Mental Health Issues - ADHD Among Children
Mental Health Issues - ADHD Among Children
Mental Health Issues - ADHD Among Children
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The Issue
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a very common issue because U.S.
national statistics illustrate that approximately 4 to 12 percent of children are diagnosed with the
disorder (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2022). This agency (a special needs school in an urban low-
income environment in Mississippi) has experienced an even higher pattern of ADHD among
children in the school because about 20 to 30 percent of them have ADHD. The agency helps
children with diverse mental health issues including Aspergers, anxiety, autism, mood disorders,
traumatic brain injuries, non-verbal learning disorder and ADHD. The agency has over 200
students and out of that number, 25 have been diagnosed with ADHD. The previous years have
shown the same pattern because each year, the new entrants have a considerable portion of
Children with ADHD have a higher risk for emotional, behavioral and mental concerns
and disorders. These risk factors make the child to have a high likelihood of adopting delinquent
with factors like strong mental health problems among their parents. Evidence shows that social
support, family climate and self-efficacy are preventive factors (Wustner et al., 2019). The
family climate was found to be the most effective means of preventive development of ADHD or
managing the condition compared to social support or self-efficacy. Wustner et al. (2019)
determined that creating a supportive family environment that does not expose children to the
social and behavioral problems linked with dysfunctional families can enable children who are
susceptible to ADHD to avoid developing that disorder. Social support ranks second as the other
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preventive measure because the child needs to have a conducive environment to enhance their
The key issue known about ADHD in this agency’s population is that they the children
with ADHD have impaired ability to develop or maintain social relationships. Upon conducting
further research, it has been identified that researchers like Bussing et al. (1998) also found that
ADHD children have problems forming social relationships. In this agency, most of the children
diagnosed with ADHD had problems developing social relationships and boys were affected
Providing parents with training on behavior management is an intervention that has been
studied by many scholars, researchers and professionals in the medical field and that has proven
to be successful. According to Friars and Mellor (2007), the program on behavior management
that is offered to parents of children with ADHD was effective in enabling them to manage their
children and help them overcome the negative outcomes (including violent conduct and anti-
social behavior) associated with their disorder. Other researchers like Pfiffner and Haack (2014);
Singh et al. (2010); Edwards (2002) and Webster-Stratton et al. (2011) have also determined that
providing training to parents concerning how they can manage the behavior of their children and
help to reduce the negative social relationships that most children with ADHD manifest. In all of
the studies mentioned in this section, self-management, non-stimulant medicines, and education
programs were also found to be treatment options that have helped a large population of children
with ADHD and rank as effective or potentially effective interventions to address the problem.
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Their common factors have shown that they are effective in treating the problem. When
executed individually, the interventions may help in managing the ADHD but there is need for
an effective framework that combines use of more than one of those interventions. For instance,
Froelich et al. (2002) found that parent training management has to be combined with cognitive
behavioral treatment to ensure better outcomes in the treatment process for children with ADHD.
The use of non-stimulant medicines with self-management procedures and education programs
Each of the research studies conducted concerning the issue of ADHD among children
has its limitations and strengths. For instance, the strengths of the study by Wustner et al. (2019)
have strengths such as the derivation data from the first longitudinal study to comprehensively
assess the wellbeing and mental health of children in Germany. The use of established measures
to assess the risk and protective factors linked with ADHD among children proved to be a
strength as well. The limitations in the Bussing et al. (1998) study is that it does not consider
some intervention options like non-stimulant medicines. Additionally, the study is not current
therefore its findings might be applicable to the 1998 period but are not relevant to the current
time period.
There are researchers like Duarte et al. (2022) who focused on a sample population of
children in urban low-income communities and sought to identify how to help them to address
the issue of ADHD as it applies to children in society. The study focused on a sample population
of 1408 participants (children and adolescents) and since that sample population was based on a
region with a high population of people (Itaborai, Brazil), when narrowed down to the context
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similar to the one in this agency, the population matches ours concerning income-level (Duarte et
al., 2022). However, there are other factors like ethnicity and race that do not match this
agency’s context and that factor will be addressed in the next subsection. Palcic et al. (2007) is
another researcher whose sample population, research focus and intervention measures matched
the ones for this agency because they focused on the possible influence of parent and teacher
involvement in addressing their issue of behavior of children with ADHD in classrooms and how
The intervention that was done in the study by Duarte et al. (2022) would have to be
adjusted to match the cultural context in the U.S. because the economic, social, legislative,
technological, political and social contexts between those two environments are different.
Regardless, it is important to recognize that the prevalence, cases and treatment of ADHD has
been adjusted in contemporary society to ensure that all affected people are provided access to
the same amenities despite their race, cultural practices, ethnic backgrounds or other such
factors.
There are some interventions – like – therapy that have been proven to be effective in
diverse contexts but there is little evidence concerning their effectiveness in addressing the
identifying the best way to help the affected individuals to address the mental health problems
faced by their children. ADHD relaxation training and stress management options that help the
children overcome their negative behavioral problems or social interactional challenges are
examples of interventions that could be executed and result in positive outcomes but in urban
low-income contexts like the one in this agency cannot be successful because of the costs.
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The existing gap in research is that the focus on previous research concerning the welfare
of children with ADHD in low-income settings has been on choice of one treatment option. Not
many research studies address the issue by focusing on the potential effectiveness of combining
several interventions to achieve the expected outcomes. The availables options in treating,
preventing or managing the issues linked with ADHD are known to many scholars, researchers,
and professionals but they (policy makers, the government, civil rights activists, medical
professionals, family members and friends), overlook the financial issues that vary based in the
environment where the individual has resided or is located. There is need for more research to be
conducted to determine how or why people from low income societies have no access to services
that could enable them to access effective measures that enable their children to manage their
Recommendations
The empirical evidence provided shows that the most effective intervention in enhancing
management of ADHD among children in this agency is parent training concerning their
capability to manage the behavior of their children. The study outcomes have shown that there is
no universal intervention program that can address the issue. Even though training parents on
how to manage the poor social relationships of their children might be effective, the
effectiveness of that procedure has to be linked with other interventions including medical and
non-medical interventions, social support, and the education program in schools. As has been
illustrated by researchers, scholars and professionals in the medical field like Johns Hopkins
Medicine (2022)), Wustner et al., 2019; Bussing et al., 1998; Friars and Mellor, 2007; Singh et
al., 2010; and Edwards, 2002) and other professionals in addressing the problems with ADHD,
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child associated with children with ADHD have to accommodate a combined effort to treat their
The Outline
The intervention will follow a systematic process. First, the staff, parents, close relatives,
friends and other stakeholders have to be trained in addressing the challenges faced by the child.
Secondly. Costs associated with the initiative have to be taken into consideration. The scheduling
and budgeting framework has to associated with a rigid framework established through a
collaborative framework that involves reliance on the expertise of other parties from diverse
fields including the financial and professional development departments. Overall, the
effectiveness of the proposed framework is linked with skills, knowledge and experience of the
involved parties in ensuring that the children in this context access the right services to enhances
References
Barkley, R. A., Edwards, G., Laneri, M., Fletcher, K., & Metevia, L. (2001). The efficacy of
Bussing, R., Zima, B. T., Perwien, A. R., Belin, T. R., & Widawski, M. (1998). Children in
special education programs: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, use of services, and
Duarte, C. S., Lovero, K. L., Sourander, A., Ribeiro, W. S., & Bordin, I. A. (2022). The child
mental health treatment gap in an urban low-income setting: multisectoral service use and
Friars, P. M., & Mellor, D. J. (2007). Drop out from behavioral management training programs
Froelich, J., Doepfner, M., & Lehmkuhl, G. (2002). Effects of combined cognitive behavioural
Psychotherapy, 30(1), 111-115.
and-diseases/adhdadd#:~:text=Estimates%20suggest%20that%20about%204,sisters
%20within%20the%20same%20family.
Palcic, J. L., Jurbergs, N., & Kelley, M. L. (2009). A comparison of teacher and parent delivered
Pfiffner, L. J., & Haack, L. M. (2014). Behavior management for school-aged children with
Singh, N. N., Singh, A. N., Lancioni, G. E., Singh, J., Winton, A. S., & Adkins, A. D. (2010).
Mindfulness training for parents and their children with ADHD increases the children’s
Webster-Stratton, C. H., Reid, M. J., & Beauchaine, T. (2011). Combining parent and child
training for young children with ADHD. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent
Psychology, 40(2), 191-203.
Wüstner, A., Otto, C., Schlack, R., Hölling, H., Klasen, F., & Ravens-Sieberer, U. (2019). Risk
and protective factors for the development of ADHD symptoms in children and