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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder in children. Children with ADHD have great difficulty with tasks that involve sitting still and paying attention. The symptoms of ADHD are divided into two behavioral categories, inattention and hyperactivity or impulsiveness. Some children have symptoms of both types. And other children have mostly one type and not the other. Individuals with symptoms of inattention have trouble concentrating and finishing school assignments. They are easily distracted, and often forgetful. Children with symptoms of hyperactivity fidget and talk excessively. They have trouble waiting their turn. ADHD symptoms are distinct from normal childhood energy. The behaviors of children with ADHD are extreme compared with those of other children of the same age. The behaviors also cause significant problems at home and at school. About 3 to 5 percent of school-age children in the United States are thought to have ADHD. This means for a classroom of 20 to 30 students, on average there is one child with ADHD. Boys are four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ADHD
Last semester for a few weeks I was observing a third and fourth grade special education class. It had been a very rewarding experience. I saw and worked with all different types of children and got to talk to the paras and the teacher about what it’s like to work everyday with these special needs children. All the kids leave at different times because of the buses and things like that so one day, at the end of the day the teacher asked me if I wanted to sit with a kid named James and try to help him out with his math. He often seemed very distracted always squirming in his seat and sometimes acted out. These were clearly signs of ADHD. So everyday for two weeks I was sitting with James and helping him out. He is really a very bright child he knows all of the answers. Sometimes he will blurt them out before im even done asking the question. You have to have a lot of patience working with kids like this but they can really understand and learn new things. I think that maybe one day I might want to become a special education teacher. Working with James and the other children has really been a great experience

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