy in conduct-disordered and comparison youth. Developmental Psychology, 32, 988-998. Department of Health (2010). Information for medical practitionerd, (DOC). Australia: Australian Government. Jancin, B. (2009). Atopic Dermatitis or ADHD: Which Comes First? Clinical Psychiatry News, Accessed online. Jones, G. (2010). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder handbook: a physician’s guide to ADHD. New York: Springer-Verlag. Kollins, S.H. (2008). A qualitative review of issues arising in the use of psycho-stimulant medications in patients with ADHD and co-morbid substance use disorders, Curr Med Res Opin 24 (5): 1345–57. Lakhan, S.E., & Hagger-Johnson, G. (2007). The impact of prescribed psychotropics on youth, Clin Pract Epidemol Ment Health 3 (1): 21. Millichap, J. (2008). Etiologic classification of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Pediatrics 121 (2). Reason, R. (1999). Working Party of the British Psychological Society, ADHD: a psychological response to an evolving concept, (Report of a Working Party of the British Psychological Society)m Journal of Learning Disabilities 32 (1): 85–91. Rubin, K., Fein, G. G., & Vandenberg, B. (1983). Handbook of child psychology: Social development (4th ed., Vol. 3, pp. 693-774). New York: Wiley. Wood, K. (1995). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A guide for professionals. Melbourne: La Trobe University. Read More