Psychology

This paper will demonstrate how a teenage male deals with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, of ADHD, copes with their feelings and emotions as they work through their day, and the parents who must react. Kids in general have a lot of energy, but some have much more than others. The hope is figuring out what makes them feel the way they do. Here is one example of someone who suffers from ADHD and how they are doing.

Excerpt from a teenage boy
After having a tough time going to bed last night, I woke up with all of this energy inside of me. Going to sleep last night was difficult for me because I have all of this energy that I do not know what to do with. My mind keeps thinking of all of these things I could do, such as help out my friends. Or, do things that are expected of me like helping out more around the house by taking out the trash or cleaning up my room.

I know my mother asks me to do chores, but it gets tiring after a short time. I dont want to roam around the house looking for trash barrels to empty or bringing trash bags full of lawn clippings to the front of the driveway. That just seems like too muchwork. I want to be free of those things so that I can do something else.

So, I wake up this morning wondering what I should complete first. Sleeping should relax me, but instead, I have plenty of energy to spare. I know my parents asked me to go to the supermarket this morning to buy groceries. The problem is I do not remember what it is I need to get. Mom said for me to write it down so I would not forget. However, I could not find a pencil or enough paper to use for my list.

Dad wants me to help out in the yard. There is raking, mulching, weeding and planting new flowers for my mothers garden to do. The last time I helped out, I ended up flooding the new seeds. That did not make my parents happy. I also broke one of the trash bags after tripping on a rake I was supposed to put away. That also did not make my Dad happy.

There is the problem in a nutshell how to contribute without being so useless. I want to show them I can work alongside them and be productive and helpful. The problem is I get bored too easily and will do something else to take my mind off the task. For example, I might run around my front yard to let off some steam. It works well for me, but my father thinks I am just goofing off and will yell at me to get back to work. I want to help, but raking leaves and putting them into bags becomes tedious. The bag does not always stay open, the leaves fall on either side of the opening. The bag always feels like it will burst from overfilling.

My dad shows me how to work smarter and not harder. I see it as busy work and may not (in his view) put in my best effort. Yard work stinks and I would rather have my parents do it than me (and receive the added bonus of exercise that comes with bending and lifting the debris from the yard).

I will hang out with my friends who are nice and dont take life too seriously. Perhaps I can use my day to do great things today

Diary, as seen by the teenage boys father
My son looks like he can do plenty, but does not apply himself. I want to see him become self-sufficient, like how my father taught me. It makes me sad to think he will have to reply on other people to get by. He just needs to set his mind to something and follow through to its conclusion. If he can accomplish that, then there is no limitation to how far he can go in life.

Today, I needed him to help me do some of the yard work. I am not getting any younger, and the braches that are coming off the tress are heavy. When he was younger, my son would love jumping into the pile of leaves I built. Now, he could care less about assisting me and what needs to be done around the house.

What needed to be done was to weed out the flower bed, rake the yard and put the leaves, dead grass and small sticks into bags for the garbage men to take. My back and legs hurt from the constant bending and squatting. Having my son around to help me would ease my burden and make him contribute to the well-being of the house.

Instead, he forgoes his responsibilities to the house by hanging out all day with his friends. I want to see him work hard and become a productive member of society. That is not going to happen if he fails to hone his energy toward helping himself and others.

He says there are many things he can do, like assisting around the house and shop for groceries. The trouble is that he does not follow through. He did not go to the supermarket because he forgot what to buy. He wont help out with the yard work because he says it bores him. He was playing not that long ago not caring about how the leaves became a pile. Now that he knows, it does not concern him to help out.

I wish that he could see how his actions, however, subtle, are hurting him and his family. We will not be here to care for him forever, and the sooner he realizes that he must keep himself under control if he is to be accepted in society. Otherwise, he is going to be a burden to more than just his family and friends.

From the psychologist
Based on the diary entries written by the patient and his father, it appears that he lacks structure. He wants to do things, but cannot get started on them. Or, if he begins a task, he does not see it to its end. That is reason for the disconnection between the parent and the child. They do not see eye-to-eye on what needs to be done.

The father sees his son as bored and too easy-going. He does not see responsibility or embrace it when it is asked of him. When asked to help out around the house, the son decides to help for a little while before moving on to some other activity. The father sees this as being lazy and unfocused. He said that will come back to bite him later in life when there may be nobody else to help him through life.
Conversely, the son believes he has plenty of energy to do things. He thinks there are not enough hours in the day to do them. That he has trouble sleeping is troubling because not getting enough sleep can mean a tired body and mind. Forgetfulness is also a sign that the brain is not working toward its full potential. Whether that is a result of lack of sleep or a part of laziness on the part of the son remains to be seen, pending further evaluation.

My diagnosis is that the child suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, of ADHD. The patients needs to move around and wants to do several different tasks simultaneously. The problem is that he cannot stay focus on just one activity. This result represents the son getting nothing done and having the people who are counting on him to become upset, disillusioned or even not trust him.
My initial treatment is to work with the family to set up some guidelines. Have the son work on one task, such as taking out the garbage, and not giving him another responsibility until the first chore is completed correctly. Should there be more chores to do around the house, then the parents can set up a list of things he has to do. The son can check off the chores he has completed before moving on to the next one.

This will provide parameters for the parents and the son to follow. He can ask for help if necessary. Once he finishes the tasks, then he can move onto something elseor even be rewarded by letting him go out with his friends for an hour or two.

Being able to see where the problems lie and how to fix them will create the basis for trust in the family. The parents will not be ticked off when the son forgets to do something or is doing something other than listening to them when they are offering directions on doing something. The son can imagine doing some tasks in a fun way. Being a teenager might present a different set of changes than a toddler. That said, there ways to teach the son that there are many ways to finish a job.

My hope is that further evaluations will result in less negative episodes and more interaction between the parents and the child. He said he wants to help out, but is unsure how. The parents said they have plenty for him to do around the house, but he fails to finish any of them. Someplace between the two parties lies the answer. I have given them a place to start. If they can stay with the program and learn from each otherbecause this is a learning process for both the parents and their sonthen they will all succeed.

If the treatment fails, then other measures such as medication, follow-up visits and other measures will have to be used to control the ADHD. My opinion is the first treatment should work well enough so that the patient is not dependent on something else other than his parents.