Proposal for a Policy Change: Addressing ADHD at Joint Air Base Pearl Harbor

Running head: PROPOSAL FOR A POLICY CHANGE
1
PROPOSAL FOR A POLICY CHANGE: THE AUDIENCE FOR THIS
PROPOSAL IS THE BASE COMMANDER OF THE JOINT AIR BASE PEARL
HARBOR
NAME
INSTITUTION

PROPOSAL FOR A POLICY CHANGE 2
Abstract
Dealing with Attention Deficit Hypersensitivity Disorder (ADHD) has become a major
concern in the USA. This is due to the fact that there are so many children death cases attributed
ADHD. There are different methods used in addressing the challenge of ADHD. Medical
treatment is one of the way methods but it is often associated with long-term side effects (Jones,
Dawson & Webb, 2018). The other method is psychosocial interventions which include
behavioral parental training. This paper will present a proposal for a policy change to the Joint
Air Base commander to ensure that the challenge of ADHD at the Joint Air Base Pearl Harbor is
effectively addressed.

PROPOSAL FOR A POLICY CHANGE 3
Introduction
This proposal is based on a research report that was based on the topic “The correlation
between Attention Deficit Hypersensitivity Disorder (ADHD) and parental interaction.” This
paper is going to provide a proposal to the Base Commander of Joint Air Base Pearl Harbor that
all parents of children attending the base child development centre with ADHD to go through 20
hours online or equivalent classroom parental behavior training (BPT). This paper will begin by
highlighting a brief summary of the findings of the research report on paper one. It will further
give a detailed proposal of policy change with supporting reasons. This paper will also highlight
the anticipated objections and then appropriately address them. It will finally give a conclusion
of the paper (Papoušek, 2016).
Summary of paper 1 findings
The previous research assignment sought to understand the correlation that exists
between Attention Deficit Hypersensitivity Disorder (ADHD) and parental interaction.
According to the Oxford Concise Medical Dictionary, ADHD is a mental disorder, usually of
children, characterized by the grossly excessive level of activity and a marked impairment of the
ability to attend (Singh, & Zimmerman, 2015). The behavior may be predominantly
hyperactive-impulsive, predominantly inattentive, or combined. Interaction is a key factor in
childhood development and the lack of parental interaction could negatively impact a child's
social, emotional, and behavioral development, consequentially leading to behavioral problems
and poor academies (Bulanda, & Lippmann, 2009). There are different methods used in
addressing the challenge of ADHD. Medical treatment is one of the way methods but it is often
associated with long-term side effects (Jones, Dawson & Webb, 2018). The other method is
psychosocial interventions which include behavioral parental training. This paper will present a
proposal for a policy change to the Joint Air Base commander to ensure that the challenge of
ADHD at the Joint Air Base Pearl Harbor is effectively addressed.

PROPOSAL FOR A POLICY CHANGE 4
According to a 2016 report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), out
of 6.1 million children diagnosed with ADHD, around 9.4% are children between the age of 2
and 17. Though ADHD is treatable, it is often associated with many long-term side effects. Apart
from medical treatment, other treatment such as parental behavioral training can be used by
parents to manage the diagnoses of their children. The study noted that different medical scholars
have advocated for use of psychotherapies in form of parents and behavior training (Kilincaslan
et al. 2017). It was also noted that CDC is urging medical professionals to prioritize the use of
psychotherapies before they can resort to medical treatment. This move can be attributed to the
fact that psychotherapies do not have any side effect. Basically, it can be seen that CDC and the
medical professionals understand that the parent plays a very crucial role in the management of
children with ADHD (Ly, Bottelier, Hoekstra, Vasquez, Buitelaar & Rommelse, 2017).
Handling of children with ADHD can be very challenging to parents. Handling of these
children requires parents to have special skills. Unfortunately, many parents lack effective skills
for interacting with their children. Reacting negatively to children with ADHD may attract an
unfriendly reaction from the children. For successful parental interaction, behavioral training for
parent handling ADHD child is very crucial and has resulted in positive results. The study
conducted noted that trained parents were sometimes overwhelmed with stress and found it hard
to apply what they had learned in coping with children with ADHD (Tong, Ye, & Yan, 2018)
Parental interaction cannot be avoided. Children with ADHD condition spend most of
their time with parents. Parents need to be equipped with the necessary skills of handling
children with ADHD. The intent of training parents is to provide an ADHD education-based
environment which promotes growth, understanding, and situational management for parents
with children diagnosed with ADHD (Bolea-Alamañac et al. 2014). It is believed that early
intervention holds the key to positive outcomes for children diagnosed with ADHD. “The point
is not that the child’s behavior is the parent’s fault, but that it is also important to pay attention
to, and support the parents of children with disabilities, especially since often the focus has
always been solely on the child and his or her problems (Wiwe Lipsker, von Heijne, Bölte, &
Wicksell, 2018).
On the question of whether there exists a correlation between ADHD and parental
interaction, it was found that there exists a very strong correlation between the two. This is