ADHD and its Treatment - Research Paper Example

? Case Study on ADHD and its Treatment Case Study on ADHD and its Treatment Analysis The case of Chantel is similar to that of many children who are suffering from ADHD. This is, however, a manageable disorder and with the right intervention methods, one can continue to live a normal life (Dobie, 2012). In order to understand the problems that she is experiencing and treat them, it is essential to ensure that one is able to understand what she is suffering from. ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and can be diagnosed in children who have a harder time than usual in specific functions such as concentrating on a particular subject for a lengthy period of time and having the inability to remain still for too long. These children often suffer the brunt of this disorder as it leads to characteristics such as high levels of forgetfulness, hyperactivity and at times aggressive natures (Dobie, 2012). ADHD is not always diagnosed immediately, especially in children as people often chalk individuals suffering from this disorder as basic immaturity and bad manners and as a result not everyone receives the proper treatment that is needed to handle it. However, with the right tactics, ADHD is quite manageable and an individual can enjoy a normal and fruitful life. In the case of Chantel, there are three major issues that will need to be addressed in the intervention plan designed to manage her ADHD. These are the cognitive, social/emotional and physical factors that are affected in her day to day living and interaction with others. Each factor is essential on its own and needs to be addressed personally if one is to achieve success from the intervention process. Cognitive Factors This has to do with the ability of her mental faculties to concentrate on one particular subject at a time for an extended period (Owens, 2005). ADHD makes it hard for Chantel pay attention to a topic for lengthy periods of time and, thus, this leads to what people term as her forgetfulness when dealing with issues such as home and class work as well as other responsibilities and duties that are handed to her. It is important to understand that this ‘forgetfulness’ is not her fault and, thus, methods will need to be contrived on ways and methods that will help her focus her attention on these responsibilities that are expected of her (Owens, 2005). Social/Emotional Factors This has to do with her interaction with teachers and other students. It has been noted that Chantel’s social skills are not what can be described as top notch as she is often impulsive in her behavior which may lead to unwarranted reactions that drive other children away from her as a result. The impulsiveness is also a result of her ADHD and, thus, should not be blamed on the child (Dobie, 2012). This inability to socialize with others may also lead to emotional repercussions as she is left wondering why other children do not want to play with her. A lack of social interactions may lead to the child’s emotional withdrawal from others as they are afraid of getting rejected and if not dealt with at an early stage it may affect her future interactions with others in her adult life. Physical Factors These factors mainly deal with the child’s hyperactive nature and their inability to remain still for extended periods of time. This will affect Chantel’s ability to concentrate in class where she is required to remain in one place for an entire period and may lead to fidgety behavior as the ADHD attempts to rebel against this instruction. Her hyperactivity, however, is what makes her extremely good at sports as she is happy performing a task that requires frequent movement and activity turning her into a good athlete in the process. Forcing a child with ADHD to sit still will not work because though they may try, they might be able to help themselves sometimes (Mikami, 2010). A compromise will need to be reached where with help, the child slowly trains themselves to control their hyperactivity whenever the situation requires it. Intervention The intervention methods that are used for children suffering from ADHD can be described as particular to the child depending on the level of ADHD that they are suffering from. Not all symptoms are present in each in equal measure and, thus, the particular treatments that they undergo will be different as well (Owens, 2005). For example, in Chantel’s case, though she does suffer from a short span of concentration among other symptoms, her hyperactivity is described as mild and, thus, will not need major intervention strategies when attempting to get it under control. When dealing with intervention methods, it is essential to ensure that all the aforementioned factors that the ADHD has affected (that is, cognitive, social and physical) are addressed in order to achieve success in its treatment (Mayes, Bagwell & Erkulwater, 2008). There are different interventions that will be used for the different areas that are affected. Cognitive Intervention When dealing with issues with concentration, patience is the most important attribute that those involved in the intervention will need to have. There a couple of practices that one can use to improve the concentration span of a child suffering from ADHD. The main objective is to give the child a reason to fight to remain focused in situations such as class time and the performance of their school work. One way to do this is by offering the child a reward whenever they are successful in remaining focused throughout the entire period of time that is required of them. This can be a simple thing, such as an ice-cream, whenever they finish their work on time (Coleman, 2008). The reward will prompt the child to strive harder at focusing on their objective as they will be determined to enjoy the spoils of their victory once it has been achieved. A second intervention method dealing with attention deficit is making the subject interesting to the child. Like any other child, Chantel is easily bored when dealing with topics that have no interest to her and, thus, finding new ways of presenting this information in a way that will capture her attention will succeed in getting her to focus on the subject for the required length of time. This can be done by incorporating various media in the lessons such as visual and audio additions in the lessons that will make the topic being discussed more entertaining to her (Mikami, 2010). Social/Emotional Intervention This is a more delicate intervention as it deals with the child’s emotional stability. First of all, the child will need to be made to understand that there is nothing wrong with her to remove all self doubt that may have accumulated as a result of her lack of interaction with others (Mayes, Bagwell & Erkulwater, 2008). Once this is done, the child can be taken through the things that are expected of her during social interaction in a bid to try and help her understand why other children may tend to avoid her such as other children do not like it when they are pushed around or have things taken from them by force. Once she understands the feelings of others, she will be able to interact with them in a manner that they will find acceptable resulting in them accepting her back into the fold again. Another intervention method that can be used during this intervention is sitting her down and placing her in categorical situations and having her decide the best mode of action in such a situation. This practice will help her remember how to act when she is around other people in real life situations (Coleman, 2008). For example, one situation that can be put to her is what she should do if she wants to play with a toy that another child may be playing with at the moment. The correct answers would be to ask politely as well as wait her turn and ensuring that no force is used in the attaining of that toy. Physical Intervention This is an attempt in getting the child to learn how to control their hyperactivity. One way of doing this is getting the child to channel this hyperactivity to other places such as sports where it could be useful and, thus, acceptable in such a situation. Another mode of intervention would be getting the child to practice sitting still for short periods of time which are elongated as progress continues. This method allows the child to learn how to control their hyperactivity when needed (Mikami, 2010). In conclusion, it is essential for those involved in the intervention of children with ADHD to focus on the individual person and not the disorder. One should understand that those suffering from the disorder are individuals by their own right and are not defined by the disorder that they suffer from (Coleman, 2008). It is by understanding these individuals that one can successfully help them. References Coleman, W. L. (2008). Social competence and friendship formation in adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder" Adolesc Med State Art Rev 19 (2), 278- 99. Dobie, C. (2012). Diagnosis and management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in primary care for school-age children and adolescents. Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement. Mayes, R., Bagwell, C., Erkulwater, J. (2008). ADHD and the rise in stimulant use among children. Harv Rev Psychiatry 16 (3): 151-66. Mikami, A. Y. (2010). The importance of friendship for youth with attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 13 (2), 181–98. Owens, J. A. (2005). The ADHD and sleep conundrum: a review. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 26(4):312–322. Read More