HYPERACTIVITY
History
Whether it is called
attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder, hyperactivity is a real-life problem for many children
and their families. It affects mainly school-age youngsters,
mostly males, although teenagers and adults also have it. Hyperactivity
is not a new syndrome. Medical science has known about it since
the early 1900s. "Fidgety Phil", as the patient was dubbed,
reportedly suffered from restlessness and "moral" and attention
problems. according to the prestigious British medical Journal
The Lancet. Sound familiar?
Over the years, the
syndrome has been known by several different names - including
minimal brain dysfunction (1940s); hyperactive child syndrome
(1950s); attention deficit disorder (1970s); and most recently
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. To avoid confusing
you, we will use only the terms hyperactivity and attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in this publication.
In 1937, at Bradley
Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, medical professionals
treated so-called hyperactive or "problem" children with the
stimulant medication Benzedrine, now called dextroamphetamine.
Bradley staff believed that this "was better than whacking them
(the children) on the seat of the pants." This same drug was
also found to improve the behavior of children who had suffered
encephalitis as a result of having measles.
It is reported that
Charles Bradley and Maurice Loffer were among the first to document
both the benefits and the side effects of treating ADHD children
with stimulants. The practice of treating hyperactive children
with medications that affect the mind or behavior has been widely
criticized by the public and most believe that stimulants medications
make children lethargic or depressed.
We know from our
research, however, that when used properly, stimulant medications
actually normalize children's behavior.
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