I chose this topic of ADHD and autism because I had heard of these two disorders many times before and had always wondered what they were. The subject of why children act differently than others had always interested me since I was little. I have experienced and interacted with a young boy that had autism before and I found that the way he interacted with me and others around him was fascinating. Before researching, I knew that ADHD and autism weren’t sicknesses like the flu or a cold. Some are born with it, you can’t catch or spread it. I knew it had something to do the brains and its genes. I knew that if you had ADHD or autism, it would affect the way you learn and behave.
Going into this topic, I knew I was most interested in knowing how children act when they are diagnosed with these disorders. How they act compared to children without ADHD or autism. I also wanted to know what it was like when they become adults. Does the disorder “go away”? Or are there ways to cure or calm the symptoms down? I also wanted to research this topic because I wanted to know the difference between the two. I was always confused between ADHD and autism and if someone asked me what the difference was, I don’t think I would be able to give a good answer.
My thesis going into this research paper is that ADHD and autism seem very similar, almost the same, but as I go deeper into the topic, you will see that they are quite different. When we think of ADHD and autism, we just think of it as problems or disorders that make children not “normal”. My argument is that though these two disorders bring difficulties, they are very different. Different in the way they are caused, how they are diagnosed, what symptoms each ones possesses, and how each one is handled. How they are handled by parents, teachers and doctors.
Before researching, I wrote some questions to help me stay focused on what I wanted find out. Some questions that were most helpful dealt with the
Bibliography: Lensch, Carol R. Making Sense of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 2000. Questia School. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. "What Is ADHD? Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: What You Need to Know."WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Wender, Paul H. ADHD: Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adults. New York: Oxford UP, 2000. Questia School. Web. 2 Mar. 2014. "Causes of ADHD." Causes of ADHD. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.