Attention Deficit Disorder
Introduction
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is a neurological disorder that causes a range of behavior problems such as difficulty attending to instruction, focusing on schoolwork, keeping up with assignments, following instructions, completing tasks and social interaction.
There are many people that have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) which is different from ADD. Children with the other two presentations of ADHD, for example, tend to act out or exhibit behavior problems in class. Children with ADD are generally not disruptive in school. They may even sit in class quietly, but that doesn't mean their disorder isn't a problem and that they're not struggling to focus. In addition, not all children with ADD are alike.
There are studies that say 3 to 5% of children have an ADHD; boys are three times as likely as girls to be affected and ADHD touches people of all ages (including adults).
Common characteristics
Children with ADD without the hyperactivity component may appear to be bored or disinterested in classroom activities. They may be prone to daydreaming or forgetfulness, work at a slow pace and turn in incomplete work.
Their assignment may look disorganized as well as their desks and locker spaces. They may lose materials at school and at home or misplace schoolwork and fail to turn in assignments. This can frustrate teachers, parents and result in the child earning poor marks in class. Behavior intervention may counter the child's forgetfulness.
Treatment
ADD is sometimes treated with stimulant medications such as Ritalin. In some cases, stimulant medications can help students with ADD stay on-task and focused. However, some stimulant medications have been associated with serious side effects. As a result, many parents hesitate to use Ritalin, Adderall or other medications to treat ADD.
Whether or not parents choose to medicate their children, most physicians and child psychologists suggest that a behavior intervention plan should be developed to help teach kids adaptive behavior skills and reduce off-task and inattentive behaviors.
This may be even more helpful than drug use, especially because some students diagnosed with ADD or ADHD actually don't have these conditions but behave as if they do due to personal or family problems. Behavior intervention plans can help students with problem behaviors, whether they actually have ADD or exhibit ADD-like behaviors. And this is important because there are kids that are diagnosed with ADHD when they don’t have it. And there are adults that have ADD that have no clued because this disorder was a taboo some years ago. The same way that ADD or ADHD affects kids at school and in their relationships, it affects adults in their work and in their relationships.
Consequences
A cruel consequence of ADHD is the tendency towards low self-esteem. Not being able to sit still, to wait your turn, to control your ability to focus – all these things make children stand out in a crowd when they don't want to. In addition, most of these children have great difficulty in reading the same social clues that most children learn automatically, so they may inadvertently appear disastrous or “weird”. These children also are at greater risk for having additional psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and conduct disorder (a tendency to be chronically disruptive, disobedient, often aggressive).
As adults, they are at a greater risk for divorce, job conflict and suicide than the general population. Approximately 50% of the children that have ADHD will carry significant challenges into adulthood.
As adults, they are at a greater risk for divorce, job conflict and suicide than the general population. Approximately 50% of the children that have ADHD will carry significant challenges into adulthood.
However, these children can be very creative, and evolve into highly accomplished adults. Perhaps because their thoughts tend to jump around more than most, they tend to approach problems in unique ways. In fact, Mozart, Einstein and Edison are suspected by many of having an attention disorder. It is important, as well, to realize that the intellectual potential of these children is no different from that of the rest of the general population.
Workplace Issues
1.Distractibility: Problems with external distractibility (noises and movement in the surrounding environment) and internal distractibility (daydreams) can be the biggest challenge for adults with ADHD.
2. Impulsivity: Adults with ADHD may struggle with impulsivity and temper outbursts in the workplace.
3. Hyperactivity: Adults with the hyperactive presentation of ADHD often do better in jobs that allow a great deal of movement, such as sales.
4. Poor Memory: Failing to remember deadlines and other responsibilities can antagonize coworkers, especially when working on a team.
5. Boredom-blackouts. Because of their strong need for stimulation, some adults with ADHD become easily bored at work, especially with detailed paperwork and routine tasks.
6. Time management difficulties: Managing time can be a big challenge for adults with ADHD.
7. Procrastination: Putting things off not only prevents completion of tasks, but also creates problems for others on the team, or, for example, little home tasks like clean the house.
8. Difficulty managing long-term projects: Managing complex or long-term projects may be the hardest organizational challenge for adults with ADHD. Managing projects requires a range of skills, including time management, organizing materials, tracking progress, and communicating accomplishments.
9. Interpersonal/social skill issues: Individuals with ADHD may unintentionally offend co-workers by interrupting frequently, talking too much, being too blunt, or not listening well.
My experience
(conclusion)
I myself have ADD which was diagnosed when I was 12 years old. It was diagnosed by my psychologist and she send me to my psychiatric where it was explained to me what this disorder was. First, she told me that it is important to know that it is not a big deal, it is a barrier that I can turn around. Then she explains to me that basically I have assistants in my brain that when I sleep, they save all the information that I gain during the day. Those assistants are very distracted and when they carry the boxes with the information to save them in the right place, they mix up the boxes and lose some information on the way to save the boxes.
After this she told me I could use medication but that the medication wouldn’t work if I didn’t make an effort.
Once I started to use medication my grades increase in a significant way, I started to pay more attention to myself and forced to be focused on school, when I studied, in conversations at home, etc. When I forget to take the medication for one day, in that day I’m worry all the time to see if I’m paying attention or not.
I mostly choose this theme for this blogpost because I wanted to share my experience and at the end of the paper I feel better because I see that I’m not alone with this disorder, that there are important people who also have this issues and most important, I feel that by sharing this paper there is someone that would feel exactly the same as I do.
References
Sara Ribeiro Azevedo, nº8762
Global Marketing - IPAM
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