The ADHD Should Be Taken Seriously, Essay Example

Many individuals do not believe that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD, is not a real disease. These individuals contend that behavior is a consequence of an individual’s will rather than their biology. However, medical professionals have shown that that there is a relationship between genetics and ADHD, which supports the belief that the symptoms of this disease are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. Critics of the belief that ADHD is a real disease state that because these symptoms can be occasionally alleviated using counseling and other modification techniques, that it is not real. However, it is important to consider that these techniques treat the symptoms of ADHD and not the underlying cause. Furthermore, since medication designed to treat ADHD specifically targets the chemical imbalances that causes it, we can conclude that it is a real, biologically relevant, disease.

A popular, yet incorrect belief in society is that ADHD is not a real disease. However, the issue with ADHD in society is not that it is not a real disease. Rather, it is not well understood by a majority of people and as a consequence, many parents diagnose their children with the illness without consulting medical professionals. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 11% of children between the ages of 4 to 17 have this disorder. In the United States, this amounts to 6.4 million children (CDC, 2011). While it is possible that more children are diagnosed than have the disease, this does not mean that the disease does not exist. Instead, it is important for physicians to refine what qualifies as a diagnosis. Since many children can occasionally behave as if they are distracted, it is important to define when this behavior begins to interfere with their ability to live life normally. When this line is crossed, it would be appropriate to diagnose this child as having ADHD.

One of the major pieces of biological evidence that indicates that ADHD is a biological disorder is that brain imaging studies using PET scanners have shown that the brains of young children with and without ADHD is significantly different. Specifically, children with ADHD have less actions in the areas of the brain that control attention, social judgment, and movement (ADDitude Magazine, 2013). Therefore, there is a biological reason that explains why these children are less able to control their actions. In addition, to this evidence, scientists have shown that children with ADHD have lower levels of a neurotransmitter called dopamine in their brains. Dopamine is responsible for controlling many of the brain processes that these children are lacking, so there is a clear connection between the chemistry of the disease and its biological impact.

One of the major methods of treatment that are used for children with ADHD is counseling. The goal of counseling is to modify the behaviors of the individuals that are not able to control their actions. Typically, counseling is successful, although biological reasons for this are not currently known. However, it is evident that those who do not believe that ADHD is a real disease claim that this is the case because counseling is occasionally sufficient to modify these distracted behaviors. Scientists argue that counseling does not effectively reverse the biological and chemical modifications that exist in the brains of children with this disease. Furthermore, these children are required to put more effort in to ensure that their behaviors are appropriate for school and other settings. When they are unable to achieve this using counseling on their own, they are often prescribed medication to increase their levels of dopamine, thereby increasing the speed of the affected parts of the brain.

If we are unable to classify ADHD as a real disease, we will not be able to help school aged children with these symptoms appropriately. Regardless of whether it is real or not, it is a real problem that prevents many children across a variety of age levels from learning the material that is expected of them. As a consequence, many of these children are forced to attend summer school or repeat a grade. This is unfortunate because this is completely preventable if we are able to recognize that a problem exists and to provide these children with the resources necessary to allow them to succeed.

According to ADD/ADHD Alternatives in the Classroom by Thomas Armstrong, it is important for teachers to search for educational alternatives for the children that cannot sit still in class. It is important for them to make their work seem more exciting and fit along with their personality, whether they have ADHD or are just easily excitable. A specific suggestion that he provides is that teachers can have their students learn “spelling words by having kids jump up out of their seats on the vowels and sit down on the consonants” (Armstrong, 1999). While this is ideal for younger students, it is possible to modify lessons so that age appropriate plans can be developed for these students.

While it is important to diversify learning so that students with attention problems can learn, it is necessary to first identify this as being a problem and deciding which students would benefit from these educational interventions. For example, if many students in a school are having these issues, it may be beneficial to move them to a smaller class or a class with more than one teacher so that they can all receive the attention that they need. If it is found that students without attention problems do not benefit from these modified teaching methods, this type of new group setting would become essential. However, if educators are unable to identify the unique needs of their students because of the belief that ADHD is not a real disease, they will be hindered from being able to help the students that fall into this category.

In conclusion, ADHD can be considered to be a real disease and there is medical consensus to prove this. Children with ADHD have been shown to have a physically and chemically altered brain, and benefit from both counseling and medicine. Therefore, there is a need to understand that this is a real disease in the field of education so that teachers can make strides to help this particular group of students. It’s important to emphasize that these individuals are not the same as other students and traditional teaching strategies will not benefit them. Therefore, we must inform others of the realness of the disease so that we can make changes that will help these children gain the skills that they need to be successful in their future.

References

ADDitude Magazine. (2013). ADHD Biological Disorder. Retrieved from http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/669.html

Armstrong T. (1999). ADD/ADHD Alternatives in the Classroom. Retrieved from  http://www.ascd.org/Publications/Books/Overview/ADD-ADHD-Alternatives-in-the-Classroom.aspx

CDC. (2011). Data and Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html