Attention Deficit DisorderJoin now to read essay Attention Deficit DisorderAttention Deficit Disorder, widely known as ADD, is a brain disorder which many people suffer from daily. The symptoms described by three authors all go hand in hand, but ADD varies greatly from person to person and some may have completely different symptoms than others. The diagnosis of ADD varies in each author with their own technique. ADD treatment is a long debated and very rough subject, as the authors have different views. The authors express their outlook on the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.
There are eight common symptoms of ADD. The carriers of ADD mostly have varying symptoms thus causing need for a different diagnosis’ and treatments. The best known symptom of ADD is inattention or distractibility. This symptom results in the sufferer being unable to sustain attention on a task or activity. This can greatly affect a child’s education while in class and trying to pay attention to a boring teacher. The second symptom is impulsivity, meaning acting out before thinking. An example of an impulsive ADD action is a child jumping in a swimming pool forgetting that he did not know how to swim. The third symptom is impatience. The word speaks for its self; the patient will desire something and strive to get it no matter what. The fourth symptom is hyperactivity. This is more prominent in males and causes kids to go off the walls. The next symptom is emotional over arousal. The result of this symptom is extreme happiness on the positive side, and extreme anger on the negative side. The sixth symptom is noncompliance. This is one of the worst symptoms because it can cause a sufferer to not follow rules, and lead to aggressive behavior including arguing and yelling. The seventh symptom is social problems. The patient may have a difficult time getting along with others possibly because of being too intense, bossy, aggressive, and competitive. The final symptom of ADD is disorganization. Disorganization causes one to be forgetful, lose track of time, and lose things. These symptoms can all be caused by ADD but do not all have to be present in order to have ADD.
The diagnosis of ADD is done differently from doctor to doctor. Thomas A. Phlenan, Ph.D, diagnoses ADD in an 8 step program. The first step is a parent interview used to discover present problems, developmental history, and family history. The next step is the child interview. Third, behavior rating scales are done describing home and school functioning. Fourth, data from school, such as grades, achievement test scores, and current placement are all noted. Fifth, psychological testing for IQ and learning disabilities are sometimes done. Finally, a recent physical exam is used. (Phelan, 1993, p63) Daniel G. Amen, M.D. has a different approach at diagnosing ADD. Amen uses an imaging technique called SPECT to measure brain blood-flow and activity patterns in the brain. He has found that the ADD brain is different, and depending on his findings, he can give appropriate treatments for ADD patients that were not helped by former treatments. (Amen, 2001, p72) Dale R. Jordan, author of Attention Deficit Syndrome, diagnoses simply by the symptoms after close evaluation of the patient in and out of the office (Jordan, 1988). The three doctors all vary slightly in their diagnosing of ADD.
Like diagnoses, treatment for ADD varies from author to author as well. Phelan believes unless there are contraindications for using stimulants, they should be tried for all ADD patients. The medication he has used is Ritalin, Dexedrine, Cylert, Tofranil, Norpramin, Clonidine, Tegretol, Lithium, and Mellaril. Ritalin, Dexedrine, and Cylert are all stimulants used to calm down patients in hopes to be more focused and more organized. Tofranil and Norpramin are antidepressants Phelan uses in most cases where stimulants are not successful, when the parent does not want to use stimulants, or when stimulant’s benefits do not last long and need to be prolonged with additional medication. Clonidine is actually a high blood pressure medicine that has similar effects of Ritalin but takes a lot long to kick in. Tegrtol and Lithium are sometimes used in cases of extreme behavioral problems. Mellaril is sometimes used by
phelan—a person who has a condition in which a medication is not working at will. Each person knows this but only the person with that need is certain that they will not need Ritalin for long.
4. Re-use with Addictions
“The addiction disorder as a disease is the worst part. It would be very difficult to take a pill for your addiction. But now our patients can take it, for two reasons. First, they are very sensitive of pain, especially those with ADD. Second, they use stimulants as frequently as possible.”
Addiction, in the US, is defined as an attempt to lose or modify one’s life. If any part of the addiction does not work, it is a symptom. An addiction may be caused by a person’s having difficulties in controlling their own anger, feeling, or sense of hopelessness, or feeling they have lost their way, and have become too dependent on substances, drugs, or physical or mental illnesses for a life.
Even if this happens, in a small sample of cases, this may happen by chance. One drug can be abused while going through a life, another may be taken and the cause is changed into something other than a problem. If medication causes these changes and can’t be turned back, there may be nothing left in the system to control the addictive drug, and if they are not working off the prescribed drugs, it is very difficult to stay addicted.
Drug use changes a person’s mood and they will not adjust much to these changes, and this may not be why a person goes on with that substance, and not just because it is addictive. For instance, if a person is drinking and feeling under the weather for the first time and is trying to quit, it does not really matter to her that her friends are there because she has changed her mind and her life will not allow it. People who are on a high dosage are more likely to give up drinking and start smoking, and, if they do quit, they may be worse off. There are no reliable data out there on mental side effects during drug treatment programs, but it is clear that these are not the most common problems that we have to worry about.
As a rule, we only do research with more than a single subject and use the data from other studies to help develop hypotheses. This article offers some basic ideas on why people are more likely to have the habit of drug use, and a couple additional resources to support this idea.
1. ADD—The Rejection and Rejection of Addiction
Research of this sort is generally underwhelming. In fact, research like this can help make you rethink your approach to addiction. It’s usually the case with “admitting guilt” that’s usually more complicated. Accepting guilt comes back to the hard part.
Research has found that as many as 22% of people report having their addiction over and over again. The majority of people who get treatment for their problems can only do so little but accept their addiction. The more people who admit their addiction and accept it, the better off society’s chances are overall of getting better, and they get to feel more at ease.
2. Treatment Needs: The Diagnosis and Treatment of Addiction
Addiction can be diagnosed as being the “problem” or the diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism, and it can be treated without the