Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka hur det kan vara att leva med ADHD som vuxen inom tre områden; arbete, fritidsaktiviteter och vardagsliv, och på så vis öka förståelsen för dessa individer.  Som underlag för studien gjordes kvalitativa intervjuer med tre vuxna män med ADHD-diagnos. Resultatet från dessa intervjuer analyserades med hjälp av teorier om copingstrategier och KASAM.  Intervjumaterialet visade på en stor spridning av hur funktionsnedsättningen ADHD påverkade livet. Det var främst symptomen uppmärksamhetsstörning och hyperaktivitet som ledde till svårigheter i arbetsliv, fritid och vardagsliv. Svårigheterna yttrade sig dock på väldigt olika sätt. Symptomet hyperaktivitet upplevdes i vissa situationer som en tillgång. Eftersom ADHD påverkade intervjupersonerna olika gavs exempel på ett flertal copingstrategier. Det gavs också olika exempel på hur ADHD påverkade intervjupersonernas upplevelse av begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet. / The purpose of this paper was to examine life with ADHD as an adult in three areas: work, leisure activities and daily life, and thereby increase the understanding of these individuals. The empirical research of the study was interviews with three adult males with ADHD. The result from the interviews was analyzed using theories of coping strategies and SOC. The result revealed a width of how the disability ADHD affected the interviewee’s lives.  It was mainly the symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity that affected work, leisure and everyday life. The difficulties were manifested in very different ways. The symptom hyperactivity could in some situations be seen as a benefit. Since ADHD affected the interviewees in different ways a number of various coping strategies were given as examples of how the interviewees deal with stressful situations in live. Various examples of how ADHD affected the interviewee’s experience of SOC were reviled in the study.

Through employing a two-faceted approach to the sociological study of Attention Deficit- Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), this thesis seeks to further the study of this mental illness and also to elucidate new methodological directions for the sociology of similar phenomena. Past approaches in the sociology of mental disorder have considerable merit, but may also be limited in the type of analyses they offer. One particular limitation concerns sociological accounts of mental illness that portray the meaning of such illnesses as unified and that this unification results from the collusion of special interests. Sociologists who address mental illnesses as social problems, for example, appear wont to portray such illnesses as social constructions which arise from specific agents of labeling. With regard to ADHD, previous sociological accounts often make a case for the rhetorical and political power of government agencies, medical practitioners, and pharmaceutical companies. Though such agents are certainly influential in shaping public conceptions of ADHD, this thesis demonstrates that ADHD is interpreted in various ways. These assertions are supported through the analysis of two different data sources: 1) textual data; and 2) interview data. The textual data for the first part of the thesis comprises the subject matter for a genealogy of ADHD. Through examining past and contemporary texts that frame this disorder, including medical journal articles, medical manuals, popular writings, and parental guidebooks, the author argues that the historical and current discussions of ADHD are replete with differing interpretations of the causes and treatments for ADHD. These ADHD discourses, as they are seen through written accounts, offer a variety of perspectives towards the disorder, drawing from many opposing schools of thought. Most notable in this regard are psychodynamic and neurological approaches to ADHD. I argue that even though the neurological perspective towards ADHD appears to be the most dominant in diagnosing and treating the disorder, it is far from monolithic. ' The second part of the thesis draws upon interview data from sixty-two respondents associated with cases of ADHD: twenty clinicians, twenty parents, and twenty-two teachers. Each of these groups of respondents were asked questions designed to solicit their subjective experiences with the disorder, including how they perceived ADHD children and their sources of ADHD knowledge. The analysis of such data is placed against the backdrop of the genealogical part of the thesis. Responses from participants are examined as reflecting ADHD discourses. Some respondents, for example, demonstrate a commitment to neurological perspectives towards ADHD, while others gravitate towards psychodynamic or combined understandings of the disorder. Through combining these two data sources, this thesis analyzes ADHD discourses that give rise to conceptions of the disorder and shows how these discourses influence attitudes and actions towards ADHD. By giving less salience to the collusive relationships between government agencies, medical practitioners, and pharmaceutical companies, and by putting more focus on the relationship between the three major groupings directly involved in the ADHD experience—clinicians, teachers, and parents—this thesis furthers the sociological study of ADHD.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: A, page: 2323. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 45-60).

Through employing a two-faceted approach to the sociological study of Attention Deficit- Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), this thesis seeks to further the study of this mental illness and also to elucidate new methodological directions for the sociology of similar phenomena. Past approaches in the sociology of mental disorder have considerable merit, but may also be limited in the type of analyses they offer. One particular limitation concerns sociological accounts of mental illness that portray the meaning of such illnesses as unified and that this unification results from the collusion of special interests. Sociologists who address mental illnesses as social problems, for example, appear wont to portray such illnesses as social constructions which arise from specific agents of labeling. With regard to ADHD, previous sociological accounts often make a case for the rhetorical and political power of government agencies, medical practitioners, and pharmaceutical companies. Though such agents are certainly influential in shaping public conceptions of ADHD, this thesis demonstrates that ADHD is interpreted in various ways. These assertions are supported through the analysis of two different data sources: 1) textual data; and 2) interview data. The textual data for the first part of the thesis comprises the subject matter for a genealogy of ADHD. Through examining past and contemporary texts that frame this disorder, including medical journal articles, medical manuals, popular writings, and parental guidebooks, the author argues that the historical and current discussions of ADHD are replete with differing interpretations of the causes and treatments for ADHD. These ADHD discourses, as they are seen through written accounts, offer a variety of perspectives towards the disorder, drawing from many opposing schools of thought. Most notable in this regard are psychodynamic and neurological approaches to ADHD. I argue that even though the neurological perspective towards ADHD appears to be the most dominant in diagnosing and treating the disorder, it is far from monolithic. ' The second part of the thesis draws upon interview data from sixty-two respondents associated with cases of ADHD: twenty clinicians, twenty parents, and twenty-two teachers. Each of these groups of respondents were asked questions designed to solicit their subjective experiences with the disorder, including how they perceived ADHD children and their sources of ADHD knowledge. The analysis of such data is placed against the backdrop of the genealogical part of the thesis. Responses from participants are examined as reflecting ADHD discourses. Some respondents, for example, demonstrate a commitment to neurological perspectives towards ADHD, while others gravitate towards psychodynamic or combined understandings of the disorder. Through combining these two data sources, this thesis analyzes ADHD discourses that give rise to conceptions of the disorder and shows how these discourses influence attitudes and actions towards ADHD. By giving less salience to the collusive relationships between government agencies, medical practitioners, and pharmaceutical companies, and by putting more focus on the relationship between the three major groupings directly involved in the ADHD experience—clinicians, teachers, and parents—this thesis furthers the sociological study of ADHD. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur personer med ADHD upplever sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö. Förhoppningen var att få ökad kunskap och ökad förståelse för hur dessa upplevelser såg ut. Den tidigare forskningen visade att personer med ADHD i större utsträckning hade fler byten av jobb, mer ofta arbetade deltid, samt hade fler sjukskrivningsdagar. Den tidigare forskningen visade även att kontexten hade stor betydelse för hur de upplevde sina symptom. Rätt sammanhang innebar att personer med ADHD kunde omvandla sina brister till styrkor. Studien genomfördes med kvalitativ metod och semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studiens resultat bygger på intervjuer med nio personer, som bearbetades med hjälp av tematisk analys. Baserat på analysen framkom fem huvudkategorier, vilket var de faktorer som bäst beskrev de medverkandes upplevelse av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön. Dessa var: arbetsuppgifternas utformning, krav, arbetets betydelse, socialt klimat och egenbestämmande. Studiens resultat visade på både likheter och skillnader kopplat till den tidigare forskningen, vilket indikerade att det krävs individanpassade åtgärder för att kunna hjälpa och stötta personer med ADHD i arbetslivet. / The purpose of this study was to find out how people with ADHD experienced their psychosocial work environment. The hope was to gain increased knowledge and understanding of these experiences. Previous research showed that people with ADHD to a greater extent had more job changes, more often worked part-time and had more sick leave days. Previous research also showed that the context was of great importance for how they experienced their symptoms. The suitable contextmeant that people with ADHD could turn their shortcomings into strengths. The study was conducted using a qualitative method and semi-structured interviews. The results of the study are based on interviews with nine people, which were processed using thematic analysis. Based on the analysis, five main categories emerged, which were the factors that best described the participants’ experience of the psychosocial work environment. These were: the design of the tasks, requirements, importance of the work, social climate and self-determination. The results of the study showed both similarities and differences linked to the previous research, which indicated that individualized measures are required to be able to help and support people with ADHD in working life.

Bakgrund: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) är en neuropsykiatrisk sjukdom. Klassiska symtom för ADHD är bristande impulskontroll, hyperaktivitet samt koncentrationssvårigheter. Det saknas systematiska översiktsstudier som beskriver vuxna personers erfarenheter av att leva med ADHD och dessa kan vara viktiga för att sjuksköterskan ska kunna ge en god omvårdnad.  Syfte: Att beskriva vuxna personers erfarenheter av att leva med ADHD. Metod: Åtta kvalitativa artiklar granskades och sammanställdes till denna litteraturstudie. Resultat: Analysen resulterade i ett övergripande tema: “Att uppleva ADHD både som hinder och styrka i vardagen”. Huvudtemat bestod av följande subteman: “Att utsätta sig för risker på grund av stress och dålig impulskontroll”, “Bristande impulskontroll och koncentrationssvårigheter försvårar relationer”, “Att uppleva svårigheter i skola och arbetsliv på grund av koncentrationssvårigheter”, “Att uppleva hur ADHD leder till positiva erfarenheter”, “Att uppleva stigmatisering och brist på förståelse från samhället” och “Att självkänslan och självbilden påverkas negativt”.      Konklusion: Litteraturstudiens resultat visar att personer med ADHD har en ökad risk för ett sämre välmående. Sjuksköterskan kan genom personcentrerad omvårdnad bidra till högre vårdkvalité. Att hitta strategier och metoder som kan bidra till att personer med ADHD får möjlighet att hantera diagnosen bättre kan sannolikt leda till ett ökat välmående men fler studier behövs. / Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder. Classic symptoms of ADHD are lack of impulse control, hyperactivity and difficulty concentrating. There are no systematic reviews that describes the lived experience among adults living with ADHD. These could be important for nurses to provide good nursing care.Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the lived experience among adults living with ADHD. Methods: Eight qualitative articles were reviewed, analyzed and compiled for this literature study. Results: The analysis resulted in an overall theme: “Experience ADHD both as an obstacle and a strength in everyday life”. The main theme consisted of sub-themes: "Exposing oneself to risks due to stress and poor impulse control", "Lack of impulse control and concentrating difficulties impact on relationships", "Experiencing difficulties in school and work due to concentration difficulties", "Experiencing how ADHD leads to positive experiences”, “Experiencing stigma from lack of understanding from society” and ”That self-esteem and self-image are negatively affected ”. Conclusion: This literature study shows that people with ADHD have an increased risk for a poorer well-being. The nurse can contribute to higher quality care through person-centered nursing. Finding strategies that can help people with ADHD handle their diagnosis could lead to increased well-being, more studies are needed.

Bakgrunden: Skolan är en viktig del för eleverna i deras liv och det är viktigt att den möjliggör för eleven att kunna uppnå kraven som ställs på dem. I skolan har lärarna en viktig roll för elevernas lärande. Lärarna beskrivs däremot ha utmaningar att hantera elever med ADHD på grund av bristande kunskap om diagnosen. Lärarna beskrivs även ha svårigheter i att finna strategier och anpassningar för att stödja eleverna att uppnå kraven. Arbetsterapeuter beskrivs enligt tidigare forskning ha kunskap i anpassningar för att möjliggöra för eleverna att kunna utföra aktiviteter i skolan. Genom ett samarbete mellan professionerna kan lärarna få stöd i sina utmaningar att hantera eleverna i skolan. Syftet: Syftet med studien var att beskriva lärares erfarenheter av utmaningar i arbetet med elever med diagnosen ADHD. Metoden: Studien antog en kvalitativ ansats där datainsamlingsmetoden skedde genom intervjuer där det arbetsterapeutiska bedömningsinstrumentet BAS användes som grund till frågeguiden. Datamaterialet analyserades genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet: Analysen av data resulterade i fyra kategorier: Fysisk miljö; Anpassningar i skolmiljön; Social miljö; Lärares kunskap och behov av samarbete. Intervjuerna visade att det finns olika varianter av utmaningar inom den fysiska och sociala miljön, där lärarna gör olika anpassningar och tillämpar olika strategier för att möta utmaningarna. Lärarnas erfarenheter visade även att det finns utmaningar kring att hantera eleven och dess svårigheter, vilket påverkar undervisningen negativt. Slutsats: Slutsatsen av studien visar att lärarna upplever utmaningar i sitt arbete med elever med ADHD där de uttrycker ett behov av mer stöd och kunskap för att kunna hantera eleverna. De områden som lärarna främst upplever utmanande är anpassningar i skolmiljön och den fysiska miljön som finns inom arbetsterapeutens område. / Background: The school is an important part for the students in their lives and it is important that it enables the student to be able to achieve the demands placed on them. In school, teachers have an important role in students' learning. The teachers however, are described as having challenges dealing with students with ADHD due to a lack of knowledge about the diagnosis. The teachers are also described as having difficulties in finding strategies and adaptations to support the students to achieve the requirements. Occupational therapists are described, according to previous research, as having knowledge of adaptations to enable students to be able to perform activities at school. Through a collaboration between the professions, the teachers can receive support in their challenges of managing the students at school. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe teachers ́ experiences of challenges in working with students diagnosed with ADHD. Method: The study assumed a qualitative approach where the data collection method occurs through interviews, where the occupational therapy assessment tool BAS is used as the basis for the question guide. The data material was analyzed by qualitative content analysis. Results: The analysis of the data resulted in four categories: Physical environment; Adaptations in school environment; Social environment; Teachers knowledge and need for collaboration. The result showed that there are different variants of challenges within the physical and social environment, where the teachers make different adaptations and apply different strategies to meet the challenges. The teachers' experiences also showed that there are challenges in dealing with the student and their difficulties, which affects the teaching negatively. Conclusion: The conclusion of the study shows that the teachers experience challenges in their work with students with ADHD where they express a need for more support and knowledge to be able to manage the students. The areas that the teachers mainly find challenging are adaptations in the school environment and the physical environment that is within the occupational therapist's field.

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether differences exist between reports of parental stress in Mexican American and Caucasian mothers of children with ADHD. A second purpose was to examine whether there were child and family characteristics that made unique contributions to levels of parenting stress in Mexican American parents of children with ADHD. A third purpose was to examine the role that level of acculturation plays in the Mexican American mothers' reports of stress. Dependent measures used in this study include the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).

Text in Afrikaans / In this study quantitative research is employed to determine if cognitive control therapy can successfully be utilized in a group situation to alleviate cognitive deficiency in learners with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Learners with ADHD often do not gain from traditional play- and psychotherapy due to the fact that they do not possess the required cognitive structure necessary to support successful learning. Many of these learners do not receive sufficient assistance and support due to a shortage of government supported educational psychological aid. An empirical investigation of limited scope was performed to establish whether cognitive deficiencies can be alleviated by means of applying cognitive control therapy in a group situation. A one-group pretest-posttest design was utilized where the same group of subjects was studies before and after the experimental treatment. The results indicate that the cognitive control therapy program resulted in a considerable change. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

In this qualitative research study the focus is on the use of sensory integration strategies with children who have Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Three respondents specialising in sensory integration in the Durbanville area were involved. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of the respondents in order to gain knowledge on the use of sensory integration strategies with children who have Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder by a professional other than an occupational therapist. After permission had been obtained, the interviews were captured on video tape and transcribed for use in the empirical study. Seven themes were identified from the interviews and a literature control was done with each of the themes. The researcher did not attempt to generalise the results of the research, but tried to reflect on the information that the respondents provided. The researcher summarised the findings of the empirical study and made recommendations. / Social Work / M. Diac (Play Therapy)