Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and The Prescription a Psychos

‘Boisterous’, ‘energetic’, and ‘spontaneous’ were once adjectives used to describe the behaviour of normal, healthy children. These days, similar behaviours might be labeled ‘problematic’, ‘hyperactive’, and ‘uncontrollable’, often resulting in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the prescription of a psychostimulant drug (Lardizabal, 2012). According to the DMS-V, ADHD is described as a combination of â€Å"inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity† (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Due to the nature of the symptoms, ADHD can significantly hinder a child’s ability to succeed in a school setting, both academically and socially, which could have dire implications for their future (Faraone & Biederman, 2001). With over ten million children in the United States currently diagnosed with the disorder, ADHD has been labeled an epidemic and this has lead to a significant increase in the amount of research devoted to determining its cause and treatment (Stolzer, 2007). The increased attention has also attracted a great deal of controversy, with medical experts questioning the safety of administering psychostimulant drugs to children. Although the evidence is often contradictory, due to an increase in the documentation of the adverse side effects in children caused by psychostimulant medication, as well as an increase in the evidence of nonpharmacological treatments successfully reducing the symptoms of ADHD, many parents have become reluctant in allowing their children to take the prescribed drugs (Isaacs, Watkins, Hodgens, & Zachor, 2002). This movement has sparked an increase in the amount of parents questioning their own level of responsibility in the management of symptoms of their child’s disorde... ...ofeedback, 28, 63-75. doi: 10.1023/A:1022321017467 Sinn, N. (2008). Nutritional and dietary influences on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Nutrition Reviews, 66, 558-568. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2008.00107.x. Stolzer, J. M. (2007). The ADHD epidemic in America. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, 9, 109-116. Swanson, J., Kraemer, H., Hinshaw, S., Arnold, L., & Conners, C. (2001). Clinical relevance of the primary findings of the MTA: success rates based on severity of ADHD and ODD symptoms at the end of treatment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 168-179. doi: 10.1097/00004583-200102000-00011 Verlaet, A. J., Noriega, D., Hermans, N., & Savelkoul, H. J. (2014). Nutrition, immunological mechanisms and dietary immunomodulation in ADHD. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 23, 1-11. doi: 10.1007/s00787-014-0522-2

Meaning from a Stylistic Point of View Essay

In stylistics meaning assumes prime importance. Because meaning is applied not only to words, word-combinations, sentences but also to the manner of expression. At certain moment meaning was excluded from observation in language science because it was considered an extra-linguistic category. The term â€Å"semantic invariant† was proposed as a substitute for meaning by R. Jakobson. The main problem of meaning which deals with is the interrelation between meaning and concept, meaning and sign, meaning and referent. Contextual meaning is a meaning viewed as a category which is able to acquire meanings imposed on the words by context. In stylistics is important discriminate shades and nuances of meaning, the components of which are called semes. Lexical meaning differs from grammatical meaning. Lexical meaning refers to some concrete concept, phenomenon or thing of the objective reality (real or imaginary). Grammatical meaning refers to relations between words or constructions. It is also called â€Å"structural meaning† Polysemanticism is a linguistic category . We perceive meaning as a representation of a definite concept by means of a word. But we state that the same concept may be expressed by different meanings that belong to the same word. Words have polysemantic meaning (several lexical meanings) . It becomes a crucial issue for stylistic studies to observe the multitude of meaning. And that is not limited in the dictionaries and no matter how rich in meaning a word may be leaves the door open for new shades and nuances and even for independent meanings. Semiotics is the science that deals with the general theory of signs. A sign is a material object (phenomenon, action) appearing in the process of cognition and communication in the capacity of a substitute of another object(s) and used for receiving, storing, recasting and transforming information about the object. The signs are used in a system and that system is called a code. Sign’s conventional, arbitrary character is one of its most important features. The language system follows a certain distinctive features and they are : after been established it circulates for some period of time and it becomes resistant to substitutions. The definition of a word is a unit of language functioning within the sentence by its sounds or graphic form expresses some notion. Words are capable of enriching its semantic structure by acquiring new meanings, or also could losing old meanings. The very nature of the word causes a difficulty to be explained the semantic structure. In stylistics a word has almost no limit for acquiring new meanings, whereas in lexicology is restricted. And here comes the issue well-known contradiction between the scientific (abstract) perception of a phenomenon and the secondary artistic perception of the same phenomenon. Max Born, a physicist, has it somewhat differently : â€Å"The representatives of one group do not want to reject or to sacrifice the idea of the absolute and therefore remain faithful to everything subjective. They create a picture of the world which is not the result of a systemic method, but of the unexplained activity of religious, artistic or poetic expressions of other people. Here reign religious zeal, aspirations to brotherhood, and often fanaticism, intolerance and the suppression of intellect†¦The representatives of opposing group, on the contrary, reject the idea of the absolute. They discover frequently with horror that inner feeling cannot be expressed in comprehensible forms. † Adjectives are more abstract in meaning than nouns. Adverbs are considered to be more abstract than adjectives. Conjunctions and prepositions got higher degree of abstractness. Meanings could be divided into three types: logical, emotive and nominal.

Tracing Your Family Medical History

You know you got your curly red hair from your grandmother and your prominent nose from your dad. These arent the only things you may have inherited from your family, however. Many medical conditions, including heart disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, alcoholism, and Alzheimers disease have also been shown to be passed down through families. What Is a Family Medical History? A family medical history or medical family tree is a record of important medical information about your relatives, including illnesses and diseases, along with the relationships among the members of your family. A family health or medical history is begun by talking with your immediate family members -- parents, grandparents, and siblings -- as they provide the most important links to genetic risk. Why Is a Family Medical History Important? Some studies say that over 40 percent of the population is at increased genetic risk for a common disease such as cancer, diabetes or heart disease. Understanding your risk for developing such diseases is an important reason to learn more about your family history. By knowing your risk, you can make informed decisions about prevention and screening, and even participate in genetic-based research aimed at understanding, preventing and curing disease. For example, if your father had colon cancer at age 45, you should probably be screened at an earlier age for colon cancer than age 50, the average age for first-time colon cancer screening. How Is a Family Medical History Used? A family medical history helps document familial patterns that may impact your health, such as trends towards specific types of cancer, early heart disease, or even something simple such as skin problems. Compiling a family medical history can help you and your doctor spot these family patterns and use the information to assist with the following: Diagnosing a medical conditionDetermining whether you may benefit from preventive measures to lower your risk of a specific diseaseDeciding what medical tests to runIdentifying other members of your family who are at risk of developing certain diseasesCalculating your risk of certain diseasesCalculating your risk of passing certain conditions to your children What Should Be Included in a Family Medical History? Going back about three generations (to your grandparents or great-grandparents), try to collect details on every direct family member who has died and the cause of death. Also, document the medical conditions of all family members, including the age at which they were first diagnosed, their treatment, and if they ever had surgery. Important medical conditions to document include: CancerHeart diseaseDiabetesAsthmaMental illnessHigh blood pressureStrokeKidney diseaseAlcoholismBirth defectsLearning disabilitiesVision or hearing loss For family members with known medical problems, make notes on their overall health, including if they smoked, were overweight, and their exercise habits. If a family member had cancer, be sure to learn the primary type and not just where it metastasized. If your family members came from a different country, make note of that as well, as some medical conditions have possible ethnic roots. How Should I Document My Family Medical History? Family medical history can be recorded in a similar manner to the traditional family tree, just using standard medical symbols in a pedigree format - squares for men and circles for women. You can either use a standard key or create your own which specifies what your symbols mean. If you find the forms too complicated, just collect the information. Your doctor will still be able to use what you find. Remove any personal names from your work before giving it to your doctor or anyone outside the family. They dont need to know the names, only the relationships among individuals, and you never know where your medical tree might end up! My Family Cant Help Me, Now What? If your parents are deceased or relatives are uncooperative, it may take some real detective work to learn more about your familys medical past. If you cant get access to medical records, try death certificates, obituaries and old family letters. Even old family photos can provide visual clues to diseases such as obesity, skin conditions and osteoporosis. If youre adopted or otherwise cant learn more about your familys health history, be sure to follow standard screening recommendations and see your doctor for a physical on a regular basis. Keep in mind that the format and questions dont have to be perfect. The more information you gather, in whatever format is easiest for you, the more informed youll be about your medical heritage. What you learn could literally save your life!