ADHD and Parenting
"The child does not sit quite anywhere, even to study" - complain the parents.
"I cannot control his anger.
He does not focus on studies.
Teachers complain to me.
I cut a sorry figure with them and lose my cool on my son" - says the mother of the six-year-old.
"I seem to have reached my wit's end running after him, trying to control him and handling his routines and studies" - she is in tears now.
"Why can't he understand what he is putting me through?" - she laments.
She is a home-maker.
The father goes to work and when he returns home, there are complaints from the mother on the son's behaviour.
Coming home tired, he wants peace and not complaints.
This leads them to arguments, blaming each other for the child's condition, attempts to prove who is a better parent and so on.
The family seems to have lost its joys and peace.
At this, as a psychologist, I start spotting the traces of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the case...
ADHD is often not understood by parents, teachers and common people.
While attempting to tackle the problem, one has to learn to distinguish between the normal naughtiness of a child and ADHD.
Symptoms have to be observed for long periods (say, more than six months) before starting to suspect the situation to be of ADHD.
If it turns out to be so, instead of blaming the child, each other, the school, in-laws etc.
, take the child to a mental health professional like a psychiatrist or a psychologist, who will help you in assessing the condition.
ADHD has two components.
The first being the deficit in the ability of the child to pay attention (symptoms like getting easily moving from one activity to another, avoiding getting into details, getting bored quickly with most activities, difficulty in completing homework and writing notes, losing things easily, difficulty in following instructions, not paying attention when being talked to, difficulty in processing information, daydreaming in between activities and so on).
The second, as the name suggests, is hyperactivity (symptoms like restlessness, occasionally talking nonstop, running around and playing around almost uncontrollably, difficulty in sitting quite, urge to keep moving around, difficulty in doing anything peacefully and quietly and so on).
It, however, is not that the child just cannot sit quite or focus.
Many a time it so happens that the child focuses and even gets lost into things they like intensely.
The symptoms of ADHD get noticed in children mostly in the age-band of 6 to 10.
It is believed that more boys get diagnosed with ADHD than girls.
The possibility of inheriting this disorder also has not been ruled out.
Treatment of ADHD involves a combination of medication and counselling.
Vocational coaching too has been found to be effective.
Medication will help the affected person in regaining the ability to focus but skills of organising activities will have to be inculcated through counselling and coaching.
Early and sustained treatment has improved the lives of many with ADHD.
If untreated, ADHD goes on into adulthood and manifests with more symptoms.
In adult ADHD, the symptoms of attention deficit may present as inability to stick to jobs, relationship difficulties at workplace, difficulty in time management, difficulties with close relationships, indecisiveness etc.
On the hyperactivity side, they may like jobs involving higher levels of activity, may get bored at work easily and can be very impatient, irritated, frustrated and angry.
They are often perceived by others as trouble-makers, disorganised, uncommitted etc.
Such reactions from people push them into self-doubt and inner confusions leading at times to violent or deviant behaviour.
As children with ADHD move into adolescence and adulthood, they may get into some of the other disorders associated with the problem.
In this, there can be learning disorder, defiant behaviour, misconduct, antisocial behaviour, rigid attitudes, picking up of fights, volatile anger, cheating, lying, stealing, inappropriate sexual behaviour etc.
There can also be problems like mood swings, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, substance abuse (alcoholism, drug addiction etc.
).
Though in low percentages, instances of decline in the symptoms of ADHD with age have been reported from across the world.
Even though many developed countries have relatively better ADHD support systems, most of the developing and underdeveloped societies have difficulty in comprehending ADHD and the havoc it can play in the lives of the affected ones as well as their care-givers (mostly parents, siblings and spouses).
With this, there is an inescapable need to generate social awareness among such societies about ADHD in particular and the associated problems and disorders in general.
What ADHD needs is psycho-social therapy and that justifies the need for persistent social awareness generation.
We have reasons to cheer on this because of late, communication and information technology (especially involving the Internet today) has proven the potential to do this among groups of people across the world.
This enables sharing and caring.
"I cannot control his anger.
He does not focus on studies.
Teachers complain to me.
I cut a sorry figure with them and lose my cool on my son" - says the mother of the six-year-old.
"I seem to have reached my wit's end running after him, trying to control him and handling his routines and studies" - she is in tears now.
"Why can't he understand what he is putting me through?" - she laments.
She is a home-maker.
The father goes to work and when he returns home, there are complaints from the mother on the son's behaviour.
Coming home tired, he wants peace and not complaints.
This leads them to arguments, blaming each other for the child's condition, attempts to prove who is a better parent and so on.
The family seems to have lost its joys and peace.
At this, as a psychologist, I start spotting the traces of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the case...
ADHD is often not understood by parents, teachers and common people.
While attempting to tackle the problem, one has to learn to distinguish between the normal naughtiness of a child and ADHD.
Symptoms have to be observed for long periods (say, more than six months) before starting to suspect the situation to be of ADHD.
If it turns out to be so, instead of blaming the child, each other, the school, in-laws etc.
, take the child to a mental health professional like a psychiatrist or a psychologist, who will help you in assessing the condition.
ADHD has two components.
The first being the deficit in the ability of the child to pay attention (symptoms like getting easily moving from one activity to another, avoiding getting into details, getting bored quickly with most activities, difficulty in completing homework and writing notes, losing things easily, difficulty in following instructions, not paying attention when being talked to, difficulty in processing information, daydreaming in between activities and so on).
The second, as the name suggests, is hyperactivity (symptoms like restlessness, occasionally talking nonstop, running around and playing around almost uncontrollably, difficulty in sitting quite, urge to keep moving around, difficulty in doing anything peacefully and quietly and so on).
It, however, is not that the child just cannot sit quite or focus.
Many a time it so happens that the child focuses and even gets lost into things they like intensely.
The symptoms of ADHD get noticed in children mostly in the age-band of 6 to 10.
It is believed that more boys get diagnosed with ADHD than girls.
The possibility of inheriting this disorder also has not been ruled out.
Treatment of ADHD involves a combination of medication and counselling.
Vocational coaching too has been found to be effective.
Medication will help the affected person in regaining the ability to focus but skills of organising activities will have to be inculcated through counselling and coaching.
Early and sustained treatment has improved the lives of many with ADHD.
If untreated, ADHD goes on into adulthood and manifests with more symptoms.
In adult ADHD, the symptoms of attention deficit may present as inability to stick to jobs, relationship difficulties at workplace, difficulty in time management, difficulties with close relationships, indecisiveness etc.
On the hyperactivity side, they may like jobs involving higher levels of activity, may get bored at work easily and can be very impatient, irritated, frustrated and angry.
They are often perceived by others as trouble-makers, disorganised, uncommitted etc.
Such reactions from people push them into self-doubt and inner confusions leading at times to violent or deviant behaviour.
As children with ADHD move into adolescence and adulthood, they may get into some of the other disorders associated with the problem.
In this, there can be learning disorder, defiant behaviour, misconduct, antisocial behaviour, rigid attitudes, picking up of fights, volatile anger, cheating, lying, stealing, inappropriate sexual behaviour etc.
There can also be problems like mood swings, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, substance abuse (alcoholism, drug addiction etc.
).
Though in low percentages, instances of decline in the symptoms of ADHD with age have been reported from across the world.
Even though many developed countries have relatively better ADHD support systems, most of the developing and underdeveloped societies have difficulty in comprehending ADHD and the havoc it can play in the lives of the affected ones as well as their care-givers (mostly parents, siblings and spouses).
With this, there is an inescapable need to generate social awareness among such societies about ADHD in particular and the associated problems and disorders in general.
What ADHD needs is psycho-social therapy and that justifies the need for persistent social awareness generation.
We have reasons to cheer on this because of late, communication and information technology (especially involving the Internet today) has proven the potential to do this among groups of people across the world.
This enables sharing and caring.
Source...