Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Giovanna Riccio
The variable that underlies the recent and steep rise of children diagnosed
with ADHD, as proposed by many psychologists, is that ADHD was often confused
with hyperactivity, simple laziness, or just unwillingness to perform tasks like
homework, reading, or sitting still at the dinner table. Since ADHD has been
behavior has also increased. Some suggest that the use of medication is necessary;
others believe that other means can be used such as behavior modification therapy.
The article (Lee, M. (2007). Point: Safe, Effective, and Life-Changing Medication.
Points of View Reference Center, p2-2. Retrieved February 9, 2008, from EBESCOhost
therapy in order to treat ADHD. However, the article does seem to favor the use of
medication more than that of therapy. My opinion lies with those that state that
medication is an easy fix that is used to benefit parents and peers more than the
patient himself.
Before living in West Virginia I lived in Naples, Italy where I worked at the
with ADHD and autism. Firsthand experience has shown me that children with
behavioral disorders suffer emotionally in that they “perceive” they are different,
and socially in that they are “treated” different by peers and teachers. I have
observed the instant change in behavior when a child was on or off their
behaviors whether they were on their medication or not. More often than not,
medication; when not on medication teachers were more likely to openly release
their frustration and impatience on the child. Many children in the school in which I
worked suffered from ADHD. I assume that moving to foreign countries and having
to continuously familiarize with new people and cultures (typical military lifestyle)
may cause stress to a child and could possibly become a trigger for such disorder
(in some cases). Sometimes the use of medication is unavoidable. However, the fact
that children affected by such disorder are treated as if they were the disorder
Lee, M. (2007). Point: Safe, Effective, and Life-Changing Medication. Points of View
Reference Center,
p2-2. Retrieved February 9, 2008, from EBESCOhost database.
Reading Response 1: Are Drugs necessary? A Personal View on the topic.
Giovanna Riccio