The Negative Effects Of ADHD On A Child's Education

ADHD is a very common neurodevelopment disorder of childhood. It is usually diagnosed in late childhood, around the age of seven by the teachers. The symptoms are typical during ages 3-6 and if not treated properly becomes chronic and persists even after entering adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, staying organized and controlling impulsive behaviors. It is very difficult to diagnose and when undiagnosed the children can grow to be mislabeled as trouble makers in their adulthood.

First step to understanding this disorder is to understand how it is diagnosed and what criteria is required. There are 18 possible symptoms for ADHD that are divided into two categories, inattentive and hyperactivity/impulsive (Barkley 1997). In order to be diagnosed with ADHD an individual must show at least 6 symptoms in one category for 6 months (Barkley 1997). Depending on what category the symptoms were in the child would also be assigned to a subtype, either: predominantly inattentive or predominantly hyperactive/impulsive; but if the individual met criteria for both inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive then the child would be diagnoses with ADHD combined (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 2013). Some of the symptoms that fall under the inattentive subtype are inability to stay focused on tasks (i.e. during lectures, conversations,

To get a clearer picture of the disorder, APA subdivided the symptoms according to its three most important traits, inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). As most of the symptoms of ADHD may typically be present in normal behavioral development, APA established that only when six or more of the symptoms are present in a child can he or she be considered as suffering from ADHD (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Furthermore, the child should also exhibit these symptoms within a period of 6 months or more to completely confirm the occurrence of the disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).

A child with ADHD may also have trouble in other classes, such as, math class. Math does not always come easily; solving math problems can be especially difficult for a child with ADHD. Math requires sustained attention in order to memorize the steps and understand fully how to work the problem, which a child with ADHD lacks the attention process that he/she needs to understand math and results in the child with ADHD getting low grades or failing the class. A child with ADHD may have trouble subtracting large numbers; they rely on finger counting, and have difficult solving problems with more than one step (aboutkidshealth). A child with ADHD may have trouble solving problems, deciphering which method to use when trying to solve a problem, and have a hard time figuring out and deciphering word problems.

According to the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) there are three main types of ADHD. These types are Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder with predominance in inattentiveness, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder with predominance in hyperactivity and impulsiveness, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder with a combination of both hyperactivity and inattentiveness. There are certain criteria that must be met before a diagnosis can be made to attribute ADHD to the behavior of anyone.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common and most distressing disorders amongst school-age children, yet it is probably one of the least well understood. It has received a lot of awareness mainly because of the large numbers of children receiving drug treatment for the disorder. Where children have behavioural problems and parents are finding it hard to manage, it is expected that they will turn to teachers for guidance and help. ADHD can drastically affect children's development at school, not only their work but also their social progress and the relationships that they have with teachers and their peers. If not identified early, long-term

In the article, “Growing up With ADHD” by Denise Foley, there is a subsection titled, “How ADHD Affects a Child’s Life”. This article and particularly this subsection really piqued my interest because I have ADHD. I know how it is to grow up with ADHD and what it can do to your life. The subsection, “How ADHD Affects a Child’s Life”, gives a short narrative of a mother that has a child with ADHD. Then it goes on to state how kids with ADHD act and how it impacts an environment. The article lists off some subtypes of ADHD: children just with attention problems, those with impulse control and hyperactivity issues, and a group with a combination of both. The article then goes on to analyze both subtypes briefly. Then it describes the effects that

Every child, even those without ADHD develop at different rates. The severity of ADHD will greatly impact certain parts of a child’s development but if we determine and focus on the child’s strengths and automatically remove focus from their struggles and limitations, which is the combination of identifying strengths and creating opportunities to succeed then the process will lead to success and happiness most of the

According to Foley (2010), children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were categorized into two groups with nine behaviors associated with each category of ADHD. Behaviors with the inattentive category include failing to pay attention, and making careless mistakes, difficulty keeping that attention, not following through or listening, difficulty organizing, low task persistence, easily distracted, forgetful and losing things. Behaviors associated with the category of hyperactivity include a child being out of their seat and fidgeting, running and climbing excessively,

My personal interested with ADHD is because my friend, Brittany, is diagnosed with it and she often talks about how it has affected her. I thought that I would be able to better understand her if I had gained more knowledge about how it affected her as a child, so I asked her a few questions in regard to her struggle with ADHD. Brittany explained to me that she sees ADHD as the inability to sit still or focus and having bursts of hyperactivity. Brittany experienced symptoms such as hyperactivity, lack of sleep, jitters, and inattentiveness. Her negative qualities of ADHD as a child were concentration in school, not being able to sit still in her seat for long periods of time, and sleeping. These negative qualities had affected her ability to learn.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a common mental disorder whose definition continues to change. Most clinicians make a diagnosis off of a list of symptoms in three categories: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. There are three different subtypes of ADHD: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Combined Type if both the inattentive criteria and the hyperactive/impulsive criteria have been present for the past six months; Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Predominantly Inattentive Type if the inattention criteria are met but the hyperactive/impulsive criteria has not been present for the past six months; and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive

There are three main types of ADHD. They are the primarily inattentive type, primarily hyperactive-impulsive type and the combined type. A child with the inattentive type fails to pay attention to details and gets easily distracted and tends to daydream on a day to day basis. On the other hand the hyperactive-impulsive type makes it hard for the child to stay still for long. Mostly this child would jump or climb things in inappropriate occasions. The most common type of ADHD is the combined type. This type is characterized by both impulsive behavior and hyperactivity, and inattention and distraction.

I would first take a closer look at my child and confirm if he exhibits all or some of the symptoms of ADHD. In most cases, children exhibit some of these symptoms, but in actuality, they are just being children. But once I understand and see that my child has some trouble remembering things, paying attention, and constantly says inappropriate things at odd times then it is time to visit the doctor for proper diagnoses of the child and for the doctor to run some tests to determine the truth to what the teacher said.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent disorders among school aged children. ADHD affects the child’s ability function in everyday situations which can lead to difficulties in the school setting. By knowing the characteristics of ADHD, one can assist the child in learning the appropriate coping skills to be a successful learner. One must consider the educational implication of ADHD on school aged children, and what supports are necessary for educational success. Taking the educational implications and needed supports into consideration, one can equip children with ADHD with the appropriate coping skills needs across all setting not only as a child, but also as an adult.

Now that the facts have been reveal, it is time to understand the symptoms and the types of ADHD of the child. According to Nazario, “Combine ADHD, Inattentive ADHD, and Hyper-Impulsive ADHD are the 3 types of ADHD” (Nazario). Combine ADHD involves all of the symptoms. Inattentive ADHD is marked by impaired attention and concentration. Finally Hyper-Impulsive ADHD is marked by hyperactivity without inattentiveness.