Essay Sample on ADHD: Challenges in Cognitive Task Completion and Attention Control

Introduction

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that has the attributes of a constant pattern of inattention and a hyperactivity-impulsivity that is experienced in an educational, job-related, and social setting (Mahone & Denckla, 2017). It makes the qualified individual with ADHD, unable to control his/ her ability to pay attention, to complete a cognitive task effectively. Other challenges may include making careless mistakes, struggling to be and maintain being organized, and becoming distracted easily. In terms of being hyperactive, an individual with this disorder can unusually undertake some activities, such as running up and down when it is not necessary, being overly fidgety, and being on the go in a persistent manner (Halder & Mahone, 2009). Concerning impulsivity, it can present itself as being impatient, even in communication, for example, making a lot of interruptions.

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The concept concerning to ADHD has experienced change over the decades, to a relatively new concept (Halder & Mahato, 2009). Currently, this disorder had gained a lot of popularity as compared to when it first presented itself in the nineteenth century. Even though the concept relating to this disorder has been subject to change over the years, most description attached to it remains to be consistent until now with the modern concept (Mahone & Denckla, 2017). There has, however being, a great advancement even in treatment and diagnostic methods. It is currently believed that ADHD is a common health problem among young people, and at times affects adults, both males and females (Halder & Mahato, 2009). This historical neuropsychological review of this disorder emphasized scientific reviews over the years concerning this disorder incorporating theories, treatment experiments, and even the advancement in techniques of mapping of the brain and diagnosis from Hyperkinetic Reaction of Childhood to ADHD.

The History

Research and clinical literature that describes ADHD dates back to over 200 years ago. However, in the past 35 years, literature involving the topic has considerably advanced (Mahone & Denckla, 2017). Sir Alexander Crichton, in 1798, was the first person to describe the health problem that appeared to be similar to ADHD. Crichton was Scottish and became a physician, where he put his focus on pursuing medical tours and practiced in hospitals in different places (Mahone &Denckla, 2017). While he practiced, Crichton observed numerous cases of insanity, and he began to gain interest in mental disorder. He began his publishment in the same year (1798) that described clinical cases relating to the disorder of the mind. It soon became out of the ordinary to concentrate on mental issues from a physiological or medical perspective.

Crichton started to change his subject matter and moved to define attention encompassing both causes and effects (Mahone & Denckla, 2017). He describes attention, as an external or internal object such as a thought, takes occupation in the mind of a person, to hinder other objects from making an effect in that person's mind. Crichton discovered that the degree to pay attention varies with the difference in time, circumstances, and even among individuals (Mahone & Denckla, 2017). The opposite inattention was true.

Crichton furthered his research and reported that symptoms arising from an inability not to pay attention could be born with a person, and present itself at an early stage in that person's life. He, for example, observed school children with difficulty in maintaining their degree to pay attention, a similar trait is seen in children with ADHD. Until the 1990s, there was a common misconception that such symptoms presented themselves less with age (Halder & Mahato, 2009). Recent studies, however, have pointed out that about half of the children diagnosed with ADHD retain the symptoms into adulthood. Even though the descriptions that Crichton made, do not fully mirror the modern concept of ADHD, all the symptoms that were noticed by Crichton, can be attributed to ADHD.

As years passed, other describers of various symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder arose (Mahone & Denckla, 2017). One such as a german named Hoffman, in 1846, came up with a story about a boy named "Fidgety Phil." Phil's fidgety behavior culminated one night as he dined with his family. He fell with his food on the table. That was the first hint in this boy's condition (Mahone & Denckla, 2017). As the case story goes, the boy persisted in his behavior of not being able to calm. His parents noticed that he was excessively active, which caused fights between him and his father.

This observation was a stepping stone to yet another hint, that is the ADHD in children can cause their behavior to raise numerous conflicts and a noticeable impairment in social, academic, and even occupational functioning. Other historical descriptions of ADHD were pointed out by other authors (Halder & Mahato, 2009). One of those descriptions includes one where it was noticed a child with a defect of moral control with a well functioning intellect. Some of the symptoms were not linked directly with the current concept of ADHD, but they remained to be significant in finding modern ADHD (Archer & Bright, 2012).

Originally, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder was named Hyperkinetic impulse disorder. It was not changed until the late 1990s by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to ADHD (ADHD) (Mahone & Denckla, 2017). Efforts aimed to solve such symptoms in the past started with a dose of medicine named Benzedrine. This medicine was introduced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It was noticed that there was an improvement in behavior and performance, once doctors administered the dose to patients (Halder & Mahato, 2009). Currently, medication is administered in the form of stimulants for the treatment of young people suffering from ADHD.

Researchers of medicine introduced Ritalin, which was a psychostimulant approved in 1955 (Halder & Mahato, 2009). However, methylphenidate is considered as the most effective stimulant and is often used in treating the disorder. Cases related to Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder began to increase in the 1990s (Sibley et al., 2012)). The reason behind that was the ability of doctors to efficiently make diagnoses of the disorder, while awareness of the disorder continued to increase to parents. Improvements in medication started to increase on a daily.

In the 2000s, as the fourth edition in defining ADHD had started, plans were underway to maintain the concept of the disorder at the time (Mahone & Denckla, 2017). The definition of the disorder has, therefore, not been altered. Critics have argued that the disorder does not affect adults. They argued that the disorder affected only children and adolescents up to the age of 17. This hypothesis was challenged, which gave rise to the fifth edition in 2012 (Sibley et al., 2012). This edition was closely similar to all other findings in the symptoms of ADHD. These symptoms included inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive symptoms. There are, however, some differences to the original findings of the disorder in the eighteen hundreds.

In the new concept of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, it has been categorized into three types (Halder & Mahato, 2009). Grouping of the disorder has made easy the process of making a diagnosis. The three categories include: predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and a combination of both. Patients with a predominantly inattentive disorder experience difficulty in focusing and concentrating, and thus struggle to complete tasks. The second type comprises patients who possess fidgety and impatient behavior. The third type, which is a common type, has patients presenting both a case of being inattentive and being hyperactive.

A case study was undertaken in the U.K., where researchers at King's College found that about 70% of more than 2,200 twins who had the disorder were 18 years of age (Flett et al., 2017). It was, however, noticed that the twins, at their younger ages (5, 7, 10, and 12), presented no trace of the disorder. It was therefore proven that the disorder could affect an adult. In the study, the adults with the late-onset ADHD were mostly females (55%) and expressed difficulties inattentiveness, anxiety, and issues concerning conduct and behavior at their places of work and home (Flett et al., 2017).

Similar studies continue to emerge, which raises questions concerning the possibility of ADHD being a separate disorder in childhood and adults and whether medication should be different for children and adults. The study in the U.K. addressed the gap noticed in gender when the disorder was involved. One reason for the disparity is that girls are frequently not diagnosed because the symptoms they show are seen as inattention, which is quiet and not hyperactivity, which is disturbing. Women conceal their symptoms to what is expected of them, which makes them struggle when they are out of environments such as school, or at home where parents are around. It was noted that the problem for girls was functional impairment, which is presented in adulthood during diagnosis. Further research is required to look over these differences in gender. The research would also encompass the factors that increase the risks for late-onset in ADHD and genetic explanation to the disorder appearing and persisting into adulthood, or is presented early, then fades away or it does not appear, until when adulthood creeps in.

The Implication of Changing Conceptualization

There has been changing in concepts, and currently, there is a sixth edition underway. There are three main proposals under review in the fifth generation which include (a) reformulating the subtypes of ADHD, (b) expanding more on the description of the older criterion that encompasses hyperactivity-impulsivity as a symptom to the disorder, (c) Change the older criterion to increase the maximum age of onset to twelve years of age (Sibley et al., 2012). Moreover, a few semantic alterations that have been put forth may also have important implications for making diagnoses of the disorder.

The fifth edition provides wide and broader definitions that describe more the symptoms related to ADHD. For instance, categorizing the disorder into three subtypes has allowed for direct and easy diagnosis and treatment (Sibley et al., 2012). However, some of the new symptoms described have overlapped pre-existing symptoms described in older concepts. For example, in the older concepts of ADHD, one of the symptoms described as "frequently acts without thinking," which has advanced to "speaks without any regard for consequences." The provided use of words to describe a symptom now overlaps contextually with "blurts out answers."

Another example is "subject is usually impatient" overlaps with "struggles to wait for his/ her turn and rushes through activities while "rushing via activities" seems to be similar to "makes careless mistakes." Therefore, a child can possess symptoms of impulsivity and one symptom for inattentiveness under the proposed fifth edition and falling short of one symptom when doctors made the diagnosis (Flett et al., 2017). Change in concepts has led to the improvement in diagnosis in adults. It is also significant to ensure a balance in the ratio of hyperactivity symptoms to impulsive symptoms of ADHD.

There have been impacts on society stemming from the change of concepts in ADHD. Some changes that encompass change in age-onset, and revision for the documents discussing impairment and other symptoms in adolescents and adults, may d...