Atypical Behaviors in Childhood

There are three types of atypical behaviors in childhood: attention problems, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems. Attention problems are problems that impact the child's ability to concentrate. (Bee and Boyd, 2004, 422). By this I do not mean outside influences that impact a child's ability to concentrate, but internal disorders. ADD, ADHD, and Conduct Disorders are all attention problems that impact the physical ability of a child to focus their attention on the task at hand and maintain their attention span. Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders have both been the focus of concern in the news in recent years. These disorders not only affect the student's ability to function at school but other students' abilities to function in school as well.

Children with ADD or ADHD often are disruptive in the classroom, and display behavior problems that make the school experience difficult for everyone involved, however, with proper treatment the symptoms of these disorders can be effectively controlled and managed. Conduct Disorder is another disorder within the attention problem genre. This disorder differs from ADD and ADHD in that the patterns of behaviors that are observed are markedly more deviant and antisocial in nature, and also have high levels of aggression and delinquent acts.

Treatment for these disorders can include both drug therapy and behavior modification therapies. Drug therapy for ADD an ADHD may include such drugs as Modafinil and Ritalin. Treating Conduct Disorder is a very difficult process. The best way to treat this disorder is to treat individual symptoms and sub-disorders, as well as finding appropriate disciplinary actions that encourage pro-social behavior (Wood, 2003) in order to redirect negative behavior to pro-social behavior.