Chapter 16 Disorders Of Childhood And Adolescence Summary

I chose to read chapter 16, Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence, and focus on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The reason I wanted to read this chapter was because I hope to work with children after graduation. I love learning about how to understand children more and how to help them. ADHD is an extremely common disorder in preschool and school-aged children. About 11% of children from 4 years old to 17 years old have been diagnosed with ADHD and it is increasing (Sue, Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2016). I wanted to learn more about this disorder in order to have a better insight into those children’s lives.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is defined as a childhood disorder consisting of insistent attentional and behavioral

Hyperactive symptoms for this disorder include fidgeting, excessive loudness, and impatience. ADHD is strongly linked with the biological dimension due to its’ high heritability (Sue et al., 2016). There are several different hypotheses discussed in the chapter about the biology behind ADHD. Sue et al. (2016) discuss how brain structure abnormalities, functional anomalies, circuitry irregularities, and reduced neurotransmitters are the most common hypotheses about ADHD biological causes. Brain structures of children with ADHD have been seen to have smaller frontal lobes (Montauk & Mayhall, 2010 in Sue et al., 2016). Functional anomalies can include reduced inhibitory mechanisms in the prefrontal cortex and frontal lobe (Cubillo, Halari, Smith, Taylor, & Rubia, 2012; Montauk & Mayhall, 2010 in Sue et al., 2016). Additionally, neuroimaging has also shown that there is lower brain connectivity in regions of the brain associated with attention and goal-directed actions (Sripada et al., 2007 in Sue et al., 2016). Lower amounts of dopamine and GABA have been noticed in children with ADHD. Having lower dopamine and GABA levels mean that the signal flow to and from the frontal lobes would be weaker (Edden, Crocetti, Zhu,

Stimulant medication such as methylphenidate have been used for years to treat ADHD even though symptoms for 30% of ADHD diagnosed children do not improve. These 30% may also experience extreme side-effects from using the medication (Sue et al., 2016). Sue et al. (2016) write that this medication works by normalizing neurotransmitter functioning and increasing neurological activation in the frontal cortex. The increased use of stimulants has also increased the abuse of the medications (Sue et al., 2016). Due to the increase in medication abuse, other treatments are being explored. Behavioral and psychosocial treatments such as parent education, classroom management strategies, behavioral rewards, or self-management training have been highly effective for both short term and long term results (Verma, Balhara, & Mathur, 2011 in Sue et al., 2016). Changing social context and environments, such as adding exercise to their daily routine often help children with ADHD by helping increase motivation, increase self-efficiency, and decrease impulsivity (Gallichun & Curle, 2008; Pontifex, Saliba, Raine, Picchietti, & Hillman, 2013 in Sue et al., 2016). Many researchers say that focusing on behavioral and psychosocial treatments before medication is better for the well-being of the child. Medication can always be added to the other treatments if needed (Sue et al., 2016). Often in severe cases of ADHD medication is extremely necessary