The history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The contemporary concept of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as defined in the DSM-IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association 2000) is relatively new. Excessive hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive children have been described in the literature since the nineteenth century. Some of the early depictions and etiological theories of hyperactivity were similar to current descriptions of ADHD. Detailed studies of the behavior of hyperactive children and increasing knowledge of brain function have changed the concepts of the fundamental behavioral and neuropathological deficits underlying the disorder. This article presents an overview of the conceptual history of modern-day ADHD

Classroom interventions for children with ADHD

In a typical classroom, children are instructed to remain seated, perform independent seatwork and follow teachers’ instructions. Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may find these classroom demands particularly difficult to adhere to because, by definition, children with ADHD experience difficulty in paying attention, possess more motor restlessness and respond more impulsively to their environment compared with other children. In class, children with ADHD often struggle to sustain attention when carrying out tasks or listening to instructions, frequently call out or talk to classmates at inappropriate times and regularly leave their seat without permission.They commonly show behavioural problems and have difficulty in progressing with their schoolwork, which often results in underachievement. These factors may lead to poor academic outcomes for children with ADHD and contribute to teacher stress, as teachers often do not have the necessary skills to deal with the behavioural problems of these children

Replication Data for: Look who is complaining: Psychological factors predicting subjective cognitive complaints in a large community sample of older adults

This dataset contains questionnaire data from 1219 adults from the general Dutch population aged 40 years or older. The data was collected online between October 2016 and March 2018. The goal was to examine the role of psychological factors in predicting subjective cognitive complaints in the domains of executive functioning, memory, and attention. For this purpose the following questionnaires were collected: Behavior Rating Inventory Executive Function - Adult version (BRIEF-A), Dutch version of the Memory Self-Efficacy Scale (MSEQ), Questionnaire for Experiences of Attention Deficits (German: Fragebogen Erlebter Defizite der Aufmerksamkeit [FEDA]), NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), and a demographic questionnaire. The demographic questionnaire contained questions about age, gender, education level, having a job, having a partner, having children, having pets, income, and body mass index. Additionally, questions about sleep, self-rated health, and quality of life were included

Source Discrimination in Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

<p>Objectives: The context of memory experiences is referred to as source memory and can be distinguished from the content of episodic item memory. Source memory represents a crucial part of biographic events and elaborate memory experiences. Whereas individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were shown to have inefficient item memory, little is known about the context of memory experiences.</p><p>Methods: The present study compared 37 adult patients with a diagnosed ADHD with 40 matched healthy participants on a word list paradigm. Memory functions of encoding, retention and source discrimination were assessed. Furthermore, standardized measures of memory and executive control were applied in order to explore a qualitative differentiation of memory components.</p><p>Results: Adult patients with ADHD showed impaired performance in encoding of new information whereas the retention of encoded items was found to be preserved. The most pronounced impairment of patients with ADHD was observed in source discrimination. Regression models of cognitive functions on memory components supported some qualitative differentiation.</p><p>Conclusions: Data analysis suggests a differential pattern of memory impairment in adults suffering from ADHD with a particular deficit in source discrimination. Inefficient source discrimination in adults with ADHD can affect daily functioning by limiting biographic awareness and disturbing general cognitive processes.</p>