Attention Deficit Hyperactivity has become a serious disorder in this country, and the medication used to treat this disorder has also become a problem. These tribulations include, over medication, under medicating, wrong medication, and misdiagnosis. There have been numerous studies done on each of these topics. The three reviews of journal articles, in this paper will be focusing on misdiagnosis, selective attention disorders, test and medications, and stimulants used, mainly Ritalin. .
Literature Review:.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.
"Effects of methylphenidate (Ritalin) on auditory performance in children with attention and auditory processing disorders".
There are three terms in this journal that must first be defined, CAPD - central auditory processing disorder, ADHD- attention deficit hyperactive disorder, and ACPT- auditory continuous performance test. Each child in this study displayed both ADHD and CAPD symptoms. Those with ADHD may have problems such as following directions, behave as though they have a hearing loss, frequently say "what" or "huh", and also may be displaying difficulty listening selectively in background noises. Causation of this may not be related to ADHD but to a misdiagnosis. The diagnosis depends on if an audiologist determining CAPD first sees a child or if a psychologist sees the child first and determines ADHD. There have been three main studies done on this subject and if Ritalin does help CAPD/ADHD or if it just masks a child's real "deficits". The focuses of these studies have been does Ritalin help? There have been mixed responses to answer this difficult question. Ritalin does help with impulsivity and attention span, which in-turn helps a child pay closer attention related to ACPT, but it does not eliminate auditory dysfunction as measured by central auditory processing assessments. "One might also infer," from these results, "that CAPD and ADHD are independent, but often occur comorbidly.