Adhd

Should ADHD be seen as a psychiatric disorder?

ADHD is a psychiatric disorder that stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. Kidshealth.org defines ADHD as “a disorder that causes children, typically ages 3-17 years of age to struggle with focusing and making impulsive decisions,” (1). According to research found on webmd.com, the symptoms of ADHD are categorized into three separate groups: Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity (1). Knowledge stemming from personal experience has shown that ADHD and its symptoms can affect a child/teenager in a social, academic, and professional sense.

The first of the three symptoms is inattention. On webmd.com, the research and explanations all boil down to having a problem with focusing (1). For example, children/teens tend to suffer with procrastination, due to the fact that they forget details and daily routines. These problems, amongst others such as disorganization, and carelessness affect children in an academic sense more than the others. Procrastinating to do homework assignments, lack of focus during lectures, tendencies to forget major details, and making careless simple mistakes are just some of the ways one can be affected academically. Overall, the lack of focus is what has the most impact on a child/teen that has been diagnosed with ADHD.

Next we have hyperactivity, which is basically described as being “on the go” (1). The hyperactivity aspect of this disorder seems to affect younger children the most. Younger children seem to fidget and squirm when they are in any situation that requires them to sit still. The struggle of having to stay in constant motion affects children and teens to a certain degree due to the fact that ADHD changes in different settings. For example, kids and teens with ADHD would get up and walk around, back, and forth just to keep themselves in motion. Hyperactivity in this disorder also includes the habit of talking excessively. Children in school who have been...