Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Research Articles

Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Children: A Qualitative Analysis of Family Responses and Behavioral Challenges

Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Children: A Qualitative Analysis of Family Responses and Behavioral Challenges

Rowing Our Way to Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Other Learning Problems

Rowing Our Way to Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Other Learning Problems

Biases in Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Japan

Recent research has shown high rates of comorbidity between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and difficulties regarding differential diagnosis. Unlike those in Western countries, the Japanese ADHD prevalence rate is lower relative to that of ASD. This inconsistency could have occurred because of cultural diversities among professionals such as physicians. However, little is known about attitudes toward ADHD and ASD in non-Western cultural contexts. We conducted two experiments to identify biases in ASD and ADHD assessment. In Study 1, we examined attitudes toward these disorders in medical doctors and mental health professionals, using a web-based questionnaire. In Study 2, medical doctors and clinical psychologists assessed four fictional cases based on criteria for ADHD, ASD, oppositional defiant disorder, and disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED). Diagnosis of ASD was considered more difficult relative to that of ADHD. Most participants assessed the fictional DSED case as ASD, rather than DSED or ADHD. The results provide evidence that Japanese professionals are more likely to attribute children’s behavioral problems to ASD, relative to other disorders. Therefore, Japanese therapists could be more sensitive to and likely to diagnose ASD, relative to therapists in other countries. These findings suggest that cultural biases could influence clinicians’ diagnosis of ADHD and ASD.

Rethinking attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

This paper examines two influential theoretical frameworks, set forth by Russell Barkley (1997) and Thomas Brown (2005), and argues that important headway in understanding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can be made if we acknowledge the way in which human cognition and action are essentially embodied and enactive. The way in which we actively make sense of the world is structured by our bodily dynamics and our sensorimotor engagement with our surroundings. These bodily dynamics are linked to an individual's concerns and felt needs, so that what she attends to in perception, decision-making, and action is partially constituted by her cares and concerns. What I call “affective framing” engages the whole living body, and ordinarily contributes to attentional focusing, working memory, goal-formulation, and action-monitoring. However, due to affective framing deficits, subjects with ADHD find it difficult to focus their attention, kindle their motivation, and systematically simplify cognitive procedures according to considerations of relevance, salience, and context. Thus, what is impaired in ADHD is not simply a set of executive brain functions, but rather a range of bodily dynamics through which subjects engage with their world. For this reason, intensive behavioral intervention that engages the whole living body may be the most effective, lasting treatment for ADHD.

While the molecular basis receives attention, development of a molecular-based diagnosis is still in a deficit: understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder


 
 
 
 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is the most prevalent childhood-onset behavioral disorder, affecting approximately 8% of the population, where a disproportionate amount of males are afflicted. Common symptoms of the disorder include inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Genomewide linkage analyses have demonstrated that the disorder is likely due to several genetic factors, whereby the dopaminergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic neurotransmitter systems are highly implicated through various observations. Genetic screens of afflicted individuals have implicated the presence of specific genetic polymorphisms with ADHD, examples being the 10-repeat-40-base-pair allele of the dopamine transporter, DAT-1, and the silent-G861C-substitution allele of the serotonin receptor, 5-HT1B. Evidence is emerging that proteins involved in the release of neurotransmitters from synaptic vesicles, like SNAP-25, may also be involved in the pathology of ADHD. The most common method of treatment is the administration of psychostimulants, like amphetamine derivatives and methylphenidate (Ritalin®), drugs which target the dopaminergic system. New therapies that target other neurotransmitter systems, like the selective noradrenaline transport inhibitor, atomoxetine, are gaining recognition as effective treatments. Common methods to diagnose ADHD reside in psychological assessments. As more insight is gained into the genetic basis for the disorder, it appears likely that a clinical diagnostic test based on genetic screening for these factors, such as specific genetic polymorphisms, could serve as an additional means of diagnosis.
 
 
 

A Conceptual Model of Child Psychopathology: Implications for Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Treatment Efficacy

Highlights the desirability of using a theoretical framework for guiding the design and evaluation of therapeutic interventions for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A general conceptual model is introduced and used to evaluate ADHD treatment outcome research. Treatments designed to target the substrate level(pharmacological interventions) result in broad, robust improvement in both core and peripheral areas of functioning. Those targeting hypothesized core features of the disorder (i.e., attention, impulsivity–hyperactivity) produce corresponding improvement in core and peripheral outcome measures with the exception of studies employing cognitive–behavior therapy. Those targeting peripheral features of the disorder effect change only in corresponding peripheral areas of functioning. Implications for clinical practice are discussed, and an alternative conceptual model of ADHD is introduced and compared with existing models.

Book Review: Books to Help Parents Help Their Children—III: Julia, Mungo, and the Earthquake: A Story for Young People about Epilepsy, Night Light: A Story for Children Afraid of the Dark, Putting on the Brakes: Young People's Guide to Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Tanya and the Tobo Man: A Story for Children Entering Therapy, Tell Me a Story,

"Book Review: Books to Help Parents Help Their Children—III: Julia, Mungo, and the Earthquake: A Story for Young People about Epilepsy, Night Light: A Story for Children Afraid of the Dark, Putting on the Brakes: Young People's Guide to Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Tanya and the Tobo Man: A Story for Children Entering Therapy, Tell Me a Story, Paint Me the Sun: When a Girl Feels Ignored by Her Father, the Potty Chronicles: A Story to Help Children Adjust to Toilet Training, Achary's New Home: A Story for Foster and Adopted Children." Transactional Analysis Journal, 22(2), p. 109