ADHD Vs. Average Children
Nicole
Mrs. Rogers
English Honors II
2 April, 2012
Success in Children and Adults with ADHD/ ADD vs. Average Children
It is easy to peek into the average classroom and make assumptions of the students such as motivated, creative, organized, and sometimes lazy but they usually do not take the time to figure out why. Many people look at the distracted child and see them as "lazy", but what many do not know is that a small number of these children are effected with either ADHD or ADD. To be exact, ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder which is a common childhood disorder. It can be difficult disorder to diagnose and even harder to understand. Attention Deficit Disorder, also known as ADD has much to do with ADHD, with …show more content…
the difference being that children with ADD usually have less hyper activity then those with ADHD. Due to the challenges these children face, struggles in school, jobs, and relationships all come with daily concerns.
Not to mention that students with ADHD compared to students without ADHD had “persistent academic difficulties that resulted in the following: lower average marks, more failed grades, more expulsions, increased dropout rates, and a lower rate of college undergraduate completion”(Brookers). Because of the inability to pay attention in classes things happen to their success such as grades dropping, classes become harder to pass, and grades end up being failed. Once a negative chain of effects have affected a student dramatically, it becomes practically impossible to dig out of the pit of failure. Adam Moore is the father of a 15 year old and mentions, “his self-esteem is at the lowest after being told not to bother with exams because he will fail”(American Psychiatric Association). This is one example of the many failures children with ADHD/ADD may encounter in schooling throughout their lives.
Once submerging so deeply into failure, it begins to affect not only grades, but emotions. “Young children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are roughly four times more likely than their peers to become depressed” (Gardner) due to the continuing emotional stress. With failure surrounding a child that is trying very hard, it is “easy to become depressed before the age of 7” (Nakaya), causing more issues as the child becomes older. Around “72% of teenagers with AHDH/ADD try to forget their daily struggles with toxic substances such as alcohol or drugs” (Ford-Martin et al), only causing even more bodily harm both physically and emotionally. After such a long struggle to become proud of themselves, emotions become damaged that will never be able to be healed.
To an average child, waking up in the morning is a simple task, but to a child with ADHD/ADD, it is not rare for the child to wake up with worries about such emotional harm with their attention disability. Although it varies throughout different children, “the average attention span of a child is 10-15 minutes”(Davidson). With this advantage, “the human brain can gather three times more information than a child with ADHD/ADD” (Nakaya). Tish Davidson believes that “it is easy to become successful and breeze past the level of children with ADD/ADHD” (Davidson). By doing so, it lowers the success rate of anyone with this disease and can affect them to live in less luxury than of a person without the disease. Simple benefits such as organization and focus can push an average child very far ahead of his other classmates.
In addition, most classrooms have items that help “enhance learning with techniques such as color, images and even movement” (Willus). For many children, these techniques grab attention for a small amount of time, enough for the information to be remembered, but is not so enhanced that it causes total distraction. A simple task such as looking away from a colorful poster is easy to accomplish without becoming distracted from a lesson, but children with ADHD/ADD cannot do the same. Small distractions like “colorful poster[s] can ruin the entire learning period for an easily distracted child”(Brookers). Many classrooms are also very formal, meaning there are seats to be seated in for a long period of time, desks to be organized, and papers to be kept neat. For a typical child, these techniques will help with keeping focused but for an affected child, it is a set up for failure. When someone has ADHD/ADD, “staying still is a very hard task”(American Psychiatric Association). Desks stand in the way for free movement, seats are nearly impossible to stay still in, and papers are a good tool for the number one distraction, drawing. All of these factors that would improve a typical child’s success can ruin a chance at success for a child with ADHD/ADD.
As you may know, the main point of school is to prepare you for jobs, but ADHD/ADD will always continue to follow the affected person. Up to “50% of children with ADHD/ADD grow up and still live with it”(Davidson). Life will always continue, regardless of what diseases someone may live with. As life progresses, bigger things come up such as jobs. Jobs are tricky to get to begin with, but it is even harder when your work background is not the best. With little success in many years of schooling, most jobs will pass by the opportunity to hire a student with low grades. When a professional job hires clients, they typically look for someone with a high GPA. Unfortunately, “graduated children with ADHD/ADD average about a 1.7-2.8 GPA” (Nakaya). Although they have the ability to get one task done at a time, employers are not looking for someone that takes too much time. Another important characteristic that employers look for in a worker is organization. Unfortunately for these people, organization is something that requires much attention, time, and focus that they simply do not have much of.
Many believe the tough part of finding a job when you have ADHD/ ADD is finding a job you will do well in.
Edward Hallowell tells, "The trick to finding a job when you have ADHD is choosing one that your skills will agree with"(Hallowell). For example, if a strong skill for Edward was being social and active, a coaching job would match him perfectly. Sadly, even with jobs that mainly require activity, organization still takes place. The hard fact is that “73% percent of adults with ADHD/ADD do not last any longer than 2 years in a specific job due to a strong weakness in a certain area”(American Psychiatric Association), almost always being something that ADHD/ADD …show more content…
controls.
Although “every type of person can find a job to fit their personalities and abilities” (Iliades), it is an even harder struggle to be hired. Every employer wants what is best for their company. A student who has a high GPA, good reputation, experience in organization, and strong knowledge in their field of interest has an advantage over a student who is not able to accomplish these things. Most people are aware that "The better the grades, experience, and reputation, the better the chance of becoming an employee. It 's only human"(Hallowell). Average students have a chance to make their success more appealing to the public world than children with ADHD/ADD. By earning an overall better view by other people with much less effort then of those with ADD/ADHD, it hurts the possibility of being chosen over somebody else.
Many would agree that jobs can be challenging to earn and hard to reach when competing against somebody with stronger abilities. It requires effort that the average adult can work at without any major struggle. Simple things like “working on a résumé can take up to 3 times the amount of time than that of an average adult”(Iliades). This gives a major advantage to the typical adult. Around “42% of adults with ADHD/ADD are jobless due to the fact that an employer overlooks them”(American Psychiatric Association) almost every time. The advantage of time, reputation, grade history, and even communication can be what takes a job away from many people, including that one adult who has been rejected countless times.
Just like jobs, peer relationships can be a significant challenge for anyone with ADHD/ADD.
Having this disability can have many effects on a child 's development. It can make childhood friendships, or peer relationships, very difficult to handle. These relationships “contribute to children 's immediate happiness and may be very important to their long-term development” (Zuckerman). After many years of feeling socially awkward or being left out, “a child may feel depressed and have a higher risk for anxiety, mood disorders, and self-esteem issues” (Gardner). Several studies have found that “children with predominantly inattentive ADHD may be perceived as shy or withdrawn by their peers” (Zuckerman). Research also strongly indicates that aggressive behavior in children with symptoms of impulsivity or hyperactivity may play a significant role in peer rejection. Due to all the social side effects of both children and adults, it causes major emotional stress that can lead to things mentioned previously such as depression and
anxiety.
Of course being an adult with ADHD/ADD brings all new struggles with romantic relationships. An “individual with ADHD may ‘zone out’ or talk out of turn, making it difficult to communicate” (Roberts). This is a major factor on relationships because the failure to communicate “results in break up and divorce 80% of the time (Nakaya). A man with ADHD “may miss their wedding anniversary or another important task given to him”. This forgetfulness may make his wife feel hurt and think that her husband doesn 't care, when he 's actually forgotten because he has trouble staying on top of things. Furthermore, “someone with ADHD might forget to pay the bills, neglect to clear a dangerous pile of branches from the backyard, or leave a toxic cleaner on the sink while children are playing nearby”. This can even more dangerous when there are children involved because they must rely on the adult for safety, and if those needs cannot be fulfilled it could be considered as neglect. Lastly, “someone with ADHD may lose his or her temper easily”, leading to major misunderstandings and sometimes big fights. These arguments can quickly spiral out of control because “a person with ADHD is unable to talk through issues calmly”.(Roberts) This is perhaps the hardest issue due to the fact that in order to keep strong relationships, a couple must be able to talk and fix problems by working together.
As many already know, working together is something that is taught at a very young age. The simple things in a child 's life like playing house, getting "married", boys chasing girls and girls chasing boys all include working together. These “small things we did for fun impacted us as we grew older” (Zuckerman). Studies show that “a child who grows up without any kind of friend is more likely to get into drugs, alcohol, and other mischief” (American Psychiatric Association). Simply living as a young child without ADHD/ADD can improve life socially in a dramatic way.
Overall, adult relationships become what will affect the major outcome of life. As an average adult, you have the advantage to remember certain dates, talk out any issues, and do tasks that are assigned daily. With these advantages, not only will a relationship stay stronger but life will overall become easier. When “tasks such as going to pick up a child is remembered, the child and spouse are both pleased and everything continues as planned”(Roberts). When life goes as planned, “disorders can be easily worked with and excused” (Davidson). By not being burdened with the disadvantages of ADHD/ADD, life can continue much smoother than of someone with ADHD/ADD.
Concluding the previous information; both children and adults have many difficulties and failure throughout their entire life in school, jobs, and relationships. As a child, they lack in relationships and as life progresses they tend to lose jobs as well as relationships. After concluding that children and adults with ADHD/ADD have many more struggles in it is easy to say that the average person has a better ability to become successful in their life. Next time you see someone that you consider “lazy” or “unorganized” think about all the medical issues that may keep that individual from being where they would like to be in life. Works Cited
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed., Text revised. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press, 2000
Brookers, Jennifer. "How Does ADHD Affect School Performance? |Education.com." Education.com | An Education & Child Development Site for Parents | Parenting & Educational Resource. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.
Davidson, Tish. "Attention Deficit Disorder." Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health. Ed. Laurie J. Fundukian and Jeffrey Wilson. Vol. 2. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Nursing Resource Center. Gale. DISCUS. 21 Mar. 2012 .
Ford-Martin, Teresa G. Odle and Helen Davidson. "Attention deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)." Gale Encyclopedia of Disorders. Ed. Jacqueline L. Longe. Vol. 1. 3rd Online ed. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2007. Nursing Resource Center. Gale. DISCUS. 20 Mar. 2012 .
Gardner, Amanda. "Children with ADHD at risk for depression - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. < http://www.healthyplace.com/relationships/mental-illness/adhd-children-and-peer-relationships/>
Hallowell, Edward. "Career Advice: Finding Right Job for ADHD Adults | ADDitude - Attention Deficit Information & Resources." Attention Deficit Disorder | ADHD Symptoms, Medication, Treatment, Diagnosis, Parenting ADD Children and More: Information from ADDitude. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.
Iliades, Chris. " Adult ADHD-Friendly Jobs - ADHD Center - Everyday Health." Health Information, Resources, Tools & News Online - EverydayHealth.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. .
Nakaya, Andrea C. ADHD. San Diego, CA: ReferencePoint Press, 2009. Print.
Roberts-Grey, Gina. " ADHD Adults and Relationships - Adult ADD/ADHD - EverydayHealth.com." Health Information, Resources, Tools & News Online - EverydayHealth.com. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. .
Willus, Caroline. "ADHD in the Classroom: Setting Up Your Classroom to Help Attention Deficit Disorder Students." Classroom Interventions for Teachers of ADHD Students. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.
Zuckerman, Peter. "ADHD Children and Peer Relationships - HealthyPlace." HealthyPlace.com - Trusted Mental Health Information and Support - HealthyPlace. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. .
Mrs. Rogers
English Honors II
2 April, 2012
Success in Children and Adults with ADHD/ ADD vs. Average Children
It is easy to peek into the average classroom and make assumptions of the students such as motivated, creative, organized, and sometimes lazy but they usually do not take the time to figure out why. Many people look at the distracted child and see them as "lazy", but what many do not know is that a small number of these children are effected with either ADHD or ADD. To be exact, ADHD stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder which is a common childhood disorder. It can be difficult disorder to diagnose and even harder to understand. Attention Deficit Disorder, also known as ADD has much to do with ADHD, with …show more content…
the difference being that children with ADD usually have less hyper activity then those with ADHD. Due to the challenges these children face, struggles in school, jobs, and relationships all come with daily concerns.
Not to mention that students with ADHD compared to students without ADHD had “persistent academic difficulties that resulted in the following: lower average marks, more failed grades, more expulsions, increased dropout rates, and a lower rate of college undergraduate completion”(Brookers). Because of the inability to pay attention in classes things happen to their success such as grades dropping, classes become harder to pass, and grades end up being failed. Once a negative chain of effects have affected a student dramatically, it becomes practically impossible to dig out of the pit of failure. Adam Moore is the father of a 15 year old and mentions, “his self-esteem is at the lowest after being told not to bother with exams because he will fail”(American Psychiatric Association). This is one example of the many failures children with ADHD/ADD may encounter in schooling throughout their lives.
Once submerging so deeply into failure, it begins to affect not only grades, but emotions. “Young children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are roughly four times more likely than their peers to become depressed” (Gardner) due to the continuing emotional stress. With failure surrounding a child that is trying very hard, it is “easy to become depressed before the age of 7” (Nakaya), causing more issues as the child becomes older. Around “72% of teenagers with AHDH/ADD try to forget their daily struggles with toxic substances such as alcohol or drugs” (Ford-Martin et al), only causing even more bodily harm both physically and emotionally. After such a long struggle to become proud of themselves, emotions become damaged that will never be able to be healed.
To an average child, waking up in the morning is a simple task, but to a child with ADHD/ADD, it is not rare for the child to wake up with worries about such emotional harm with their attention disability. Although it varies throughout different children, “the average attention span of a child is 10-15 minutes”(Davidson). With this advantage, “the human brain can gather three times more information than a child with ADHD/ADD” (Nakaya). Tish Davidson believes that “it is easy to become successful and breeze past the level of children with ADD/ADHD” (Davidson). By doing so, it lowers the success rate of anyone with this disease and can affect them to live in less luxury than of a person without the disease. Simple benefits such as organization and focus can push an average child very far ahead of his other classmates.
In addition, most classrooms have items that help “enhance learning with techniques such as color, images and even movement” (Willus). For many children, these techniques grab attention for a small amount of time, enough for the information to be remembered, but is not so enhanced that it causes total distraction. A simple task such as looking away from a colorful poster is easy to accomplish without becoming distracted from a lesson, but children with ADHD/ADD cannot do the same. Small distractions like “colorful poster[s] can ruin the entire learning period for an easily distracted child”(Brookers). Many classrooms are also very formal, meaning there are seats to be seated in for a long period of time, desks to be organized, and papers to be kept neat. For a typical child, these techniques will help with keeping focused but for an affected child, it is a set up for failure. When someone has ADHD/ADD, “staying still is a very hard task”(American Psychiatric Association). Desks stand in the way for free movement, seats are nearly impossible to stay still in, and papers are a good tool for the number one distraction, drawing. All of these factors that would improve a typical child’s success can ruin a chance at success for a child with ADHD/ADD.
As you may know, the main point of school is to prepare you for jobs, but ADHD/ADD will always continue to follow the affected person. Up to “50% of children with ADHD/ADD grow up and still live with it”(Davidson). Life will always continue, regardless of what diseases someone may live with. As life progresses, bigger things come up such as jobs. Jobs are tricky to get to begin with, but it is even harder when your work background is not the best. With little success in many years of schooling, most jobs will pass by the opportunity to hire a student with low grades. When a professional job hires clients, they typically look for someone with a high GPA. Unfortunately, “graduated children with ADHD/ADD average about a 1.7-2.8 GPA” (Nakaya). Although they have the ability to get one task done at a time, employers are not looking for someone that takes too much time. Another important characteristic that employers look for in a worker is organization. Unfortunately for these people, organization is something that requires much attention, time, and focus that they simply do not have much of.
Many believe the tough part of finding a job when you have ADHD/ ADD is finding a job you will do well in.
Edward Hallowell tells, "The trick to finding a job when you have ADHD is choosing one that your skills will agree with"(Hallowell). For example, if a strong skill for Edward was being social and active, a coaching job would match him perfectly. Sadly, even with jobs that mainly require activity, organization still takes place. The hard fact is that “73% percent of adults with ADHD/ADD do not last any longer than 2 years in a specific job due to a strong weakness in a certain area”(American Psychiatric Association), almost always being something that ADHD/ADD …show more content…
controls.
Although “every type of person can find a job to fit their personalities and abilities” (Iliades), it is an even harder struggle to be hired. Every employer wants what is best for their company. A student who has a high GPA, good reputation, experience in organization, and strong knowledge in their field of interest has an advantage over a student who is not able to accomplish these things. Most people are aware that "The better the grades, experience, and reputation, the better the chance of becoming an employee. It 's only human"(Hallowell). Average students have a chance to make their success more appealing to the public world than children with ADHD/ADD. By earning an overall better view by other people with much less effort then of those with ADD/ADHD, it hurts the possibility of being chosen over somebody else.
Many would agree that jobs can be challenging to earn and hard to reach when competing against somebody with stronger abilities. It requires effort that the average adult can work at without any major struggle. Simple things like “working on a résumé can take up to 3 times the amount of time than that of an average adult”(Iliades). This gives a major advantage to the typical adult. Around “42% of adults with ADHD/ADD are jobless due to the fact that an employer overlooks them”(American Psychiatric Association) almost every time. The advantage of time, reputation, grade history, and even communication can be what takes a job away from many people, including that one adult who has been rejected countless times.
Just like jobs, peer relationships can be a significant challenge for anyone with ADHD/ADD.
Having this disability can have many effects on a child 's development. It can make childhood friendships, or peer relationships, very difficult to handle. These relationships “contribute to children 's immediate happiness and may be very important to their long-term development” (Zuckerman). After many years of feeling socially awkward or being left out, “a child may feel depressed and have a higher risk for anxiety, mood disorders, and self-esteem issues” (Gardner). Several studies have found that “children with predominantly inattentive ADHD may be perceived as shy or withdrawn by their peers” (Zuckerman). Research also strongly indicates that aggressive behavior in children with symptoms of impulsivity or hyperactivity may play a significant role in peer rejection. Due to all the social side effects of both children and adults, it causes major emotional stress that can lead to things mentioned previously such as depression and
anxiety.
Of course being an adult with ADHD/ADD brings all new struggles with romantic relationships. An “individual with ADHD may ‘zone out’ or talk out of turn, making it difficult to communicate” (Roberts). This is a major factor on relationships because the failure to communicate “results in break up and divorce 80% of the time (Nakaya). A man with ADHD “may miss their wedding anniversary or another important task given to him”. This forgetfulness may make his wife feel hurt and think that her husband doesn 't care, when he 's actually forgotten because he has trouble staying on top of things. Furthermore, “someone with ADHD might forget to pay the bills, neglect to clear a dangerous pile of branches from the backyard, or leave a toxic cleaner on the sink while children are playing nearby”. This can even more dangerous when there are children involved because they must rely on the adult for safety, and if those needs cannot be fulfilled it could be considered as neglect. Lastly, “someone with ADHD may lose his or her temper easily”, leading to major misunderstandings and sometimes big fights. These arguments can quickly spiral out of control because “a person with ADHD is unable to talk through issues calmly”.(Roberts) This is perhaps the hardest issue due to the fact that in order to keep strong relationships, a couple must be able to talk and fix problems by working together.
As many already know, working together is something that is taught at a very young age. The simple things in a child 's life like playing house, getting "married", boys chasing girls and girls chasing boys all include working together. These “small things we did for fun impacted us as we grew older” (Zuckerman). Studies show that “a child who grows up without any kind of friend is more likely to get into drugs, alcohol, and other mischief” (American Psychiatric Association). Simply living as a young child without ADHD/ADD can improve life socially in a dramatic way.
Overall, adult relationships become what will affect the major outcome of life. As an average adult, you have the advantage to remember certain dates, talk out any issues, and do tasks that are assigned daily. With these advantages, not only will a relationship stay stronger but life will overall become easier. When “tasks such as going to pick up a child is remembered, the child and spouse are both pleased and everything continues as planned”(Roberts). When life goes as planned, “disorders can be easily worked with and excused” (Davidson). By not being burdened with the disadvantages of ADHD/ADD, life can continue much smoother than of someone with ADHD/ADD.
Concluding the previous information; both children and adults have many difficulties and failure throughout their entire life in school, jobs, and relationships. As a child, they lack in relationships and as life progresses they tend to lose jobs as well as relationships. After concluding that children and adults with ADHD/ADD have many more struggles in it is easy to say that the average person has a better ability to become successful in their life. Next time you see someone that you consider “lazy” or “unorganized” think about all the medical issues that may keep that individual from being where they would like to be in life. Works Cited
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed., Text revised. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Press, 2000
Brookers, Jennifer. "How Does ADHD Affect School Performance? |Education.com." Education.com | An Education & Child Development Site for Parents | Parenting & Educational Resource. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.
Davidson, Tish. "Attention Deficit Disorder." Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health. Ed. Laurie J. Fundukian and Jeffrey Wilson. Vol. 2. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Nursing Resource Center. Gale. DISCUS. 21 Mar. 2012 .
Ford-Martin, Teresa G. Odle and Helen Davidson. "Attention deficit/Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)." Gale Encyclopedia of Disorders. Ed. Jacqueline L. Longe. Vol. 1. 3rd Online ed. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2007. Nursing Resource Center. Gale. DISCUS. 20 Mar. 2012 .
Gardner, Amanda. "Children with ADHD at risk for depression - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. < http://www.healthyplace.com/relationships/mental-illness/adhd-children-and-peer-relationships/>
Hallowell, Edward. "Career Advice: Finding Right Job for ADHD Adults | ADDitude - Attention Deficit Information & Resources." Attention Deficit Disorder | ADHD Symptoms, Medication, Treatment, Diagnosis, Parenting ADD Children and More: Information from ADDitude. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.
Iliades, Chris. " Adult ADHD-Friendly Jobs - ADHD Center - Everyday Health." Health Information, Resources, Tools & News Online - EverydayHealth.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. .
Nakaya, Andrea C. ADHD. San Diego, CA: ReferencePoint Press, 2009. Print.
Roberts-Grey, Gina. " ADHD Adults and Relationships - Adult ADD/ADHD - EverydayHealth.com." Health Information, Resources, Tools & News Online - EverydayHealth.com. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. .
Willus, Caroline. "ADHD in the Classroom: Setting Up Your Classroom to Help Attention Deficit Disorder Students." Classroom Interventions for Teachers of ADHD Students. Web. 3 Apr. 2012.
Zuckerman, Peter. "ADHD Children and Peer Relationships - HealthyPlace." HealthyPlace.com - Trusted Mental Health Information and Support - HealthyPlace. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. .