Are children with Attention Deficit Disorder being overmedicated Research Paper

Are children with Attention Deficit Disorder being overmedicated - Research Paper Example However, due increased research and concerns, treatment providers have embraced the use of behavioral interventions for treatment. This paper will examine the patterns of medication of children with this disorder to establish whether there is overmedication. It will first provide a general introduction of the disorder, explaining its prevalence, and history. It will also discuss the standard diagnosis criteria for the disorder as well as its effects and treatment options. Introduction Attention Deficit disorder (ADD) is a neuropsychiatric syndrome linked with major functional impairment, including patient and family distress, comorbid psychiatric and developmental conditions, and poor academic outcomes. The prevalence of ADD according to population-based studies estimate is about 4%. The diagnosis and identification of Attention- deficit disorder in children is usually during their early elementary school years making it one of the most frequent behavioral or psychological disorders of childhood (Rappley et al, 1999). Bedard et al (2003) asserts that Attention deficit disorder is among the most widespread developmental psychiatric disorders detected in childhood. One of the recent theory claims that the crucial impairment in this disorder is a deficit concerning response inhibition. He explains, â€Å"Response inhibition is part of the multidimensional construct of inhibition and is a self-generated, higher-order executive function that refers to the ability to stop a planned course of action.† According to prevalence studies carried out, boys are 2 times more prevalent to ADD than girls are. In addition, these studies have also reported on a positive link between ADD and academic problem. However, across studies there was a great variation on the degree of co morbidity ranging from 10% to 90%. Although research have not confirmed, there is an assumed link of ADD prevalence and the children’s background being more prevalent among children from min ority and low-income populations (LeFever et al, 1999). It is in the late 1960s in the United States that the construction of ADD occurred with the acceptance that a variety of behavioral characteristics defined the medical disorder without a specific requirement to ascertain evidence of neurological or biological dysfunction. The rapid increase in the use of the diagnosis and treatment with medication globally occurred in the 1990s. In the United States and Australia, there is a significant increase in diagnosis although there has been an evident increase in other countries worldwide (Kean, 2004). Effects of the disorder and diagnosis Among the signs experienced by quite a numbers of children with ADD during the adolescent years