Applied Final Project Part 3: ADHD

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Applied Final Project Part 3: ADHD When parents find a child to be unruly or having a very short attention span, they seem to think the child may be testing the parents’ tolerance levels as to what they can get away with. However; the cause may be a bit more complicated and may need to be assessed by a psychiatrist. Psychiatrists can help parents better understand what may be happening with in a child’s mind during the early years of development. Recently a 6 year old child was diagnosed with a disorder that dealt with short attention span and hyperactivity. The following will go into more detail as to what the disorder is and some possible treatments, as well as support systems for the parents and family members. History In 1798, Sir Alexander…show more content…
Urie Bronfenbrenner’s theory of Ecological System Theory of Development will help describe how ADHD affects the child and the environment around them. Bronfenbrenner‘s theory says that there are series of systems that make up a child’s development; including microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem. Microsystem describes the child’s daily patterns and activities and how well they interact with symbols, objects, or people such as parents, siblings or other caregivers (Brooks, 2008). Mesosystem talks about how well they make relationships with two or more settings such as parents at home or teachers at school (Brooks, 2008). Exosystem describes how indirect environmental changes can affect a child such as a parents job or governmental agencies (Brooks, 2008). Finally, macrosystem talks about the broad shared beliefs of society on how things should be accomplished (Brooks,…show more content…
When considering Bronfenbrenner’s theory of ecological development and the concentric spheres of influence there are numerous variables to address. As the ecological theory points out, the influence flows both inward towards the child and outward from the child. Therefore in addressing the six year old child recently diagnosed with ADHD it is important to address both inward and outward influences. Carr (2009) supports this by discussing “childhood behavior problems are maintained by both personal attributes (such as self-regulation problems) on the one hand and contextual factors (such as problematic parenting practices) on the other” (p. 10). Therefore family therapy to address both of these variables, also consistent with treating the ecological mesosystem, is an effective approach (Carr,

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