History of Attention Deficit Disorder
Attention deficit disorder is relatively new for the layman, even though it has been around for many years. In 1922, the symptoms that are now thought of as being attention deficit disorder were documented and given a diagnosis of Post Encephalitic Behavior Disorder. Later, in 1937 Dr. Charles Bradley gave to the world the use of stimulants in order to treat hyperactive children. Then, in 1956 a drug named Ritalin was first introduced to treat hyperactive children.
In the 1960s, stimulant medicines were becoming more prevalent in the treatment of hyperactivity. In the 1970s, there were further symptoms spotted such as lack of focus and daydreaming which were thought of as being impulsiveness and was later expanded to also include verbal impulsiveness, cognitive and moto impulsiveness. The term attention deficit disorder was coined in 1980 and in 1987 the APA began to call attention deficit disorder by a new name – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
It stated that it was a medical diagnosis that could possibly result in behavioral problems, which were different to those which resulted from emotional turmoil that includes incidents such as divorce or moving to a new area. In 1996, a second medication called Adderall was approved by the FDA for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. As recently as 1999, some more medications have been used such as Concerta, Focalin and Strattera. |
