Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)

What is Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD)?

ADHD is a kind of psychiatric illness having its manifestation during the early years of life. This is a developmental disorder it is called so as the symptoms of ADHD appear clearly by the age of five years and are more prominent during the early years of life. Only in some cases the symptoms persist with same severity in the adulthood.

How to identify ADHD?

There are certain differences which make children having ADHD different from other children:-

ü  Difficulty concentrating for long on any task,

ü  Leaving the task incomplete to take up a new task,

ü  Inability to prolong interest even on otherwise liked things,

ü  Disliking for tasks that require involvement and thinking,

ü  Excessive activity, inability to sit at a place for long,

ü  Running around as if being run by motor,

ü  Continuously moving hand, legs even when sitting,

ü  Very easily distractible,

ü  Making strange voices,

ü  Inability to wait for their turn,

ü  Blurting out the answer before the question is completed,

ü  Keep losing the things,

ü  Makes careless mistakes,

ü  Looses temper easily.

Any of the above mentioned symptoms when appear for long time and interfere with child’s education or other learning and development should be given adequate attention.

Does is mean child has poor intelligence?

In some cases the child having ADHD may have associated condition such as mental retardation, learning disorder, language disorders, conduct disorder (dissocial behavior) etc. but in cases where child does not have any other associated condition the poor performance of the child might only be because of his inability to pay attention to the task given to him rather than poor intelligence.

What causes ADHD?

There is no one cause of having ADHD but a combination of factors might be responsible for this.

1. Due to any neurotransmitter (Chemical) imbalance in the brain,
2. Due to various structural abnormalities in brain,
3. Lack of normal development in child before birth,
4. Effect of dangerous environment (lead exposure, trauma, poison, drug, alcohol, etc) to the child before or immediately after birth, etc.

What is the treatment of ADHD?

The children having ADHD can get help through medication prescribed by a trained psychiatrist as these medicine help reducing increased activity to some extent.

For other behavioral problems child require help from Clinical Psychologist and Special Educator.

How to control increased activity?

For controlling increased activity follow certain things given below:

ü  Let the child be involved into activities requiring high energy level such as racing, cycling, dancing for long time before asking him to sit at  a place for some work,

ü  Let the child do some extra exercise in morning,

ü  Encourage him to sit at a place for small duration and gradually increase the time, give child something that he likes when successfully does so,

ü  Establish contract with the child in which the goal and tasks are determined and the privileges that will be given for doing any task are mentioned. This contract is made with child and is followed by both the parties (i.e. child and caretaker), etc.

What to do to increase his attention?

ü  Allow the child to do task in part rather than whole at one time and encourage him with something that he likes (such as sweet, toy, allowing TV for 10 minutes etc.) for doing each part,

ü  Allow him to do tasks for small duration and gradually increase the duration, remember start with activities that child likes to do,

ü  Give small and clear instructions (i.e. get me the bottle, rather than get me the bottle which is kept over the table and pour the water in glass),

ü  Hold the shoulders of the child and look straight into his eyes while giving him instruction,

ü  Ask him to follow simple mazes, computer game etc,

ü  Remove extra distractions from the room where the child is to be taught something,

ü  Try to use as many sensory modalities as possible while teaching (i.e. make him see, touch, speak, hear a word while teaching rather than simply either see from book, or listen from teacher), etc.

What to do to control inability to wait (impulsivity)?

ü  Help the child understand that he will be given something if he delays his reaction to anything for some time and than gradually increase the time required to wait between a thing is given and the child to react to it,

ü  Teach the child to postpone the reaction only by a few seconds first and than increase the duration,

ü  React negatively if he blurts out before time, etc.

Can a child suffering from ADHD study in a regular school?

Yes, the child having ADHD can study in regular school, but he/she needs special attention and special training to cope with the problem

How can parent help the child?

The parents play a very important role for the treatment of such child as the training required for them has to be constant and structured for all the settings such as school, home, playground etc. for which the most concerned and constant trainer is parent.