Review of the literature and pilot study on the effects of Ritalin on reading and interpersonal relationships of hyperactive children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore, through an investigation of the literature, the etiology, symptoms, neurologic concomitant, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of hyperactive children. A pilot study has been set up to determine how parents, teachers, and peers perceive the hyperactive child before any action is done to help him, when he is talking Ritalin a therapeutic drug, and when he is on a placebo. The change in behavior of the hyperactive child and his classmates will also be explored as well as changes in academic achievement. As a result of a review and analysis of the literature, the writer has concluded that the following will be found to be true in the pilot study: the majority of the children will have abnormal electroencephalograms and these will mainly show a persistent occipital slow wave, those with a normal electroencephalogram will react in a more dramatic way to treatment, more boys than girls will be referred for the experiment, school work and test scores will improve as a result of improvement in attending to task, hyperactivity and aggressiveness will decrease, and a follow-up study in ten years will show that few of the children will have an adequate adjustment to society if they have not received psychotherapy.