Interventions for ADHD: Treatment

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a mental condition that causes excessive hyperactivity in a person. Furthermore, the illness is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder. Most people are unaware that attention deficit disorder has been present for far longer than they think. Hippocrates, who lived from 460 to 370 BC, described a disorder that appears to be comparable to ADHD. The term Attention Deficit Disorder originally appeared in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980.


The main signs of the disorder are hyperactivity, a lack of focus on specific actions, and difficulty in restricting an individual's activities that are not associated with members of his or her age bracket. There are primarily three distinct types of ADHD: inattentive, impulsive, and a combination of the two known as an ADHD-Combined type.


Katie is an 8-year-old girl with a considerable amount of characteristics that could imply she is suffering from the inattentive Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. Katie's teacher's recordings in the Conner's Teacher Rating Scale prove that he has experienced most of the symptoms characterizing the disorder. As a qualified and viable psychiatric-mental health practitioner, I recommend that Katie is assigned to a medication with as little side effects as possible to curb the disorder.


Procedure 1


I based my diagnosis of Katie's condition on the DSM-5 criteria and established that her condition was attention-biased. To begin with, I recommended the administration of Ritalin (methylphenidate) chewable tablets 10 mg orally every morning. I chose Ritalin medication as it is known to contain stimulant agents. Ritalin is responsible for the continued secretion of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine acts fast to bring about increased pleasure and quicker flow of blood (Arns, 2014). Further, I recommended the time of administration of Ritalin be done in the morning before Katie began her school activities of studying. Ritalin has been found to be a stimulating agent and would consequently aid in reducing the inattentiveness of Katie by making her more hyperactive.


After four weeks of continued medication, Katie's parents brought her back for a medical checkup. They reported that Katie's behavior in the morning hours had changed and she had become more inclined and attentive in class. During the afternoon hours, however, Katie slid back to her former inattentiveness. Further, her heart had begun beating at a higher rate. The results proved different because the amount of Ritalin administered was relatively lower and could not relay the expected results the entire day (Teeter, 1998).


Procedure 2


I resulted in discontinuing administration of Ritalin tablets for Katie and commencing administration of Adderall XG 15mg tablets daily recommended a daily dose of one tablet each morning as she is a young 8 years old. I chose Adderall tablets to increase the hyperactivity of Katie the patient. Adderall is known to increase hyperactivity of an individual (Ramsey, 2014) Just like Ritalin, Adderall is responsible for releasing dopamine hormone that is responsible for heightening motion and pleasure, besides increasing the blood flow in a patient.


The Adderall dosage proved fruitful for Katie as she was able to focus more on classroom activities. Further, her teacher reported that have overall class performance had improved greatly. However, Katie still suffered from Tachycardia, which is characterized by rapid heartbeats that exceed the normal heart beat levels (Ghuman & Ghuman, 2014). The excessive heartbeat could have been a side effect of administering the Adderall dosage (Polanczyk, 2014). The drugs cause hyperactivity of many body organs, affected by the action of Dopamine hormone.


Procedure 3


After four weeks Katie and her parents came in for a checkup and maintained that many of the symptoms had disappeared but she still suffered from increased heartbeat, therefore, sought to continue with the same Adderall dosage but reduce the dosage intake by half advised her parents to administer 5mg of oral Adderall ever morning. Further, chose not to discontinue the dosage because the drug had adversely reduced the effects of the disorder. Additionally, introducing another drug agent would mean that Katie had to kick it off with a higher dosage. As a result, Katie could have experienced adverse effects such as rapid heartbeat (Ramsey, 2014)


I expected that Katie's constant inattentiveness would decrease. Further hoped to decrease the rate at which her heart was beating. To my awe, Katie's inattentiveness had begun to disappear. Her heartbeat reduced but not with a great margin. Reducing the dosage to half do not have much impact on Katie's immunity as she had been used to regular intake of the drug (Barkley, 2010).


Ethical standards played an important role in the treatment and communication of Katie and her parents. I had to seek Katie's parents' consent before administering any medication. Further, I was entitled to explain the effects and utility of any drug before seeking their consent (Percival, 2014). Additionally, I had to maintain discreetness on the matter. Privacy of medical records is a core matter in the administration of medical practices.


References


Arns, M., Heinrich, H., & Strehl, U. (2014). Evaluation of neurofeedback in ADHD: The long and winding road. Biological psychology, 95, 108-115.


Barkley, R. A. (2010). Taking Charge of Adult ADHD. New York: Guilford Press.


Ghuman, J., & Ghuman, H. (2014). ADHD in Preschool Children: Assessment and Treatment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.


Grohol, J. M. (n. d.). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Retrieved on April 17, 2017


from https://psychcentral.com/disorders/adhd/


Polanczyk, G. V., Willcutt, E. G., Salum, G. A., Kieling, C., & Rohde, L. A. (2014). ADHD prevalence estimates across three decades: an updated systematic review and meta-regression analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology, 43(2), 434-442.


Ramsay, J. R., & Rostain, A. L. (2014). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for adult ADHD: An integrative psychosocial and medical approach. Abingdon: Routledge.


Percival, T. (2014). Medical ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


Teeter, P. A. (1998). Interventions for ADHD: Treatment in Developmental Context. New York: Guilford.

Deadline is approaching?

Wait no more. Let us write you an essay from scratch

Receive Paper In 3 Hours
Calculate the Price
275 words
First order 15%
Total Price:
$38.07 $38.07
Calculating ellipsis
Hire an expert
This discount is valid only for orders of new customer and with the total more than 25$
This sample could have been used by your fellow student... Get your own unique essay on any topic and submit it by the deadline.

Find Out the Cost of Your Paper

Get Price