Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
People diagnosed as having
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,
A.D.H.D.,
Attention Deficit Disorder,
A.D.D.,
Attention Problems or
Short or Poor Attention Span.
Are described as
Easily Distracted,
Distractible,
having Disinhibition Disorder, and/or
Underfocused Attention.
"One of the most essential prerequisites for advanced mental activity and successful adaptation to the environment is the capacity for the flexible interplay between concentration and distractibility. This is undoubtedly one of the most difficult skills to master, and the directive to 'pay attention' is ubiquitous in the education of children. Adequate attentional mechanisms develop late; children have short attention spans and can be distracted easily. It is therefore reasonable to expect that developmental attentional delays would be among the most common disturbances of childhood. In some cases, such attentional disturbances are extreme ... "
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
The most current terminology is A.D.H.D. (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). It is discussed as being "with or without hyperactivity."
Students with A.D.H.D. (or A.D.D.) are easily sidetracked. They find it hard to focus. Concentration is hard to maintain. It is sometimes hard to break focus. The same student often experiences both of these patterns at different times, unable to remain focused when that is appropriate and unable to move easily from one task to another when that is required. Students with A.D.H.D. or A.D.D. are often described as daydreamers. The student who can't stay focused on a task is easily identified. The student who has trouble changing focus may be harder to identify. One may see only a balky, reluctant behavior pattern. It is easy to assume this balkiness is discretionary behavior.
Children and adults with A.D.H.D. or A.D.D. may seem to procrastinate. It would be important to understand that these individuals get off the track, and they don't get things done because they get off track. This pattern is very different from a pattern of true procrastination. Procrastination is a purposeful avoidance.
A.D.D. was often discussed with Hyperactivity; the newer designation of A.D.H.D. is usually followed by "without hyperactivity," if that is the case. Much of the discussion in this section and the section on Hyperactivity may be relevant to a given student because many people are Hyperactive and have attention problems and vice versa. The concepts in the two sections should be reviewed together.
Problems in the control of attention could result from deficiencies in the regulation of the central nervous system, which could produce distractibility, failure to sustain attention to a task, inability to plan actions, and a diminished attention span.
Many specialists in the field feel distractibility can exist without any other information management (or learning disability) problem. These specialists assert A.D.H.D. or A.D.D. can exist without any problem in the acquisition of skills. We do not agree. We believe that attention problems by definition cause children and adults to miss some of the relevant information available in the surround. Children and adults with A.D.H.D. or A.D.D. may be performing adequately but not at a level congruent with intellect. We see that as a problem. The information that is missed because of attention problems would help them perform more efficiently, closer to a level congruent with intellect.
Identifying ADHD
If the student has been called distractible or diagnosed as suffering from A.D.H.D. or A.D.D., it would be helpful if your specialist were able to isolate what kinds of tasks the student is most easily distracted from (it may not be all tasks) and by what kinds of distractions (it may not be everything).
Knowing more about the quality of the student's attentional pattern, ignoring whether or not it is a "problem," can help you develop an environment in which the student learns effectively. Is the student more likely to miss visual or auditory detail? Is the opposite true? Patterns of inattention exist in varying degrees in us all. They can be significant enough (if not to the point of being considered a deficit) that knowing about them is very important.
A significant number of individuals with A.D.H.D. or A.D.D. are especially sensitive to touch. They might find the usual embrace or hug intolerable. This sometimes causes strained social situations to worsen. It is important to know that heightened responses to sensation are real.
Sometimes medication is prescribed to enhance a student's ability to focus or maintain attention. Stimulant medications are often used. The use of a stimulant drug for the student who cannot direct or control attention seems very strange. Stimulants for a student who already seems over stimulated seem strange, too. Stimulants for students who are hyperactive seem even more bizarre. Amphetamines are among the most frequently prescribed stimulants. If you are interested in the medications used for A.D.H.D. or A.D.D. please refer to Appendix II.
It has been thought that stimulant medications were useful only with children. In recent years the use of stimulant medication for adults with A.D.H.D. or A.D.D. has become more common. The possible potential improvement in academic performance when one can finally focus one's attention seems obvious. The positive impact stimulant medications can produce for children and for adults with Information Processing Dysfunctions often extends beyond academic situations. Social behaviors can also improve dramatically.
Teenagers and adults with A.D.H.D. or A.D.D. seem especially vulnerable to addiction to alcohol and to street drugs. One should consider that the person with attention problems might be attempting to self-medicate with these substances. These experiments with street drugs may have had more to do with improving cognitive function than with achieving the "highs" usually associated with addiction. Consultation with a physician who has experience with children or adults who have A.D.H.D. or A.D.D. is worthwhile; in this way some may avoid adult addiction.
Biofeedback, relaxation techniques, meditation and hypnosis are all used to lessen the stresses of A.D.H.D. or A.D.D.
Marcel Kinsbourne, M.D., has said, "Although current evaluation instruments do capture aspects of the child's attention deficit (he/she is impulsive, inattentive) and typical out-of-line behavior (cannot stay seated, etc.), they fail to capture the cumulative effects such as the souring of relationships in the family, the parents' self-blame, the child's growing expectation of failure, the siblings' feeling that they are neglected and their resentment over what they perceive as a double-standard in limit setting in favor of the ADHD brother or sister."
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