ADHD and How it Impacts Academic Performance

ADHD and it Effects on Academic Performance chapman college

ADHD and How it Impacts Academic Performance

ADHD is probably one of the most common disorders diagnosed in children. ADHD is short for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It is a disorder that is characterized by the inability to sustain attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. In some individuals ADHD can stay with them throughout adulthood. Since inattentiveness is a main symptom of people with ADHD, school can be very difficult for these individual. ADHD can cause individuals to perform poorly in their academics not only because of their inattentiveness but also their disruptive and impulsive behavior. This is something that I am very aware of because I have ADHD. Growing up school was always hard for me and it still effects me to this day. The two articles I chose will show the impact ADHD has on academic performances in both grade school and College.
My first Article is titled “Academic performance of adolescents with ADHD and other behavioral and learning problems-a population-based longitudinal study.” The purpose of this article is to show overtime the consequences of a group of young children with ADHD and what they accomplish academically. This article introduces to us that students with ADHD have a hard time focusing in the classroom and completing assignments due to their attention problems and thus will show lower academic performance then individuals without ADHD. The research method used in this article was the Longitudinal method. The sample size used in this Longitudinal study was 591 originally. But out of this number only 536 children were able to provide final grades at the end of the study. Out of this amount 39 were ADHD individuals, 80 had other learning problems and the rest of the 417 were a comparison group without any learning disability. When the students reached the 9th grade, researches then obtained their final grades. For this article researchers concluded that the ADHD group had significantly lower overall grades then the comparison group. With this information researchers concluded that students with ADHD are at risk of poor academic performance in school and that they should be provided with special education needs to maximize their educational performance.
The second article I chose is titled “ADHD in College Students: Developmental Findings”. The reason for this article is to summarize major research findings concerning ADHD in college students from a developmental perspective. For this article a comprehensive literature search was conducted using PyscInfo and Medline databases to find empirical studies that examine the function and treatment of college students with ADHD. This article consists of many different research methods and sample sizes from different studies. The article suggests that college students with ADHD are at a higher risk for academic and psychological difficulties than college students without ADHD. Also it states tat Preliminary studies suggest students with ADHD are at greater risk for academic problems, a low GPA as well as comprised academic coping and writing skills. Not only does this article discuss ADHD and college academics but it also discusses social functioning and ADHD. It states that college students with ADHD seem to be at risk at having problems with social relationships and adjustment to college life. This articles concludes that there is more research that needs to be done to further investigate the academic, social and psychological functioning of college students with ADHD to get a better understanding of how to treat it. But overall we know that college students are more likely to do poorly academically then none ADHD students.
The first Article, titled “Academic performance of adolescents with ADHD and other behavioral and learning problems-a population-based longitudinal study.” does not provide practical intervention, prevention or treatment, it rather suggests that there needs to be an improvement in our education system concerning students with learning disabilities including ADHD. Researchers in this article suggest that different medical, social and educational disciplines such as neuropsychology, special education and developmental pediatrics and/or psychiatry need to work closely to create the proper interventions for children with ADHD to succeed academically. The Second article about College students with ADHD includes some methods of treatment and they suggest that medication, behavioral strategies and educational accommodations can be used as treatment but they still need more research to make more oriented towards college students with ADHD more specifically. It places a strong importance that controlled investigations of pharmacotherapy, psychosocial and educational interventions be conducted because of the unique developmental needs and environmental challenges that students with this disorder face.
I had a positive reaction to these findings. In both articles they took ADHD as a serious disorder unlike others who are skeptical about it. Both stated that there needs to be more research done to help students with ADHD do better academically and succeed. Since I have ADHD and have been in school and dealt with the difficulties that come along with this disorder I can say that yes these general ideas discussed in the articles fit my experience. I personally found these articles to be interesting mostly because I have ADHD. I am always fascinated to learn more information about my condition. I learned a lot of new things about why children with ADHD have such a hard time in school. Although I thought it was interesting I thought the articles were confusing at time. They were not very clear. With that being said I would definitely recommend these articles to others with ADHD and even those who just want to get a better understanding of it. I think it would not only be interesting but very beneficial. Mainly the article about ADHD in College Students, I think that others will find it very interesting and find out a lot of new things they didn’t know before.
These articles had a big impact on me in many ways. First of all it made me feel better about having ADHD reading about studies all over the world and knowing that there are kids everywhere with ADHD. Also it provided me with some useful tips on how to control my ADHD symptoms and help me to do better in life and succeed. I learned a lot of things about ADHD that I didn’t know before and I think that has made me more aware of my disorder and I have learned that I need to take specific measures to ensure that I succeed successfully in my future academics

References

Weyandt, L. L., & DuPaul, G. J. (2008). ADHD in college students:
Developmental findings. Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 14(4), 311-319. doi:10.1002/ddrr.38

Ek, U., Westerlund, J., Holmberg, K., & Fernell, E. (2011).
Academic performance of adolescents with ADHD and other behavioural and learning problems -a population-based longitudinal study. Acta Paediatrica, 100(3), 402-406. doi:10.1111/j.1651-2227.2010.02048.x

References: Weyandt, L. L., & DuPaul, G. J. (2008). ADHD in college students: Developmental findings. Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 14(4), 311-319. doi:10.1002/ddrr.38 Ek, U., Westerlund, J., Holmberg, K., & Fernell, E. (2011). Academic performance of adolescents with ADHD and other behavioural and learning problems -a population-based longitudinal study. Acta Paediatrica, 100(3), 402-406. doi:10.1111/j.1651-2227.2010.02048.x