What is ADHD and How do You Manage it?

There are some children who suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The symptoms exhibited by these children are:

1) Poor concentration and attention span 2) Poor memory 3) Impulsiveness - the trait of doing things without thinking first 4) Easily frustrated - because of poor concentration and memory when they cannot remember things, they get frustrated. This causes behavioral patterns like temper tantrums and outbursts

Of course all children (and adults) show difficulties such as these at various times. For the child with ADHD, however, these difficulties are so great that they have experienced failures in various areas such as

a) Participating in activities at school such as getting work done, paying attention, maintaining focus, being attentive in class etc.

b) at home (are not able to finish chores, are clumsy, get into fights with siblings and more)

c) in society (Often bossy and overbearing, show aggression, get frustrated easily and then have temper outbursts, and more)

ADHD is not a malfunction of any body part as it is in conditions like asthma or diabetes. This condition of ADHD happens because parts of brain are not working at full efficiency

ADHD can be called a hereditary condition, where parents and children show similar symptoms. The symptoms and the ADHD condition does not go away in short span of time and takes a long time to get under control. Sometimes children suffer from ADHD through their teens into their adulthood also.

How do you manage ADHD?

What bothers children suffering from ADHD is the danger and fear of long term implications and complications. For example:

a) Their fear of failure at school owing to poor concentration, leading to school drop out

b) they may be constantly in trouble because of their impulsivity and so be excluded from school and end up with the police,

c) Their fear of taking recourse to anti-depressants such as drinks, drugs, crime etc to avoid getting anxious and depressed.

These fears are what bother these children as these factors could influence their attitude and performance in adult life too.

The goal of management is, therefore, to prevent complications. This is a long term process, so the most important people to take charge of this are the parents. It is you as parents who have to live with the child, you who are most concerned about his/her long term well-being, and you who know your child best. If you do not take an active role in managing the difficulties then whatever else other people do will be unlikely to make much difference. However, if you do your part then there is much that others can do to help you along the way. Effective management is likely to include the following components:

COMMITTED PARENTS who are ready to support their child in full. Through the information available to the parents through the books, videos, Cds and internet, the parents should be able to help their ADHD afflicted child. A word of caution here is that along with all the information, there is a lot of mis-information also available on the net and other sources. This skewed information might cause a problem in understanding the condition of ADHD. There is no magic cure available for ADHD, anybody who claims to have a magic cure is lying!

GOOD COMMUNICATION. Communication between the school and the home is very important for effective management. This enables you to discuss solutions and implement them for an effective output.

It is a known fact that children with ADHD do better in ORGANIZED, quiet and structured and low stimulation ENVIRONMENT, but become worse in chaotic, unorganized and busy homes and classrooms. As a loving parent and a well wisher you will want the child to be better adjusted. Hence it will be a good idea to reorganize your home so that it keeps the child with ADHD calm and less stressful. And if the same can also be done in the school for the ADHD children, then it will help these children to be better adjusted in life.

CLEAR BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT STRATEGY Children with ADHD have to be given clear and exact instructions and expectations. If they are clear on the reward and punishment system then they will adjust their behavior accordingly. The support or the social worker can help you devise strategies for a Clear behavioral management program to help your child.

PARENTAL SUPPORT. Since getting along wit these children and bringing them up takes a lot of doing , the parents themselves are likely to get depressed and break up. To avoid marriages to break up and to maintain harmony, it is advisable for parents themselves to seek assistance from parent support groups, parent training groups, respite care, marital counseling, family therapy are such support groups and organizations.

MEDICATION. Medication is not a cure, but can be an invaluable help. Getting it right is important and so you will need to work closely with your key worker and doctor. The goal of medication is to reduce the symptoms so as to give the child the opportunity to learn academic, social, and other life skills. By itself, however, it is unlikely to solve all the problems and so cannot be used as an excuse to opt out of the above ingredients.

ADHD patients are given various medicines. Most of these are stimulants and a new rage is a medicine called atomoxetine. This is a new medicine for ADHD and is seen to be working very well and with negligible side effects. More information on this new wonder drug could be sought from the doctor.

As health professionals we cannot raise your child for you, nor can we solve all your problems as you travel with your child along life's journey. What we can do, however, is to assist you in getting unstuck when you get stuck along the way. We will try to help you to sort out all of the above points as best you can.

It is very important for you as a family to learn about the ADHD so that you are able to bring up the child in least stressful environment. The more you learn the better it is for the child and the family as a whole.

Article Source: http://www.christiannotepad.com

Dr. Noel Swanson specializes in child behaviour. He has a fascinating website with lots of parenting help that is well worth a visit. You should also seriously consider getting his book, The GOOD CHILD GUIDE, also from: www.good-child-guide.com
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