ADHD: Information for patients and families (The Primary School)
ADHD, which is the abbreviation for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, is the most common mental health diagnosis affecting children in America, and there are concerns about both underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis.
ADHD refers to a spectrum of behaviors. There are genetic and environmental exposures that play a role in the development of ADHD, however, at this point in time we cannot know what specifically caused an individual child’s ADHD.
ADHD is different for everyone. For some children ADHD causes hyperactivity, for others ADHD causes only difficulty focusing or keeping attention, and in some kids ADHD causes challenges with both.
As a result, some children with ADHD may only have challenges with inattention. They may not have disruptive behaviors but rather only struggle to keep focused on a task at hand.
Other children with ADHD are hyperactive; they often struggle to sit still, have trouble waiting, interrupt others during conversations, and have difficulty following classroom rules.
In addition, they can be impulsive, make rash decisions and make careless mistakes. Again, there are many children with ADHD who have both inattentive and hyperactive symptoms.
Regardless of the symptoms, many students with ADHD can begin to fall behind in their academic work and can sometimes miss days from school because of significant behavior problems in the classroom.
To make matters worse, ADHD can take a toll on children’s friendships; their disruptive and impulsive behavior can result in being shunned or bullied by peers.
Needless to say, ADHD can be hard on children as well as their teachers and families.The first and probably the most important step is noticing that the child can’t keep attention, something that both teachers and parents are uniquely able to do.
Teachers are very helpful in identifying children since the classroom setting is often the place where children exhibit symptoms.
The expectations to pay attention and complete tasks are a central part of the school day. Correctly diagnosing ADHD can be hard, so it’s important to bring the child to a professional for an evaluation when a parent or a teacher raises a concern.
After all, there might be other causes for the symptoms. For example a child might not be paying attention in class because they have a hearing or vision difficulty, or because they have an undiagnosed learning disability, or because they aren’t getting sufficient food or sleep at home.
It can be hard to concentrate when you’re always feeling hungry. In order to make the right diagnosis family members, school nurses, and teachers can help by providing information about child’s behavior in different environments.
Sometimes health professionals will ask teachers and others who work with a child to fill out formal questionnaires about behaviors in different environments to help make the appropriate diagnosis.
There’s no cure for ADHD, but with support and treatment children can lead happy and successful lives. Broadly speaking, specific treatment of ADHD often includes behavioral therapy and in some cases can include medications.
Behavior therapy teaches techniques to reinforce positive behavior and decrease symptoms and inappropriate behavior. For therapy to be most effective the treatment team will often include all caregivers, including teachers.
In children, therapy aims to modify how a child feels and thinks about various situations, and teaches them social skills that can help them make friends and do better in school.Sometimes, small changes in the physical environment at home or at school can help reduce the stimuli for inappropriate behavior.
Behavior therapy is particularly important for children at the preschool level. Finally, in some cases prescription medications are introduced - typically in low doses and increased if needed.
The exact choice of medication is made based on the targeted time of the day the medication works best - like when the child is doing homework - coupled with its risks and side effects.
It’s important to check in frequently with health care providers to make sure that the medications are making things better and not worse; teachers and caregivers provide essential input at these check-ins.##SummaryAll right, let's review.
ADHD can cause challenges with hyperactivity, inattention, or both. Kids with ADHD can have a hard time focusing and can be disruptive, have trouble with friends, and do poorly in school.
The first step is noticing that the child is struggling to pay attention and helping the child be evaluated by a professional.
But making a diagnosis of ADHD can be hard because many other conditions and situations can cause a similar set of symptoms.
Treatment options include: medication and behavioral therapy. Fortunately, with appropriate treatment, children can lead healthy lives, do well in school, and make friends.
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