ADHD - medical condition or misdiagnosis?

By: Alysha Jones, '11 | Staff Reporter

Posted: 3/12/10

Everybody acknowledges and is sometimes annoyed by the students who can't stop clicking their pen, tapping their toes and constantly making sounds of boredom. Many may think of them as immature, but that student may be suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

What is ADHD? In what ways does it affect the diagnosed student's education?

According to webmd.com, ADHD starts in childhood and continues into adulthood. There haven't been any diagnoses that an adult has developed the medical condition. It's caused from changes in the brain. In some cases, it has been believed that while the child was in the womb they had been exposed to cigarettes and alcohol. Genes may be another possibility.

Jason Terry, a MSC casino management student, has ADHD and says "it's bullshit" because he doesn't feel it's a big deal or medical condition. It's an excuse, he says, for doctors to give you medication.

Britni Brookins, restaurant mangagement student at Morrisville, agrees with Terry saying every individual has to be interested in what they're doing and the classes they're taking. Her ex- boyfriend was diagnosed with ADHD and describes him as "crazy" like a "nut job" as she laughed. She says he was always really happy.

Although Terry doesn't agree with his condition being medical, he still takes the medication because it helps him focus in class and calm down.

The two most common medications known to college students are Adderall and Ritalin.

"Their mind is thinking of ten different things at once," says Brookins.

Terry adds to Brookins saying that he can't sit still at all. He doesn't play video games or watch movies because his attention span is short: he only wants to get up and move.

"Two hour classes are hard," Terry says.

According to Vernon M. Neppe MD, PhD , the author of "Irritability and Serotonin IA Neuromodulation," says, "Patients often present with school or behavioral problems linked with difficulty concentrating/distractibility and an impulsivity manifesting often as irritability and low frustration tolerance."

During classes, Terry says he gets distracted by the smallest things like what's on the wall. Due to this, he says he hasn't learned a lot. He says he feels that if he was taught by another learning method then he could learn, but sitting and listening is not easy for him.

Instructor Lou DeMott of Morrisville State's Norwich Campus and retired high school teacher says, "My feeling is years ago there was no diagnosing and teachers worked with students who had difficulties."

He says that it is easier to notice students who have ADHD in high school, but most of the time the college lets the teachers be aware of students who have it due to modifications.

Patrick Ford is a MSC student who formerly took early childhood development and says now in elementary up to high school, parents have to sign a form to allow information pertaining to medical issues of any kind, including ADHD, to be given to the teacher.

DeMott and Ford both agree saying that makes it hard for the teacher to understand why the student is having difficulties.

Having been a teacher for many years, DeMott says he cannot recall ever having issues with a student with ADHD, but he has noticed boys generally fall under this condition. He says if the student is having issues learning, it is done on an individual basis. Finding out ways he can help, he says, is important for the student to work through school.

DeMott says he wishes to see less students on medication and more teachers trying to work with the student and the student's needs. He says years ago "teachers were expected to make sure every student passed," even if they need to use a different learning method for that individual.

"It's just their brain works different and faster," says Brookins.