The aim of my dissertation is to map parents´ life who have children with the ADHD syndrome. This presented dissertation consists of the theoretical and practical part. In the theoretical part I am dealing with ADHD syndrome, his definition, characteristics, causes of origin, diagnostics, then I mention difficulties which are connected to ADHD syndrome and his presence in population. Then in chapter Child with ADHD I focus on particularities of its evolution, then I describe the sense and role of the child´s family. The important part is the upbringing ADHD children and, also suitable attitudes for them. I am also dealing with parents who have ADHD child and their potential difficulties, which they can be faced. The last chapter is ADHD Child in the school, where I describe the sense of the teacher for ADHD child and how relations the family and the school have, possibilities how to help, support for parents and their ADHD children. The qualitative method which means interview was chosen for this research. The content of the practical part is to analyse and make dialogues with the parents of ADHD children with the aim to answer on given research questions and to fulfil the aim of my dissertation. Interviews was realised with four respondents. With one of them there was also respondent´s husband. The respondents´ children´s age was from 6 to 12 years, 3 boys and 1 girl. Interviews were rewritten word to word by direct transcription towards written form and subsequently were elaborated by open coding with the subsequent setting cards. Respondents described similar characteristics their children with ADHD as hyperactivity, inattentiveness, impulsiveness and madness. Also they agreed that child´s ADHD negatively influenced the relationship with their partners.

The purpose of the current study was to explore the relationships between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, depression, and memory impairment in children. It was hypothesized that level of inattention would negatively correlated with performance on measures of visual-spatial short-term memory and verbal memory. Children with greater levels of depressive symptoms were predicted to perform more poorly than less depressed peers on effortful measures of verbal and visual short-term memory, measures of verbal working memory, and measures of verbal long-term memory recall. Results indicated that impaired performance on one measure of visual-spatial short-term memory was related to increased levels of inattention and depression. Impairments were found on measures of verbal long-term memory recall and recognition related to greater attention problems, hyperactivity, and depressive symptoms. These deficits remained significantly related to inattention and hyperactivity beyond a deficit in encoding verbal material.

In an era where the diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is as high as 7% in school-aged children, the search for causes and preventions has never been more important. Current research indicates a positive relationship between bilingualism, particularly native bilingualism, and executive function in normally developing individuals. This study served to examine the potential relationship between bilingual education in a public school setting and the presence of ADHD symptoms in that school's students. This was a comparative analysis of students in a South Florida School District's two-way immersion program with the national average in terms of frequency of ADHD symptoms using the NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale and the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham (SNAP). The results did not show any significant differences between groups in terms of language history, gender, race, or family structure.

The purposes of the present study were to determine which aspects of processing speed are affected in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and which cognitive and motoric skills predict processing speed performance. Results indicated that children with ADHD performed slower than controls on perceptual and visual-motor speed measures (Symbol Search and Coding) but not on reaction time or cognitive speed measures (Simple Reaction Time and Decision Speed). Those with ADHD-PI were particularly affected. Verbal working memory predicted Symbol Search, Coding and Decision Speed performance, while graphomotor speed predicted Coding, and fine motor dexterity predicted Decision Speed. Thus, children with ADHD may struggle on tasks with greater perceptual and visual-motor demands, which may be related to the inattention dimension. Furthermore, this study provides further evidence for the relationship between working memory and processing speed, especially central executive involvement in processing speed. Other theoretical and clinical implications are discussed for classroom and clinic interventions.

This present study evaluated the use of conditional discrimination training and a self-control procedure to increase task compliance, task preference and self-control in three participants. All three participants were previously diagnosed with autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Using a multiple baseline design, participants were first exposed to a preference assessment, a naturalistic baseline and a choice baseline. A relational responding task was then introduced, which attempted to alter the functions of contextual cues associated with `more than' and `less than'. A choice baseline was re-administered to support the transformation of functions and the larger, delayed reinforcer was thinned within a second choice baseline. A final preference assessment was completed that showed an increase in preference of a previously least-preferred task. Results of the procedure showed an increase of self-control, task compliance and task preference. Suggestions for future research and limitations of the study are also discussed.

To date there has been limited empirical exploration of the utility of behavior report form’s embedded symptom validity scales. The purpose of this study was to address this by examining the Conners - Third Edition (Conners 3) Parent Report Form’s ability to detect purposeful exaggeration of symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity in an effort to obtain a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This was accomplished by using a malingering simulation experimental design whereby a group of parents, whose children did not have a diagnosis of ADHD, were entreated to simulate symptoms of ADHD on the Conners 3. Their simulated reports were then compared to the responses of parents whose children had a diagnosis of ADHD, as well as to the Conners 3’s normative sample. Results indicate that simulators, provided with information easily obtained from the internet and minimal coaching, were largely able to fabricate profiles indicative of ADHD. Furthermore, they were able to accomplish this ADHD without raising concern regarding the validity of the report based upon the Conners 3’s embedded symptom validity scales. While simulators did produce significantly more severe symptom elevations compared to the ADHD comparison group, their profiles were not so extreme as to aid in discriminating over-reporting. The ramification of these findings in the context of the need for stand-alone symptom validity testing is discussed.

Aim of this thesis is to look at the problematics of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and show the attitude towards children in the school environment. ADHD and other connected terminology is explained in the theoretical part of the thesis. Possible causes of ADHD are described in the following chapters. Because pupils in lower secondary schools are in their puberty, this stage is described from the psychological point of view. Analysis of symptoms of ADHD in various stages of life follows. Attention will be also focused on prevention of problematic behavior at school. The end of the theoretical part is dedicated to possibilities of threatment and the experience of special pedagocial centres. Practical part of this thesis consist of interviews with teachers who have been teaching children with ADHD. The aim is to analyze the factors which may affect the success of students with ADHD in obtaining of primary education.

abstract: ADHD is a childhood neurobehavioral disorder characterized by inordinate levels of hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The inability to withhold a reinforced response, or response inhibition capacity (RIC), is one aspect of impulsivity associated with ADHD. The first goal of this dissertation was to evaluate the fixed minimum interval (FMI) schedule as a method for assessing RIC. Chapter 2 showed that latencies were substantially more sensitive than FMI-derived estimates of RIC to the effects of pre-feeding and changes in rate and magnitude of reinforcement. Chapter 3 examined the ability of the FMI to discriminate between spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), an animal model of ADHD, and Wistar Kyoto (WKY) controls. Results from Chapter 3 showed that RIC was not substantially different between SHR and WKY rats. However, latencies were significantly shorter for SHRs than for WKYs suggesting incentive motivation differed between strains. The second goal of this dissertation was to examine the sensitivity of the SHR to nicotine. ADHD is a risk factor for tobacco dependence. The goal of Chapters 4 and 5 was to determine whether the SHR provided a model of ADHD-related tobacco sensitivity. Chapter 4 examined nicotine's locomotor and rewarding effects in adolescent SHRs using the conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure. SHRs developed CPP to the highest nicotine dose tested and were sensitive to nicotine's locomotor-enhancing properties. WKY controls did not develop CPP to any nicotine dose tested and were not sensitive to nicotine's locomotor properties. However, it is likely that nicotine effects were obscured by a pseudo-conditioning to saline in WKYs. Chapter 5 demonstrated that SHRs were more active than WKYs in the open-field but not in the Rotorat apparatus. Results also showed that SHRs and WKYs were both sensitive to nicotine's locomotor sensitizing effects. However, WKYs were more sensitive than SHRs to nicotine's locomotor suppressing effects. Collectively, results from Chapters 4 and 5 show that SHRs are sensitive to the rewarding and locomotor-enhancing properties of nicotine. However, more research is necessary to confirm that SHRs are a suitable model for studying ADHD-related tobacco use. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2015

Studiens syfte var att få en fördjupad insikt i hur personalen i förskolan ser på bemötande av barn med ADHD. Metoden som valdes för studien har en kvalitativ ansats med intervjuer som genomförts med åtta verksamma pedagoger. Det teoretiska perspektiv som använts till analys och tolkning är det sociokulturella perspektivet. Resultatet visar att personalen använder sig av ett lågaffektivt bemötande där barnets behov kommer främst. Studiens slutsats är att de flesta barn inte har en ADHD-diagnos redan i förskolan, men trots denna gråzon finns det metoder och handlingsplaner som möter barn inom ADHD kriterierna.

Denna studie syftade till att få ökad kunskap om grundskollärares uppfattningar gällande begreppet inkludering samt hur dessa lärare ansåg att de arbetar för att inkludera elever med ADHD i den ordinarie undervisningen. Då studien undersökte uppfattningar valdes ett fenomenografiskt perspektiv, ett perspektiv som behandlar människors uppfattningar och erfarenheter. Lärarnas uppfattningar undersöktes genom kvalitativa intervjuer av verksamma grundskollärare spridda över stora delar av Sverige. Utifrån intervjuerna framgick flera olika uppfattningar om begreppet inkludering, de var dock lika lärarna sinsemellan. Det framkom även flera uppfattningar om hur lärare kan arbeta för att inkludera elever med ADHD i den ordinarie undervisningen. Intervjuerna analyserades utifrån en fenomenografisk analysmodell där likheter och skillnader bland uppfattningarna kunde urskiljas. Likheterna och skillnaderna utgjorde sedan underlag för beskrivningskategorier, vilka kategoriserade lärarnas mest förekommande uppfattningar. Utifrån resultatet framkom att en definition av begreppet inkludering borde fastställas så att lärare får en överensstämmande förståelse för begreppet. Det framkom även att inkluderande arbetssätt för elever med ADHD kan fungera för alla elever i en elevgrupp.