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HELPING CHILDREN WITH ADHD

You really thought last year would be different. But, there are the same comments you have been hearing from his teachers since early grade school—“Doesn’t pay attention.” “Disrupts others.” “Doesn’t turn in assignments.”

Most parents have heard of ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), a.k.a, ADD, and many have wondered if that would explain what is keeping their child from being able to be successful in school. While some believe the diagnosis is given too often, others are surprised at how infrequently the diagnosis is being made. For many parents and children, it is a relief when an explanation is finally offered and treatment becomes available. Every parent wants their child to be successful. The parent of the child with ADHD is no different. One can get an appreciation of the difficulty of the task by listening to what many of these parents would tell you:

“He doesn’t listen to me, or only listens to part of what I have to say.”

“I can’t get him to do his chores. He gets halfway through them and then quits.”

“We worked so hard with him to get that assignment done and then he forgot to turn it in.”

Although many parents are familiar with ADHD, they may be less familiar with what works and what doesn’t to help their child to be more successful.

What do we know?
There is no known cause for the disorder. ADHD is estimated to be present in at least 3-10% of all children and is six to nine times more common in males than females. Although many persons go into adulthood without ever being diagnosed with the disorder, it is possible to detect ADHD even before the age of four. However, ADHD may not be recognized until first or second grade after the child has entered into school. Unlike other learning disabilities, impacting primarily on one learning skill, ADHD can have an influence on all areas of learning, affecting attention span, concentration, and the storage of information. ADHD also manifests itself in other settings besides school, particularly in the area of peer relations. This is especially troubling as peer relations are so important to success in many other areas of life. Symptoms typically worsen when sustained attention is required, for example, when asked to listen to the teacher in the classroom, when attending to difficult tasks, or when needing to attend to social cues to know how to interact with others. Children with ADHD often exhibit behavioral problems which can lead to rejection by their peers and other adults. As a result, they develop negative self-images, consider themselves “dumb”, “lazy”, “incompetent.” Others who don’t understand their condition or who have lost patience with them and their failures, may have similar feelings about them.

What do I look for?
In all actuality, the ADHD child may be intelligent, talented, creative, sensitive and loving. And yet, as a result of their behavioral excesses, they may not appear very loveable or attractive. These children may sometimes develop into the “class clown” and keep everyone amused. But their plight isn’t very amusing. It is a struggle and a challenge to keep trying every day, even when they know their efforts will go unrewarded.

It is critical to diagnose ADHD as early as possible. The essential features for diagnosis of ADHD are developmentally inappropriate degrees of inattention, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity (though this is not always as apparent). Persons who are qualified t o make the diagnosis of ADHD are physicians, psychologists, and others who are familiar with the criteria established by the American Psychiatric Association for making this diagnosis, and who are trained to administer various forms of testing specific to this disorder.

How do you treat ADHD?
Although numerous books and articles have been written about diets and such, there is almost no evidence to support their efficacy. At the same time, a substantial amount of research does support the use of medication, typically psychostimulants, in conjunction with the use of a behavior management program. Medication is thought to correct a chemical imbalance in the brain, which allows the child to focus his attention and regulate his energy level more efficiently. In spite of myths that still prevail, side effects have been minimal, especially with the more recent forms of these medications.

Children with ADHD benefit from having structure, the use of charts for example, and other forms of behavior management that parents can learn from experts who work with these children. Medication alone is usually insufficient to help the ADHD child catch up after possibly years of experiencing failure, rejection, and making poor choices. Counseling will benefit many of these children. Parents, too, can benefit from learning how to structure their child’s lives to help them compensate for inadequacies in areas of learning and peer relations.