Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that begins in childhood, there are many explanations for its origin and evolution, however, one of them has received a lot of attention: Barkley’s model.
This disorder has a persistent pattern of underlying behaviors, hyperactivity and difficulty controlling impulses or impulsivity, we are faced with one of the most studied disorders in childhood psychopathology, as evidenced by the thousands of articles published on the subject.
- Initially.
- It was based on a medical approach.
- Subsequently behavioral.
- Neurocognitive.
- Genetic and social approaches emerged that have enriched understanding of this problem.
- Consider that the dominant approach during the first half of the last century was purely medical.
- It was thought that ADHD was due to a neurological disorder.
- Caused by a certain type of brain injury.
The main symptoms of the disorder were poor attention span, lack of concentration, impulsivity and inability to delay gratification, all of which manifested itself through school problems.
Lack of evidence of medical syndrome has contributed to the search for a more functional definition of ADHD, so ADHD began to be characterized as a behavioral disorder, under this approach, excessive activity was the highlight.
However, in 1972, it was argued that the fundamental disadvantage of hyperactive children was not an excessive level of activity, the fundamental deficiency was their inability to maintain attention and their impulsivity. -regulation.
The current perspective of ADHD is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and the WHO International Classification of Mental Disorders.
The essential feature of this disorder is a persistent pattern of ina attention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity, a pattern more common and more severe than that generally observed in people of similar level of development.
Derived symptoms make adaptation difficult and manifest in specific behavioral characteristics, their impact is negative on cognitive, personal and social development, as well as hindering school learning and the daily functioning of the person.
Research on the origin of ADHD was primarily atheetic, exploratory, and descriptive. Despite progress, there are still significant inconsistencies in the underlying mechanisms.
Barkley’s model (inhibition model) understands that the fundamental problem of hyperactive children is the lack of behavioral inhibition, a deficit that would negatively affect four neuropsychological functions that depend on behavioral inhibition for their proper performance.
These four functions are: working memory, self-regulation of motivation and affection, internalization of language and reconstruction (process of analysis and synthesis). These executive functions, in turn, influence the motor system, which controls objective-based behavior.
These functions also affect other neuropsychological systems, such as sensory, perceptual, linguistic, facial and emotional systems. Working memory (working memory) allows you to retain information while working on a task, even if the stimulus has disappeared.
Lack of self-regulation of affection, motivation, and activation prevents kids with ADHD from controlling their emotional responses to a specific event, which would make them express their emotions in public, according to Barkley’s model.
Language internalization also tends to delay these children. This immaturity of inner language could lead people with ADHD to adopt rules-based behavior and delay moral development.
Not reconstructing, analyzing, and synthesizing behaviors would prevent the hyperactive child from analyzing situations and behaviors, as well as making problem-solving difficult. Their games are less mature, symbolic and creative. It has been proven that they do not perform verbal fluency tasks well and that the solutions they bring to problems are less appropriate.
According to Barkley’s model, this would probably also be evident in performing nonverbal tasks that require new and complex motor sequences. These four executive functions would in turn influence the motor system.
There are other models developed to explain ADHD. Despite changes in terminology and different emphasis on specific manifestations of ADHD over time, fundamental symptoms have not changed.