Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - Essay Example

itative Services, Office of Special Education Programs (2003) defines ADHD as “a neurological condition that involves problems with inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity that are developmentally inconsistent with the age of the child” (p.1). They go on to explain that ADHD is in fact a problem of developmental failure in the part of the brain responsible for monitoring self-control and that it is not a disorder of attention as has been thought all along. The Department estimates that 3-5%of the student population have ADHD, which amounts to 1.46 – 2.46 million children.

The National Institute of Mental Health (1996) agrees with this figure and also emphasizes the significance of this prevalence by suggesting that this means that in every class of 15-30 children at least one child will have ADHD. There are three main symptoms of ADHD – inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. These symptoms usually appear early in the child’s life over a period of several months. Usually hyperactivity and impulsivity are first observed and later on followed by the inattention.

Generally the child can be seen fidgeting with hands a great deal of the time, running around the classroom, not able to sit in seat for long periods of time, blurting out answers to questions impulsively and having difficulty waiting in line or taking turns. These are all signs of the hyperactivity and impulsivity. The inattention that is seen later is manifested by being easily distracted by irrelevant sights and noises and making careless mistakes. Another common feature of the inattention is that the child will hardly finish one task before moving on to another.

According to the Office of Special Education Programs, the symptoms can range in type and level of severity with each child. The behavior can be classified into two categories- inattention and hyperactivity-impulsiveness and there are three subtypes of the disorder. The child can either be predominantly inattentive, predominantly