Cause and Effect Essay

Helen Nesterenko
2/23/15
ELA, Lipari What Effect Does Being ADHD Have on a Child? Many children and adults are identified as ADHD or ADD (having attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) in our current society, and many of us just stray away from such individuals. There is nothing wrong with ADHD, it just means that the child’s brain is wired differently. What no one does, is think of the effects on the individual that is created because we decide not to be understanding and accepting to them. It is already tough for parents to watch over and worry about the child, and it is even tougher for the children themselves. Social skill problems is one of three major difficulties for the identified ADHD child. This includes impulsive behavior and constant frustration, which results in angry outbursts. The uncontrolled eruptions of temper affect relationships and friendships, employment, school, and every aspect of life. In other cases, ADHD children may be withdrawn and forgetful, constantly distracted, and have difficulty focusing and maintaining attention. This also puts strain between relationships, because peers and or teachers do not know how to handle these different situations with the child, so he gets shunned. The student himself does not, and often cannot, do anything about the way he or she acts, because it simply does not seem to them as different or strange. ADHD children also have academic difficulties. It can range from not knowing what to write for a paper and time management, to problems such as dyslexia and auditory processing disorder. Many teachers just blow off the signs and blame the student ­ “She just doesn’t work hard enough,” or “He’d have less trouble if he only paid attention.” No child wants to fail ­ blaming does not help or change anything. Trying to find the reason for his lack of success and helping as much as possible once found is the right way to address this. The child struggles much more with this than the people around him do, but no one really acknowledges this. The last, and maybe the most important and tough effect of ADHD on a child, is the strained parent­child relationships. Many children with ADHD have poor sleep patterns, and although it seems like they do not to need much sleep, daytime behaviour is often worse without the needed hours of rest. As a result, parents have little time to themselves; whenever the child is awake they have to be watching them. Family relationships may be severely strained, and in some cases break down, bringing

additional social and financial difficulties. Also, parents may sometimes be rash to their child. When this happens, the child may feel angry and sad, which leads back to impulsive behavior troubles and making it harder for the whole family. Having ADHD in our modern disregardful world is hard. All the individuals, adults and children alike, should be acknowledged. It really is no one’s fault ­ it is just difficult for others to understand how to handle this because they either do or do not try, and for the person with the disorder himself to know how to keep himself retained. These people are trying their best to fit in and do well in our world, and everyone else should never discriminate that.