EssayClub.com - Free College Essays and Term Papers

: The Resurrection Of Students From The Pitfalls Of Ritalin And Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (Ad/Hd)

Running head:   THE RESURRECTION OF STUDENTS FROM THE PITFALLS OF RITALIN AND ATTENTION DEFICIT-HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (AD/HD)

The Resurrection of Students from the Pitfalls of Ritalin and
Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)
Osiris S. Kafu
South Carolina State University
A Research Paper for the Course
ED 528 – Advanced Teaching Methods
October 15, 2005

The Resurrection of Students from the Pitfalls of Ritalin and
Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)
Introduction
Ritalin is the most popular, of the stimulant drugs most frequently prescribed to treat children diagnosed with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). AD/HD according to the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is not a separate special education category; and students diagnosed with AD/HD are included under the IDEA category, Other Health Impairments (OHI). The OHI category includes students who have limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness with respect to the educational environment that is due to chronic or acute health problems; or that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. (Turnball, Shank & Smith, 2004)
Partly out of the controversy over false AD/HD diagnoses, IDEA does not define AD/HD and most schools and the professionals who certify students as AD/HD, abide by the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) (2000b) definition below:
The essential feature of AD/HD is a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequently displayed and severe than is typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development. (p.85)
Turnbull et al. (2004) specifies APA’s limiting criteria of frequency and severity is important in diagnosing a student with AD/HD, to satisfy the IDEA requirement that students are not over diagnosed. A student should not receive a diagnosis of AD/HD unless those characteristics are chronic and severe and consistently...