Abtgract/Introduction - Essay Example

Attention deficit disorder is a widely researched area in the field of behavioral history. A child diagnosed with attention deficit disorderin the early age should be treated accordingly. It is an interesting proposition to validate if there is any relationship between the academic performance and attention deficit disorder characteristics. This research is done by conducting a longitudinal scale over a 15-year time frame. Two populations of children were identified in the second grade: ones that show attention deficit disorder and ones that don’t.

The performance of the two groups of students was then evaluated over a fifteen year period first in second, fourth and fifth grade and afterward ninth and twelfth grade. This was then followed with interviews of both categories of subjects. It was found that there are considerable differences in the performance as well as social adjustment of subjects that show attention deficit disorder characteristics and ones that don’t. Not many of the differences were accountable to poor academic performance.

Based on the findings of the research, it is important that such disorders are identified early amongst children. At the same time, the same shall be treated because of the economic and social implications that the phenomenon has on society. With the increase of age, the treatment becomes more difficult and ineffective. Further studies can be conducted to monitor the impact of medication. IntroductionAttention deficit disorder also referred to as hyper-kinesis or minimal brain syndrome is a disorder that is seen during the development phase of the child.

In most of the cases, it is chronic in nature. The disorder also continues with increase in age. The three major characteristics of attention deficit disorder are signs of inattention, signs of impulsivity and over activity. Because of the different characteristics of children showing attention deficit disorder, it is important that such children are taught in a way that is separate from the normal students. At the same time, it has often been hypothesized that the presence of attention deficit disorder has significant impact on the academic performance of the students.

The disorder also leads to reduction in the self-image of the children suffering from it. The previous studies in the area have been conducted on children who have been already been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. This sample also suffers from the problems of lack of appropriate controls amongst children. Because of these reasons, it is important to perform a longitudinal study that compares the performance of ADD suffering children viz-a-viz normal children.