Date of Graduation

2001

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder affects approximately two million American school children by making them distractible and impulsive, and by causing them to have a short attention span in both scholastic and social situations. These characteristics generally result in the students receiving poor marks in academic subjects, being reprimanded frequently, and being labeled as disruptive and difficult to control by both their parents and teachers. Pediatricians and psychiatrists most often prescribe psychostimulant medications to control the syndrome, and this is an effective treatment in sixty to seventy percent of cases. There are questions about the safety of long-term use of medication, however, and there is a subset of children whose problems are exacerbated by using the medication. In this study, case histories were collected on six children whose parents decided against the safety of long-term use of psychostimulant medication, or whose symptoms worsened when they took the medication. Their mothers were interviewed in order to determine what courses of treatment they tried when conventional medical treatments were not successful or effective for their children. The retrospective recall of the mothers showed a combination of the following interventions to be valuable for their children: dietary intervention in which aggravating foods to the syndrome were avoided; soliciting strong family support and cooperation; teaching the children behavior management techniques; engaging the children in meaningful leisure activity; and developing a strong supportive connection between home and school. The combination of these interventions helped families achieve success in controlling attention deficit hyperactivity disorder without use of prescription medication.

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