Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Case Studies Example

Psychology

The difference between a child with ADHD, hyperactive-impulsive type and one who is overly rambunctious for his age is that the child with ADHD will display severe symptoms of being predominantly inattentive and as a result is not focused, sometimes forgetful, disorganized and disruptive at times. The child who is overly rambunctious would not frequently display the same symptoms. It is normal for a child to become bored, fidget and run about, because they get bored easily and are unaware of how to keep focused, but that is considered normal behavior for children. The children who are not motivated to pay attention is also an example of a child who gets bored easily, they are unable to pay attention to mundane tasks, but if they are concentrating on something that they like, then they are completely focused and will remember everything.
For a child with ADHD, the behaviors that would be present are inattentiveness, fidgeting, inability to focus, distraction, disruptive behavior and impulsiveness, defiance to opposition, conduct disorder, mild development, or learning disability, disruptive behavior. None of these symptoms should pose a problem with, or impair the child’s ability to learn. Because other disorders are mistaken for ADHD, I would pay close attention to, in addition to the symptoms of ADHD, the child’s general adaptive and intellectual behavior, academic performance, level of hostility and aggression, the quality of the child’s interpersonal relationships, social and judgment skills, in order to distinguish one disorder from another (Kearney, 1999).
ADHD is prevalent among children, before now, people were not aware of the reasons why their children acted out, but with research and diagnoses, they are now being made aware. I would want to avoid checking on any of the symptoms that would present a misdiagnosis of ADHD. I would check only on symptoms that were unique to ADHD. I think that there is a real difference, because the expectations that we have for boys are somewhat different than it is for girls. The expectations should not affect the boys so severely that they begin to act out in that extreme manner. The differences in socialization that would explain the symptoms would be the fact that boys were grown to be the stronger sex and so the pressure may cause them to act out in certain ways.
The best way to assess a child who suffered from ADHD would be to first observe and note certain disruptive and inattentive behaviors, rule out the behaviors that would not stem from ADHD and do testing for academic and other variables to come to a conclusion. If I were examining a child through a one-way mirror for ADHD, I would look for inattention, lack of focus, disruptive behavior, if the child was distracting others, not learning at the level they are supposed to, memory loss and the inability to focus and get chores, assignments or school work done.
I think that if it is a severe case of ADHD, the child can be medicated within reason, but if it is just certain behaviors that categorize the disorder, then certain rules could be put in place to modify the child’s behavior. Medication is not usually a good idea for children, even though they can derive benefits from medication. Some of these benefits are: being able to do the activities that they were not able to do previously, such as focusing, paying attention, giving other children the chance to learn and alleviating the stress of the caregiver and teachers. They can also become dependent on medication and begin to feel that they are not able to function without it. Children are placed on medication for extended periods because of two reasons: they have a severe case of ADHD and the caregivers and sometimes teachers are not tolerant of their behavior and are seeking an easy solution. In order for the other children to receive an undisturbed education, it may be a good idea to teach the child who suffers from ADHD in a different, more controlled environment.
In teaching a child who has ADHD, I would prepare a structured lesson plan that included firm discipline, rewards for good behavior, frequent monitoring and therapy to avoid the use of medication. This is of course dependent on the severity of the disorder. If the teacher refused to assist, I would involve the caregivers, a therapist and some of the sufferers’ peers to help me to implement and stick to my treatment plan. The peers would be able to assist in the school setting.

References

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. (5th ed.). (2013). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association. 
Kearney, C. (2013). Casebook in child behavior disorders (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.