ADHD Flashcards
Dr. Heinrich Hoffman
- First described ADHD in 1845
- Was a physician who wrote books about medicine and psychiatry, but was also a poet that became interested in writing books for children when he couldn’t find anything suitable to read to his three year old son.
- He wrote a book full of poems called “The Story of Fidgety Philip” which was about a little boy who had ADHD.
- The book had accurate descriptions
George Still
- 1902 London physician that identified ADHD.
- He described the group as having an average intelligence level but exhibiting impulsivity, behavioral problems, inattention, and hyperactivity that was resulted from a genetic dysfunction.
- He characterized this group as having a “defective moral conduct”
What did the 1930’s mark?
Marked the beginning of childhood psycho-pharmacology when researchers found that certain medications had a calming effect on these individuals
Werner and Strauss
- Came up with a term in the 1940’s called ‘Strauss Syndrome’ which referred to children who had high levels of distractibility and hyperactivity
- They found that hyperactivity and impulsivity affected cognitive development, however, they had only completed investigations on children that had a brain injury
Cruickshank and colleagues
In the 1950’s they replicated and extended findings from Werner and Strauss and found a link between attention and learning problems
Minimal brain injury term
- In the 1950’s and 1960’s this term was used to label those who were considered distractible and impulsive and that it was not related to neurological disorders.
- However, this term was not used for long because there was no evidence that any brain tissue was actually damaged
1960’s
Gave way to the golden age of hyperactivity and a new label, “hyperactive child syndrome”
1980’s
When the term ADHD was coined and focused on the inattention component
Neurodevelopmental disorder
Persistent or on-going pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that gets in the way of daily life or typical development
Children with ADHD have difficulties with
- Maintaining attention
- Executive function
- Working memory
What we know about ADHD now
-It is considered to be a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects both children and adults.
Described as “persistent” or on-going pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that gets in the way of daily life or typical development
Individuals with ADHD may also have difficulties with
Maintaining attention, executive function (or the brain’s ability to begin an activity, organize itself and manage tasks) and working memory
ADHD is one of the most common
Behavioral conditions seen as pediatricians
How many school aged students have ADHD
3-5%
How many children have ADHD in numbers
Around 2 million
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has three presentations
- Hyperactive-impulsive
- Inattentive
- Combined inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive
ADHD is based on
- Observations of behaviors that children would exhibit in excess which is key.
- When compared to other same-aged children, they would not exhibit these behaviors to the same degree
Inattentive characteristics
- Careless mistakes
- Inability to focus.
- Inability to listen when spoken to directly.
- Inability to complete tasks.
- Poor organization.
- Avoids time-consuming tasks.
- Loses things.
- Easily distracted.
- Forgetful
Children with ADHD-inattentive
- These children usually don’t cause disruptive behaviors and don’t cause problems for teachers.
- They have a poor eye for detail, very disorganized, has a difficulty with maintaining attention, gets distracted very easily, and can be impulsive
Hyperactive characteristics
- Fidgets or squirms in their seat
- Gets up frequently.
- Runs or climbs when inappropriate.
- Difficulty working quietly.
- Often on the go, or “driven by a motor.”
- Talks excessively
Impulsivity characteristics
- Blurts out answers before questions are asked.
- Trouble taking turns.
- Interrupts, or intrudes on others
Neurological Dysfunction
- Anatomical differences in brain structure.
- Imbalances in brain chemistry.
- Executive functions
ADHD is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder
- Has a neurological basis and effects development in many ways.
- There are anatomical differences and how they operate differently in someone who has ADHD
Neurotransmitters
- The chemicals that transport information between neurons.
- The brain has hundreds of different neurotransmitters and they are responsible for everything from sleep, heart rate, to fear and anxiety, to mood and temperature.
- Some of the neurotransmitters are often related to ADHD and dopamine and norepinephrine because they are responsible for attention and activity
