Catherine Nehring Massie provides important contextual information in considering children with attentional challenges. She discusses the prevalence of attentional challenges in today's culture and the contributing factors. She gives a general overview of the spectrum of attentional challenges and some of the indicators in children. Her history of…

Today's "ADHDscape" is no longer confined to images of fidgety children falling off classroom chairs. Trans-generational images flood popular culture, from "ADHD creator" with entrepreneurial style, to "ADHD troublemaker". Indeed, ADHD's enigmatic characteristics seem to apply as much to crying babies as to forgetful grannies. With the recent…

The paper presents results of preliminary work in developing a scale to assess attention deficit disorder in a manner that provides educationally useful information. Based in part on B. Keogh and J. Margolis's component analysis of attending skills in learning disabled children (skills of coming to attention, sustaining attention, and making…

Traditional diagnosis procedures for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may lead to over-diagnosis and are fraught with complications because the target behavioral symptoms are found in a variety of other disorders. Traditional treatments consisting of powerful side effect laden psychostimulant drugs…

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common psychiatric disorder of childhood. The extensive research on ADHD indicates that both assessment and treatment of ADHD is best accomplished through the involvement of multiple informants. By establishing a supervisory relationship with a university-based training clinic, child…

Teachers, psychologists, medical personnel, and parents need to work together with a common base of knowledge to provide appropriate services to children with attention deficit disorder (ADD). The history of ADD symptoms begins in the late 19th century but the term ADD was not coined until 1980. Since that time, definitions and terms have…

Many gifted and talented children are often misdiagnosed by psychologists and other health professionals as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Disorder (OD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), or another of the mood disorders. The misdiagnosis can stem from mistaken assumptions being made about the social and…

This paper describes experiences from a summer internship in a North Carolina wilderness program for youth 8-18 years of age with a diagnosed learning disability or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Children with ADD are trial and error learners, which makes them excellent candidates for experiential learning. Children with ADD are seekers of…

This paper briefly outlines the Homework Success Program (HSP), a family-school intervention program for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The HSP uses a conjoint behavioral approach, emphasizing the importance of implementing behavioral interventions that involve parents, teachers, and students. The primary goals of the program are…

This report discusses the development of an attention deficit disorder (ADD) organization in Costa Rica that provides information, training, and support services to parents and teachers. The report also offers information on how to develop this type of organization. Resources used to help disseminate information about ADD are described, including…

Co-existence of disorders--including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, tic disorder, developmental coordination disorder, and autism spectrum disorder--and sharing of symptoms across disorders (sometimes referred to as comorbidity) is the rule rather than the exception in child psychiatry and developmental…

This paper reviews the history and current status of services to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Finland. It notes the availability of free or almost free health services in Finland and the resulting very low infant mortality rate. The history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), termed "minimal brain…

This paper presents three case studies of gifted children with a disability. Emphasis is on the importance of identifying the gifted abilities of such individuals and providing for their special needs. Sarah is a 14-year-old girl with severe athetoid cerebral palsy who has above average mathematical ability and general knowledge. The use of…