How family environment, school environment and self concept of a child influence a normal child to have ADD/ADHD like symptoms?

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW1

Overview1

Attention-Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)2

ADHD and Cultural Influences4

Home Environment and ADHD7

The Child with ADHD and Parenting10

The Child with ADHD and Home Environment15

School Environment and ADHD19

Teacher Knowledge of ADHD22

Self-Concept and ADHD23

Past Literature about ADHD25

Summary36

REFERENCES39

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Overview

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common mental disorder in children (Barkley et al. 2002, 279). The diagnosis of ADHD has become more prevalent among children and adolescents in the past 15 years. According to Barkley et al. (2002), the estimated number of office-based physician visits resulting in a diagnosis of ADHD in children aged 5 to 18 years increased from 947,208 in 1990 to 3,234,180 in 1998. It is estimated that 3-5% of children have ADHD, or approximately 2 million children in the U.K. This means that in a classroom of 25 to 30 children, it is likely that at least one child who has ADHD (Barkley et al. 2002, 279).

ADHD is characterized by "persistent and developmentally inappropriate problems with attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity (Barkley et al. 2002, 279). It is the most frequently studied childhood disorder, and volumes of scientific evidence attest to the existence of the disorder (Barkley et al. 2002, 279). ADHD is a chronic, lifelong illness that "impacts an individual's educational, social, and occupational life" (Barkley et al. 2002, 279). Similarly to autism or Down syndrome, ADHD is considered a chronic disorder; one is never cured from ADHD. A person may be able to seek treatment and medication and have the ability to control the symptoms, but the person will never be able to get rid of ADHD permanently.

If ADHD is similar to other chronic disorders, then the impact on the family is most likely similar as well. Little research has been done on the impact that having a child with a chronic disorder has on the family. A few studies have been conducted on the amount of parental stress caused by having a child with ADHD, but the impact on the entire family has not been examined.

Most signs of ADHD begin to appear in children between the ages of 8 and 10 years (Bussing at al. 2005, 85). Many of these children have signs and symptoms prior to this age, but it is during this time of their life that ADHD becomes more noticeable and it begins causing an impediment in their school work. Clinically, age of onset for ADHD coincides with the middle childhood stage of life. Middle childhood refers to ages 8-12 years (Bussing at al. 2005, 85). During this phase of life, a child begins to go through many cognitive changes and advancements such as intellectual and language development, reasoning abilities, and memory capacity; children's bodies begin to prepare for puberty as well.

Attention-Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neuro-developmental disorder of childhood characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity, and ...