Restless Minds: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children (Atena Editora)

Abstract

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is today one of the most studied topics in school-age children. It is estimated that it represents one of the main sources of referral of children to the health system (Barkley, 2008). Epidemiologic studies indicate that 3% to 7% of US school-aged children have ADHD (Goldman, Genel, Bezman, & Slanetz, 1998; Pastor & Reuben, 2002). In Brazil, some studies in populations of Brazilian children of school age corroborate these indices (Guardiola, Terra, Ferreira & Londero, 1999; Rohde & cols., 1998; Souza, Serra, Mattos, & Franco, 2001; Freire & Pondé, 2005 ). METHOD: This is a literature review, of the narrative type, which aims to describe the characteristics and epidemiological situation caused by ADHD in children, from a theoretical point of view, through materials that have already been published on the subject in question, through analysis and interpretation of the literature. The review was carried out from July to August 2023, through searches in the Virtual Health Library (VHL), Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS),National Institutes of Health’s Library of Medicine (PubMed) e Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). RESULT AND DISCUSSION: Hyperactivity can be perceived in several stages of the child's development, and can be observed already in infants, but it becomes much more evident when children are in the pre-school or school stage. Based on TOPCZEWSKI (1999); Some characteristics can be noticed, such as: ‘‘when playing, they cannot stick to certain activities for some time, as they quickly lose interest in one activity and go looking for another; they are those children who are always everywhere; they need to be constantly supervised, as they often invent activities that involve danger, which generates great uneasiness for parents; they change toys very often, as they cannot be satisfied with any for a long time; they have a spirit of destruction, even with their objects; they cannot stay seated at the table during meals; watch television more for a limited time; talk a lot and change the subject quickly, without even finishing the previous thought; any stimulus, however simple it may be, is enough to divert attention from the activity they are developing; they cannot finish a task properly; are very disorganized in their daily lives, with their clothes, with their personal objects, toys and school supplies’’. CONCLUSION: Regarding the treatment of ADHD, the first step is always the planning of a multimodal therapy that respects the psychological, behavioral and occupational needs of the child and family. It is necessary to discuss the benefits and harms of pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic modalities, always based on recent scientific evidence.