Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common disorders seen by primary care and mental health professionals working with children and adolescents.

3-5% of all school-aged children are afflicted with ADHD. Most studies indicate that the occurrence of ADHD in boys outnumbers the occurrence in girls by 4 to 1.

Boys with hyperactivity tend to be more aggressive than girls, and as such, girls may remain undiagnosed because their behavior is more appropriate and acceptable to peers, teachers and parents.

Girls typically do not cause regular disruptions in the classrooms or at home, whereas, boys tend to act out their behavior more than girls do. Onset of additional deficits usually occurs before the age of 7, and although conduct disorder and oppositional behavior may co-exist, these are not casually related.

ADHD is not usually outgrown in adolescence. Emotional immaturity and social difficulties may persist although the activity levels may decline.

Only 30 to 40% of children outgrow the symptoms of the syndrome and the remainders continue to be affected by low self-esteem, school underachievement, distractibility and inattention. Many adolescents grow into adults with the same troubles of inattentiveness and distractibility.

Left untreated many will develop symptoms of aggression and violence. It is no wonder that almost 50% of incarcerated males have undiagnosed and untreated ADHD.

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Juveniles commit a great number of sexual assaults against children in this country. The reason adolescents commit sexual offenses can be linked to numerous factors such as their experiences (i.e. victims of sexual or emotional abuse), exposure (i.e. pornography or observation of sexual intercourse of others), and/or developmental deficits.

Research shows that meaningful differences can be made between youth who target peers or adults and those who target children. Additionally, juveniles who sexually offend are distinct from their adult counterparts.

It is estimated that juveniles commit almost half of all child molestation and about 20% of all rapes. Adolescents, between the ages of 13 and 17, account for the majority of cases of rape and child molestation by teenagers.

The vast majority of juvenile sexual aggression involves male perpetrators. Other studies show that prepubescent children including females are engaging in sexually abusive behavior. Juveniles referred for treatment reflect the same racial, religious, and socioeconomic distribution as the general population in America.

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Asperger's Syndrome, also known as Asperger's Disorder, is a relatively new category of developmental disorder. This term has come into general use within the past 15 years.

Asperger's Syndrome is the term applied to the mildest and highest functioning end of what is known as the spectrum of Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD) or the autism spectrum. The best studies that have been carried out to date suggest that Asperger's Syndrome is more common than the "classic" autism.

Whereas autism has traditionally been felt to occur in about four out of every 10,000 children, estimates of Asperger's Syndrome have ranged as high as 20 to 25 per 10,000. That means that for each case of more typical autism, schools can expect to encounter several children with a picture of Asperger's Syndrome.

Most Asperger's Syndrome children will be found in mainstream settings. It is therfore imperative that teachers, parents, employers, and others understand their unique and complex needs.

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One out of five Americans has an anger management problem. Anger is a natural human emotion and is a nature's way of empowering us to "ward off" our perception of attack or threat to our well being. The problem is not anger but the mismanagement of anger. It is the mismanagement of anger and rage that is the major cause of conflict in our personal and professional relationships.

Aggression is the violent behavior that has the intention to harm, hurt, maim or kill another living being that can be a person or animal. This type of behavior can occur within the context of a mental illness or outside the context of a mental illness. Most times it is not associated with a mental illness. However, it may and often does have a psychological basis.

Psychological issues that can lead to aggression can be personal and/or individual and/or environmental. Individually, aggression can come from a perceived slight, hurt or in defense of an attack or perceived threat of violence from another. In this later case aggression would be seen as defensive. Aggression can be physical, verbal or virtual (internet).

Aggression is born from anger. However anger is a very natural emotion like sadness and happiness. Anger does not have to lead to aggression.

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Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is a behavioral disorder usually first diagnosed in childhood or adolescence. It consists of oppositional behaviors that make parenting particularly difficult.

A child or adolescent with this diagnosis is prone to losing one's temper, arguing with adults, being spiteful and annoying. The defiant aspect of this disorder includes behaviors such as stubbornness, resistance to directions and testing of limits.

To meet this diagnosis these behaviors must persist for at least six months, significantly impair social, family and academic life and they cannot be related to any other diagnosis of a mood disorder with or without psychosis.

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Adolescence can be viewed as that stage of development between childhood and adulthood. It is analogous to the butterfly cocoon. The child is the caterpillar, adolescence is the cocoon and the adult is like the emerging butterfly.

What goes on in the darkness of the adolescent cocoon is often very turbulent, difficult and of major concern for parents and caretakers. Adolescence can be divided into three (3) distinct but overlapping stages. They are Early Adolescence (12/13 - 15 years of age), Middle Adolescence (15/16 -18 years of age) and Late Adolescence (18 - 20 years of age).

"During these years adolescents are supposed to go from complete dependence of childhood to equality with their parents as adults. In the course of becoming independent, they are supposed to figure out who they are and what they stand for (identity and values), how to make deep friendships and form lifelong relationships, how to tame their sometimes overwhelming sexual urges, and what they want to do with their lives (education and career goals).

Adolescents are supposed to accomplish all of these tasks while being successful in school and getting along with their families" (Barkley, 1995). Parents and authority figures should be aware that there are going to be problems as they struggle for freedom and independence.

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Aggression in and of itself is not a mental illness. Although aggression is displayed as a symptom of various mental illnesses and is seen as a learned phenomena it also has a biological etiology.

The limbic system of the brain controls one's flight or flight reaction when one has the perception of imminent danger to self, blood is diverted from non-essential parts of the body to organs necessary for survival.

Thus, organs such as the eyes, ears, and muscles of the legs, arms and feet are fed extra amounts of blood to give these body parts more energy. This extra amount of blood comes from the brain, stomach, etc in the preparation for fight or flight.

Often time's aggression has a psychological component. Environmental situations can trigger angry/aggressive outbursts. It should be understood that except for certain serious mental health illnesses such as Antisocial Personality Disorder (Sociopath), Sadism, Borderline Personality or Narcissistic Personality Disorder, aggression is born of anger.

However, anger is a very natural emotion just as sadness and happiness. But anger does not have to lead to aggression. Often time's children and adolescents assume that if you are angry, aggression should follow.

Those most at risk of pairing anger with aggression are those for whom aggression has been role modeled as the primary method of resolving disputes, communicating, solving problems and/or getting one's way.

This is generally learned by observing parents, significant others or in the environment such as the neighborhood or school.

Bullying is a common experience for many children growing up. According to the National Association of School Psychologists, about one in seven school children (5 million kids) has either been a bully or a victim.

Children who experience persistent bullying may become depressed or fearful. They may even lose interest in going to school or being involved in church or other activities. Bullying should not be dismissed as a harmless schoolyard rite of passage; according to another report bullies and their victims often develop behavioral and emotional problems later in life.

Bullying spawns loneliness, depression and suicidal tendencies among victims and foreshadows crime, violence and possible prison for the future of perpetrators.

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