Faith Garza
ENG-105
April 13, 2020
Professor Raftery
Commentary: Should ADHD be Considered a Mental Disorder?
Many new arising controversies and controversies have been around for some time surrounding aspects of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD. There are ongoing debates, especially with parents of children diagnosed with ADHD, on whether ADHD is a mental illness or just differential behaviors. Even though there is recorded evidence in different brain activity and debilitation of daily operating people, there is a large number of individuals that presume to believe that ADHD shows indications of outrageous articulation of typical human conduct. While some individuals believe ADHD is just brain-based variations in behaviors, ADHD is an actual mental disorder because it causes hyperactivity, impulsivity, and lack of attention.
History of ADHD
Although there are many misconceptions of when exactly ADHD was introduced to the world, the first case known was given by the Scottish physician Sir Alexander Crichton in 1798. “Crichton gives several indications that he was depicting the same disorder as defined in the current DSM-IV-TR criteria of ADHD.” (Lange et al., 2010). Crichton further described the disorder as having symptoms of inattention, such as having difficulty being focused while playing games or trying to complete simple tasks. Further to this, the American Psychiatric Association dictates that symptoms for ADHD have to exist in individuals before the age of seven. In the 1990’s it was a common thought that ADHD affects only children and that children grow out of it during puberty. It is now known that this is, in fact, false; approximately 50% of children with ADHD continue to show symptoms when they become adults. (Okie, 2006).
Meaningful Patterns
People diagnosed with ADHD have a unique behavior pattern that is considered extreme. ADHD persons always display behaviors such as inability to concentrate, hyperactivity, and can also be impulsive. Formerly, ADHD was perceived as a childhood behavior, which faded away with age. However, recent research has confirmed that ADHD symptoms persist throughout past adolescence age to adulthood. Sometimes the diagnosis may not reveal ADHD at childhood, as signs are not clear at youth. Teachers may have attributed the inattention or hyperactivity to other factors other than ADHD. Kessler (2006), as cited by (Whitbourne 2016), stated that about four %of American adults meet the ADHD diagnostic criteria.
As people age, their ADHD symptoms take a different dimension other than the one experienced in childhood. Children exhibit more significant evidence of impulsivity and restlessness, but adults tend to show signs of difficulty of being attentive for long (Whitbourne, 2016). ADHD in adulthood can is described as a deficit of executive functioning. Executive functioning is a psychologist’s term used to explain the ability of an individual to organize, plan, and shun unwanted thoughts. Individuals with ADHD are unable to plan tasks, often lose items, make careless mistakes, and cannot prioritize their daily activities.
According to Russel Barkley, the primary impairment of ADHD is the lack of the ability of a person to shut down some responses as a result of the prefrontal cortex and its connection to other brain parts defects (Herbert & Esparham, 2017). According to his theory proposed in 1997, response inhibition impairment is seen in four sections of functioning. The four functioning areas are (1) reconstitution, (2) working memory, (3) internalization of self-directed speech, and (4) self-regulation of motivation, level of arousal, and affect(Herbert & Esparham, 2017). Also, ADHD children do not develop a future sense of self across time and orientation. The risk gets even higher because of the impairments in executive functioning of taking part in deviant behavior. Some studies show that ADHD adults are prone to engaging in abnormal behavior and getting involved in traffic offenses (Whitbourne, 2016).
Why ADHD is a Mental Disorder
ADHD is a mental disorder as it meets the criteria of mental disorders. There is a lot of confusion as to whether ADHD should be considered as a mental disorder or a reading disorder. However, according to research, the confusion is a result of most parents not being able to come into terms with the fact that their children are mentally ill. Mental illness is a term used to refer to conditions that have an impact on the thinking, mood, and behavior of a person. It can be something sever like bipolar disorder or a not so severe disorder like mild anxiety.
All the symptoms of ADHD meet the mental disorder criteria. These symptoms include hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. Looking closely into the symptoms, they meet all the three criteria of mental disorder, which is impairment of mood, behavior, and thinking. Also, mental illness is as a result of brain chemistry, hereditary factors, environmental and stress factors. All the causes also tally with causes of other mental illnesses.
ADHD is diagnosable as a brain disorder, therefore making it a mental defect. Neuropsychological studies and neuroimaging show that there are some brain differences in ADHD. It strongly suggests that ADHD is a biological disorder (and so are other mental disorders) (Mental Health Foundation, 2018). The fact that individuals with ADHD exhibit different parts of their brain, especially the prefrontal cortex, prove that it is a mental disorder (Sáenz, 2020). Also, there are reliable and valid studies showing that stimulant treatments that affect how the brain transmits information, have a direct effect on ADHD symptoms (Mental Health Foundation, 2018). With all these pieces of evidence, it is hard to dispute that ADHD is not a mental disorder.
ADHD is, most of the time, thought to be a learning disorder like dyslexia. The main argument is because ADHD affects children’s performance in academics. It is because they find it hard to concentrate, finish assignments, and sit still in class. However, most ADHD kids are known to have an above-average IQ and perform well in class. Also, symptoms of ADHD have a more significant impact on the kids functioning than any other learning disorder (Anastopoulos et al., 2018). ADHD does not affect a specific learning aspect, as its effects are much broader than that of most learning disorders.
Conclusion
In conclusion, ADHD is a mental disorder and not a learning disorder. A lot of evidence points out that it is a mental disorder. The main symptoms of ADHD affect thinking, mood, and behavior. The core symptoms exhibited by ADHD patients are lack of concentration, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Medication used to treat mental disorders is also known to improve ADHD symptoms, thus making it mental disorders. Brain scan and mental defect tests have also shown that there is a difference between the brain of children considered normal and those with ADHD. Therefore, the stigma behind mental disorders should be shunned for parents to accept and embrace that their children have mental disorders. That way, symptoms will be easier to manage, and learning outcomes are improved.
References
ADHD Throughout the Years. (2020, March 31). Retrieved April 18, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/timeline.html
Anastopoulos, A. D., DuPaul, G. J., Weyandt, L. L., Morrissey-Kane, E., Sommer, J. L., Rhoads, L. H., … & Gudmundsdottir, B. G. (2018). Rates and patterns of comorbidity among first-year college students with ADHD. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 47(2), 236-247.
Austin, Margaret V. “ADHD: ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER.” Edited by C.E. Zupanick, West Texas Centers, www.wtcmhmr.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=13863&cn=3.
Herbert, A., & Esparham, A. (2017). Mind–Body Therapy for Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Children, 4(5), 31.
Lange, Klaus W, et al. “The History of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, Springer Vienna, Dec. 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000907/.
Mental Health Foundation. (2018, August 28). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/a/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd
Sáenz, A. A., Septier, M., Van Schuerbeek, P., Baijot, S., Deconinck, N., Defresne, P., … & Victoor, L. (2020). ADHD and ASD: distinct brain patterns of inhibition-related activation?. Translational psychiatry, 10(1), 1-10.
Whitbourne, S. K. (2016, December 27). Five Dimensions of Adult ADHD in Everyday Behavior. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201112/five-dimensions-adult-adhd-in-everyday-behavior