Alex baker Dr.

de Souza 4-17-13 Proposal Health Campaign

The Daily life of Parents Looking Back On the Teenage Years Parenting Teenagers with ADHD: Surviving the Ride Chris A. Zeigler Dendy, M.S. http://www.chrisdendy.com/ride.htm During the teen years, our sons both struggled terribly. As expected my husband and I faced the typical teen challenges associated with ADHD: poor school performance, forgetfulness with chores and homework, disorganization, losing things, messy rooms, disobedience, talking back, low frustration tolerance, lack of awareness of time, and having a sleep disturbance. 1. School was always the major source of conflict with our sons. Both our boys did okay in elementary school. However, they fell apart in middle school when they had more classes and teachers, had greater academic demands placed on them and were expected to be more responsible and independent. Developmentally they were not ready to complete their work independently. Both boys struggled academically in middle and high school and were in real danger of failing classes. Failure to complete homework or chores was a source of daily battles. The zeros for failure to turn in homework alternately baffled and infuriated us. It was not unusual to go into final exams with a passing grade hanging in the balance. Will they pass or fail? We didn't always know. 2. Emotionally charged conflicts were also common. Our children didn't always do as we asked. Obviously, their disobedience and our yelling battles were frustrating and a major source of embarrassment. As a result we often harbored grave doubts about our own parenting skills. Fear and frustration were our constant companions and at times overwhelmed us. Our reactions ranged from anger and depression to verbal attacks upon our children. 3. Sleep problems were the underlying cause of ongoing fights before school each morning. I can't believe it took us so long to recognize that our son's sleep disturbance--difficulty falling asleep and waking up--was a serious handicap. Unfortunately, most treatment professionals never addressed this issue. But the problem is so obvious: if a student is experiencing sleep deprivation, he cannot do well in school.

Alex baker Dr. de Souza 4-17-13 Proposal Health Campaign

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder- is a mental disorder that causes the individual to have hyperactivity, impulsiveness, a short attention span, or a combination of the three.

The Problem
ADHD, or ADD is the most common studied psychiatric mental disorder among children and teenagers. It is a mental disorder that affects learning and verbal skills, skills that are required to hopefully be admitted into a college program. So this situation of this mental disorder is very important to for the growth of the individuals who have ADHD. In researching this mental disorder, we can further progress our knowledge of this disorder, which will allow treatment, whether prescription or in class learning, to advance down the road. Who: The teenage boys need careful consideration when running diagnostics on them, because this is a time in their life to where they need guidance the most. This is where they realize what they find interests in and what they find out how to be a good man. Their mentors and their doctors need to show the upmost respect for their hyperactivity because showing them what they are doing wrong, is one of the hardest challenges that people who are helping, will face. Understanding what makes the teenager tick is the first battle that the mentors will have to overcome. The child must realize that the individuals that are trying to help out, are people that the teenager can trust. Someone that wont just show the kid the way, but help them realize why.

Why is this Important?

Alex baker Dr. de Souza 4-17-13 Proposal Health Campaign

This is a great Segway to why the ADHD is an important issue to address for teenage males. Teenage males are already hyperactive in their own way. Males have their buddies and they love to goof off, no matter the situation. Whether that may be at school, out on the filed for their sports that they are in, or maybe even if its at church with their buddies. The reason why I came up with those three places, is because that is where I goofed off the most. It didnt matter where we were, it just mattered who you were with at the time. If you were with your close buddies, hell was about to be raised. Thats why the teachers always separated us, because they knew we would get into trouble. As far as why this is an effective strategy, is because those who have friends can be separated, and then will further calm down. Kids with ADHD do not have that luxury. They will maintain their hyperactivity, and sometimes separating them from their friends will further excite their resistance towards calming down.

Where Can We Treat These Individuals?

So this brings us to where we can treat these types of kids. We can treat them by letting them explore how much they know about hypersensitivity. Let them explain to you how much they know about their condition. Most of these

Alex baker Dr. de Souza 4-17-13 Proposal Health Campaign

kids grew up with knowing that they have hypersensitivity and they use that towards their advantage. Many of them dont know that it can be controlled with various techniques; we will get into that a bit later; but these kids use their disorder to try to get what they want in a vulgar way. I see it a hundred times where say the kid is in music class and the boy doesnt want to sing a song because they think its stupid. Next thing you know hes singing different words in the song, his arms are mimicking the teachers counts, and all the other kids start to laugh. The teacher gets upset because she cant control him, so she starts crying and the class is dismissed. This is the worst case scenario, because its good to get the kid in an extracurricular, but since the teacher didnt know how to control the kid in an uncertain environment, the child wins the battle. But, if the teacher realized that all the kid needs to have done to him, is to separate him from the group. If the teacher just played along with the kid, and made an example out of him by allowing him to come up to the front of the class, and then further tell the student that he needs to come in for conducting class because he showed an interest in it, and they would have to meet early in the mornings everyday out of the week to get him up to speed, I bet the kid would then stop conducting and allow the teacher to finish their job. So how often should a teacher acknowledge the student?

When is O.K. To Treat These Individuals?

Alex baker Dr. de Souza 4-17-13 Proposal Health Campaign

This is the when portion of the disorder. The teacher should only acknowledge it when the teacher realizes that they will then have full advantage over the individual. The kid will further explore his boundaries, but the teacher and the parents need to know when the kid will not have an escape route; something that will allow the kid to use sympathy so the parents realize that the child cannot help himself. What the whole point is here, is that many things contribute to why we should acknowledge that ADHD in teenage males is important to address. There are specific things a person can do to help the boy though the everyday problems that the will face. There are specific things that the kid will do to get away with hurtful things that the kid has done to others; and there are certain situations that a person can get full control of the child by making an exploratory example out of them. As I listed different types of circumstances that the child may rise up and argue with, I realize that there are many people affected by this one boy. In the music classroom, not only is the teacher upset, but so are some students. Some kids will laugh, and some kids will be mad. The principle will have to get involved, and then the parents will most definitely have to be notified because of the childs actions. This is a vicious cycle, but it does have an end; if carefully treated. Because of problems with distractibility and poor concentration, many teens with ADHD have difficulty in school. Grades may fall, particularly if the teen is not receiving ADHD treatment. It's not uncommon for teens with ADHD to forget assignments, misplace textbooks, and become easily bored with their daily class work. Teens may become inattentive, or excessively attentive -- not waiting for

Alex baker Dr. de Souza 4-17-13 Proposal Health Campaign

their turn before blurting out answers. They may interrupt the teacher and classmates, and rush through assignments. Teens with ADHD may also be fidgety and have a difficult time sitting still in class. Often, teens with ADHD are so busy focusing on other things they forget about the task at hand. This can be seen especially with homework and athletic skills and in relationships with peers. This lack of attention to what they're doing often leads to poor performance on tests and being rejected from sports teams, extracurricular activities, and peer groups. That is why this is an important issue to address.

Alex baker Dr. de Souza 4-17-13 Proposal Health Campaign

Campaign Mission and Specific Goals

The audience of this blog will be to that of the parents and to that of the teachers, who deal daily with teenage boys with ADHD. Also, this site will be interactive for the boys as well, so they can research ways in which they can help themselves without having someone constantly monitoring them. It will give them a sense of freedom, and hopefully it will educate them more on their disorder, not just by what the teachers and their parents have been telling them. This will benefit all three parties in a way that will connect them to better understand where each segment of the group is coming from. My goals and objectives are to create a blog to where it is a friendly environment, where teachers, parents, and others can read, comment, and discuss situations and treatment on the topic subject of ADHD.

I would like to research the Health topic of ADHD in teenage boys. I believe that I have enough personal experience with this subject where I will put my full attention into making a great blog for this campaign. ADHD affects teens lives because of problems with distractibility and poor concentration, many teens with ADHD have difficulty in school. Grades may fall, particularly if the teen is not receiving ADHD treatment. So education will allow individuals to get ideas about treatment and what they can do to help the disorder.

Social Network Intervention and Media Advocacy Strategies

Alex baker Dr. de Souza 4-17-13 Proposal Health Campaign

Most teenagers who have ADHD were diagnosed in their childhood years. They were diagnosed by their unique symptoms, such as: hyperactivity, short attention span, and surges of impulse involuntary movement of the limbs. These symptoms have serious effects on the boys learning abilities, and in which will cause high volumes of anxiety. These both will cause mood swings in the teenager. Diagnosing the boy with the appropriate diagnosis is detrimental in the boys learning environment. The types of social support that these boys need are: Emotional, love, trust, encouragement, and hope; instrumental, which is more of a tangible aid or material aid; informational, how to handle certain situations; and appraisal, information for self-evaluation which gives feedback- suggestions for improvement. My message will be a positive one towards parents of the teenage boys who have ADHD. I can use the theory of Reasoned Action to help me decide on what type of action the parents are taking in order to help their child, their student, or their friend, cope with the necessary treatment and special care that these individuals need. I used the TRA because what is always a persons intention of action? It lies somewhere in our subconscious, but if we were to actually study an individual on their behavioral past, we can see what it is exactly that makes the child tick. If we allow the kid to use his disorder as a crutch, we have lost the battle and the war. We, as parents, family, friends, and teachers, have to rise up and tackle this disorder, proclaiming that it is not a crutch, that it is a disorder that we can control, whether with meds or without them. We need to explore the relationship between the boys attitudes and their behaviors. After researching the child through the

Alex baker Dr. de Souza 4-17-13 Proposal Health Campaign

theory of planned behavior, we will find the perceived likely hood of the child preforming the behavior.

I can blog about a questionnaire that my followers can take, seeing which styles of treatment and which styles of interactive behavior they use. The Health Belief model is something that will be used, but it more helps identify with the boys than with the adults that will be mainly the bulk of my followers. Also, the teens are about to try to get their drivers licenses. So, fear appeal can work with this situation as well, since these boys will be more likely to get in an accident, because they are impulsive, risk-taking, immature in judgment, and thrill seeking. All of these traits increase the chance of an automobile accident and serious injury. Still, studies show that teen drivers with ADHD who take the prescribed medication have a significantly reduced chance of accidents.

Conclusion
I will then evaluate my campaign by measuring my effectiveness. The changes in peoples attitudes, their values and their beliefs on my blog will allow me to see this. That is the cognitive change that I hope to see. The behavioral effects will be harder to identify. Hopefully they will adopt and use my suggested treatments and activities, so for measuring this, I will just have to rely on the cognitive change than the behavioral change.