Resumen

FRANCA, Maria Thereza de Barros. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): increasing the understanding. J. psicanal. [online]. 2012, vol.45, n.82, pp. 191-207. ISSN 0103-5835.

The author, in order to introduce the Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Psychiatric diagnosis, sums up a historical review setting out from the Minimal Brain Damage concept, and reaching the disorder itself and its occurrence in children. These children display symptoms such as difficulty in focusing attention, psychomotor agitation, and impulsivity. The paper highlights Medical Science’s efforts to accommodate such children’s symptoms in any Psychiatric diagnostic category which could be recognized. After approaching the recommended treatment, which prioritizes the use of methylphenidate, the author presents the controversies around the ADHD diagnosis and the usage of that psychotropic drug, a CNS stimulant with adverse effects. The psychoanalytic contributions to the development of primitive states, allows us to understand the symptoms presented by these children diagnosed as ADHD, as resulting from failures in the constitution of a psychic continent. The author ends up by giving some clinical examples.

Palabras clave : Child Psychoanalysis; Psychiatry and psychoanalysis; Learning difficulties.

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