Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – ADD or ADHD. The very words set off small alarms for many caregivers. Will he need medication? Will she ever be able to sit down and focus?
ADD/ADHD is when a child – or adult – has problems paying attention and keeping focused. Most children have these kinds of problems sometimes. A child with ADD/ADHD has this problem on a continual basis.
Signs and Symptoms
ADD/ADHD affects 6 – 9% of all children, and is more commonly diagnosed in boys than girls. Symptoms of ADD/ADHD appear over time, but not all at once. In most cases, the signs are there by the time the child is seven years old.
Some of the signs and symptoms of ADD/ADHD include:
- Chronic levels of inattention
- Fidgeting
- Short attention spans
- Talking without stopping
- Difficulty concentrating
- Impulsive hyperactivity
Because ADD/ADHD creates attention difficulties, many children with the disorder have a hard time with friends and family. They may also show poor performance at school. In addition, as many as half of all children with ADHD also have other behavioral issues such as anxiety and depression. In fact, teens and adults with ADHD are at a higher risk for being involved in substance abuse and criminal behaviors.
What to Do
There are many things caregivers can do to support children with ADD/ADHD. Recent research has found that a combination of behavioral therapy and prescription medication is effective in treating ADD/ADHD. However, more research needs to be done.
To help children focus, calm down, and pay attention, you can:
- Break school assignments into smaller steps that are checked by an adult.
- When multiple steps are necessary to complete a task give only one or two steps or directions at a time.
- Help the child maintain a daily schedule/calendar.
- Call special attention to any schedule changes.
- Support the child in organizing homework into a notebook.
- Designate a quiet work space.
- Set a timer for a short period of time and encourage the child to complete as much of the task as possible before the timer goes off.
- Have regularly scheduled and frequent breaks.
- Use computerized learning activities.
- Use visual instructions (written words or pictures) instead of verbal instructions (spoken words).
In addition to helping the child succeed in school, you can support the child by encouraging positives and strengths. Provide opportunities where the child can shine. You may also want to:
- Adapt your lifestyle to prevent or reduce chances for negative behavior to take over
- Understand the child’s triggers – what makes it hardest to behave?
- Figure out if there are ways for you to avoid or channel behavior differently
- Work with the child to come up with a plan that includes both consequences and rewards
- Help child find his or her “stress busters”
- Be clear about limits
- Offer choices when possible
- Teach problem-solving skills
Diagnoses
These days it seems like everyone is getting an ADD diagnosis. Parent advocates have begun to ask if some over these are misdiagnoses. It is important to be on the alert for other emotional or behavioral issues that might be masquerading as ADD. For example, a child who is evaluated soon after coming to your home may still be coping with the grief and loss of separation from his parent. He may act distracted and scattered, and end up with an ADD diagnosis when the behavior is actually temporary and an age-appropriate response to loss. Be sure to explain to an evaluating psychiatrist what else is going on in the family.
