ADHD- These letters stand for "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It is defined by Dr. Thomas Brown as "a neurobiological disorder that is characterized by inappropriate levels of inattention, impulsivity, and for some, hyperactivity." In other words, it starts in the BRAIN. It is an actual disorder in which chemicals in the brain are not doing what they are supposed to be doing. PET scans actually show significant differences in the brain function and activity of a person with ADHD and a person who does not have the disorder. You may be surprised to learn that the brain of people with ADHD is actually performing less activity than the brain of their "normal" counterparts. But people with ADHD are so active you say... some of them are, and what is really happening is these people are trying to cope; they daydream, fidget, squirm, all in attempts to activate areas of the brain that are not functioning properly, or at all.
ADHD deals largely with a neurological concept called executive function. Executive function is like the "conductor" of the orchestra. It tells all the other parts of the brain what to do and when. In adults and children with ADHD, the executive function of the brain is malfunctioning, or ceasing to operate altogether. Picture an orchestra with no conductor. The flutes are playing one melody while the clarinet pipes out another. Meanwhile the drums are playing faster than the saxophones, which are playing slower than the tubas. It's musical chaos, pain to the eardrums, and by no means a musical performance you'd like to hear. This is what the brain of someone with ADHD is like. Take myself for example. While I'm cooking supper, trying to figure out what to add to the pan I'm frying pork chops in, I'm also thinking about what I taught in math this morning, what Johnny and Sue were arguing about, how I forgot to get milk at the store, what I might see on tonight's episode of Bones, AND that I still have to take a shower. I'm thinking these things ALL at the SAME time. I can't just focus on one thing at a time. It's like I'm thinking about everything at once. That's what a deficit in executive function will do to you. It makes it difficult to focus on just one task at a time and give all your energy to it. I'll talk more about specific problems that are associated with executive function later. First of all, let's look at the three categories, if you will, of ADHD.
**ADHD Predominately Inattentive- this person experiences more difficulty in the area of attentiveness, meaning he/she
- doesn't pay attention to details, and often makes careless mistakes
- has a hard time "staying on task"
- seems like he or she doesn't listen
- doesn't complete tasks that are started
- is disorganized
- avoids work
- loses things
- is easily distracted
- is forgetful
** ADHD Predominately Hyperactive/Impulsive - this person exhibits major difficulties in experiencing hyperactivity and impulsivity, meaning he/she
- often can't sit still- is fidgety or squirms
- runs or climbs, is always moving
- has difficulty playing quietly (this doesn't mean impossible)
- acts as if "driven by a motor"
- Talks a lot and often loudly
- shouts out frequently
- can't seem to wait his/her turn
- interrupts or pushes way into conversations
- is reactionary - IE acts before thinking of results, think of running into the road without looking
** ADHD Combined- this one is obvious; this person experiences symptoms of both ADHD Inattentive and ADHD Hyperactive/Impulsive.
Ok, so that is your introduction in to the world of ADHD. I have given you a fairly working definition and some basic symptoms of the disorder. Is it starting to sound like a student or adult you know? I'm sure at least one comes to mind. ADHD is much more prevalent that you may think. Right now, I have not one, but 4 students in my class who have the condition. It's something to think about...
In my next installment I will discuss more in detail about some of the things that your students with ADHD have going on in their head, so you can really understand what they are battling each and every day in their lives, and hopefully this will help you to understand why coping in the regular classroom is such a tremendous job for them.
I want to give some acknowledgements about this and future installments. The information I am delivering to you has come from a variety of sources. A great deal of it came from an organization called CHADD, which I encourage you to check out on your own. I credit the book CHADD Educator's Manual on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Dr. Mabe at Georgia Regents' University, my son's private doctors, and my own ongoing research and experiences, all of which help me learn more and more about this complex condition, in order that I may share it with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment