Posts Tagged ‘Child with ADHD’

Coping With ADHD

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Posted 26 Mar 2011 — by admin
Category Diseases and Conditions, Health Procedures, Keeping Healthy

ADHD
Image Credit: Tiyok

It is important for parents and teachers to learn about ways in coping with ADHD. It is a fact that ADHD can hinder the maximum learning potential of a child in school. This is of great concern to those parties who are interested in the child’s education, which would be mostly the child’s parents and teachers.

It would be a great deal of waste if the child is by nature intelligent, and could have achieved much, but because of his inability to focus and impulsivity (brought about by having ADHD), he would not be able to develop his maximum potential.

Thus, these tips on coping with ADHD would be really valuable to be able to improve the ability of the child to grasp his lessons in school even amidst ADHD.

Behavior modification is one of the most effective strategies in coping with ADHD. The following techniques of coping with ADHD are all behavior modification strategies:

1.      Use of reward & consequence

-          Educators can swear for the effectiveness of the use of positive or negative consequences  either to reinforce positive behavior or to correct negative behavior.

-          For example, a child can be given verbal praises when he was able to accomplish a given task.  On the other hand, he can be given reprimands or simple punishments for not remaining on his seat during classroom discussion.

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2.      Repetition when giving instructions

-          This strategy on coping with ADHD is especially effective for children that get low scores on exams not because of not knowing the answer, but because of not following exam instructions. Even with difficulty in focusing on something, a child can find it easier to follow instructions when it is repeated by the teacher for several times.

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3.      Providing frequent verbal feedback

-          Attention span is frequently shorter on a child with ADHD, that is why when given a task, it is helpful to prompt the child with frequent verbal feedback to make sure that the child is able to follow through the instruction of the task. Verbal feedback can also be used in motivating the child to finish a task when the teacher observes that the child seems to be losing his interest or attention towards the task.

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4.      Use of routines

-          This is another strategy of coping with ADHD that addresses a child’s carelessness with regards to details of everyday activities. Forgetfulness about simple details is one common problem of children with ADHD. If a routine is practiced daily, the child has a lesser tendency to forget small details regarding everyday tasks.

5.      Teach the child to organize his things

-          Children with ADHD have the tendency to lose things such as school supplies or even toys. Organizing his things into how they are placed in his room decreases the tendency for the child to forget where his things are.

6.      Use planners, lists, written reminders or posted notes

-          Planners can help in organizing the schedule of upcoming activities like assignments or tests. This can improve the child’s anticipation and preparation for such activities. Lists, written reminders and posted notes can help the child to be always “on track” of the tasks that he has to accomplish.

7.      Breaking down long, complicated tasks into a series or short, simple tasks

-          A child with ADHD will usually get easily exhausted with longer tasks. If the task is broken down into a series of small tasks, each small task accomplished can give a sense of achievement to the child and thus, will increase the child’s eagerness to accomplish the task.

It is a rule of thumb in special education that “no two children are alike”. These strategies in coping with ADHD may be effective for one but may not work for the other. However, the above mentioned techniques in coping with ADHD may be tried by parents because these techniques has been tried and proven to increase the ability of a child to focus on school lessons and activities.

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How Would You Know If Your Child Has ADHD?

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Posted 17 Mar 2011 — by admin
Category Diseases and Conditions, Health Procedures, Psychiatry

Signs to help you draw the line between having a child that is naturally active and having a child who has ADHD. ADHD, also known as attention – deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a disorder that is common in school-aged children, and characterized by the triad of inattention, hyperactivity or impulsivity. A child who has ADHD need not manifest all three symptoms. In fact, ADHD is divided into three subtypes depending on which of the triad predominantly manifests in the child.

The subtypes of ADHD are the following:

  1. ADHD Predominantly Inattentive
  2. ADHD Predominantly Hyperactive Impulsive
  3. ADHD Predominantly Combined

One thing that may be of great concern to a parent is that manifestations of ADHD can affect a child’s social functioning and academic performance. Often, it is the school teacher who first suspects that a child has ADHD.

The school teacher will most likely inform the parent with regards to the observed signs of ADHD. However, a lot of children who has ADHD are within a regular classroom setting, and most teachers in the regular classroom setting do not have special training with regards to detecting signs of children with special needs, in particular, children with ADHD. Thus, it will also be helpful to a parent to know such signs and symptoms to be able to have an idea if the child has ADHD.

Based on the DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for ADHD established by psychiatry experts, the following are “red flags” that can make a parent suspect that his or her child has ADHD:

  • For the predominantly inattentive type:

1.      Child has poor attention span

(a child with less than 10 minutes focus to a particular task is said to have poor attention span)

2.      Child is very forgetful with details

3.      Child often complains of losing his things (like school supplies, toys, etc.)

4.      Child has problems with following instructions, as observed when answering exams or when child is instructed a particular chore (take note that inability to follow instructions is not because of inability to understand the instructions)

5.      Child often commits mistakes on school exams because of carelessness

6.      Child has difficulty in organizing things

7.      Child is unwilling to participate on tasks that require prolonged mental effort

  • For the predominantly hyperactive – impulsive type:

1.      Child is excessively talkative

2.      Child seems never to run out of energy

3.      Child seems to always move about

4.      Child has difficulty to comply when asked to behave

5.      Child has cannot remain on his seat for long periods of time

6.      Child loves to butt into other people’s conversations

7.      Child butts into someone who is talking (answers questions before someone has finished asking)

8.      Child has trouble with taking turns

  • A combination of the above signs and symptoms characterizes that a child who has ADHD is categorized in the predominantly combined subtype.

Parents, in collaboration with school teachers, must be watchful of these enumerated “red flags” in identifying if a child has ADHD. Although issues have been raised with regards to the effect of labeling a child with “having ADHD”, special educational needs might be met if we can identify that a child has ADHD. If a parent or concerned school teacher has suspicions that a child has ADHD, the professional that can best help with making a specific diagnosis is a developmental pediatrician.

(For more detailed readings on the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD, the complete criteria may be read on any psychology or psychiatry book)

This video was uploaded by Johnson and Johnson, which is about child ADHD.

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