Contrary to popular belief, ADD and ADHD are neither well understood nor the most commonly prescribed medication for these disorders. What we do know is that ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder in children, and many parents are looking for drug alternatives in response to pressure from teachers and schools to find a solution to their child's behavior. In addition, drug treatment programs and treatment centers for eating disorders are looking for drug alternatives for adolescent and adult clients who have attention or impulsivity problems that are common among drug users.
So far, no laboratory test has been used to diagnose ADD and ADHD. Questionnaires, checklists and performance tests such as TOVA (Test of Variables in Attention), Conners Rating Scale, BASC (Behavior Assessment System for children) and ACTeRS profile for boys are used to diagnose ADS and ADHD and prescribe stimulating drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall, Dexedrin , Strattera, Concerta, Modafinil, Atomoxetine and Metadate. As the Physicians' Desk Reference warns against the use of Ritalin in children under the age of six, the parents concerned are looking for alternative medications for their young children. Adults with ADD and ADHD who have had drug addiction, alcoholism or eating disorders in the past are advised not to take Ritalin and Adderall as they have similar effects to cocaine. Adderall is actually a new name for a drug that was originally known as Obetrol and was developed for diet control. It is understandable that treatment centers for eating disorders prefer their customers with ADD and ADHD to an alternative to Adderall.
Neurofeedback, also known as EEG biofeedback, is an evidence-based alternative to medication and has been used successfully to improve ADD and ADHD in children and adults. There have been numerous studies on the effectiveness of neurofeedback, including one that demonstrated physical changes in the brain before and after fMRI studies. One of the many advantages of neurofeedback is that the improvements in focus, attention, task maintenance and reduced impulsiveness are many times permanent. This is because the brain actually learns to perform these tasks as if it were put into a state of increased excitement by using drugs.
Behavioral problems beyond the standard - ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
As a parent of two children who have both been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), I learned a lot about my children's character, and perhaps most importantly, I learned a lot about mine. Some of these realities can sometimes be scary, but most can be addressed and handled in a positive and meaningful way so that children are not constantly threatened by unrealistic expectations about their behavior and performance.
Sometimes the "average" can be a great success. This is not to say that we don't give our children every chance to excel, but that they have to do so with the advice and support of parents, teachers and counselors. They are not so different from other children, but their actions are reinforced by their impulsiveness, their inability to tell the truth, even for the most foolish problems. They tend to say words or make statements that no one meets who thinks normally, do not dare to say and often regret their behavior, but generally cannot control themselves without help. The scary part for me is the almost complete absence of fear. This leads to many small accidents, sometimes larger ones that injure them, and sometimes others.
I first found out about my son's disorder when he was almost five years old. I didn't get this assessment with open arms, but when I thought about my son's behavior and the difficulties he had in developing social skills, staying on track or simply letting out such words could lead to prosecution lead in adulthood, many of the puzzle elements started to assemble. He was and still can be very impulsive. Many children are. He gets very angry from time to time. Well, I can understand that too. After all. In his eyes, his mother left him and let him and his little sister live with their father while she went to live her own life. For my two children, it will probably be a sensitive issue if their mother lives on as if she only had to be available if she wanted to.
The main problems arose in school. My son was distracting in the classroom and from time to time confronting students and even teachers and administrators. I spent a lot of time with my son and explained ad nauseum that actions and behaviors have ramifications. Fortunately, I also learned from the lessons that I continue to print for my son, and over time he has developed a superficial understanding that it is more important to think about your intentions before you open your mouth, then leave it just get rid of everything that comes to your mind and pay the price for it. His lack of impulse control cost him a lot several times, but each event was also an hour of life that we both looked at and talk about. We do not do this to keep old wounds open, but to reaffirm and keep an eye on the actual teaching so that it is not repeated. And when it stops, it's an event worth celebrating because it reinforces his belief that he can do it. If a child believes they can complete a task, most tasks are good for their psychological growth, and for a child with ADHD this can be a change.
School has become an increasingly important part of my son's life and he is on his way to college next year. But when he went through elementary school, it was obvious that he would not be able to keep up with the level of work required for each year. His social skills improved considerably, but this was not the case when he was five or six or even seven or eight years old.
At the start of the sight, he was unable to read and remember the vocabulary, his utterances were often incomprehensible, and he became angry with me several times because I asked him to repeat himself. An IEP (Individual Education Program) was created for him when he started first grade, and these personalized learning programs have been updated every year since then. This tool or roadmap is one of the best ways to track a child's progress during their school career. In connection with newsletters and messages from teachers or administrators, I can keep up with my children and offer incentives to motivate my children.
An IEP enables adjustments according to the level of education at which the child is currently working, the goals to be achieved and which means. Every child with a learning disability should develop one and keep it up to date. I attend a meeting every year to check my children's growth. Have you met or exceeded the criteria set for you? Is there still a problem? In this case, additional resources can be provided to help and take a child to grade level. These resources can include one-to-one tuition from a special school teacher or additional time to take a test - the same test that all other students take. However, special care may be required to ensure that the ADHD child understands what a test question is. If a child only needs to speak to someone, a counselor or social worker is available.
There are many options, and an annual review is only one way to ensure that parents, teachers, and staff are on one side. If, as a parent of children for whom IEPs have been developed and implemented, I see a problem or positive growth in an area, I can request a meeting outside the normal scope of an annual review scheduled to resolve the problem or no longer need it Remove accommodations. There are federal laws that give children and parents of these children the right to have their particular needs assessed and to develop an action plan that enables these children to be successful.
Such programs in no way affect a child's responsibility to do their best and to be successful in a concerted manner. And over time, it has been shown that very, very few children deliberately assume that failure is an option. These children want to be successful, but they have an obstacle that needs to be addressed literally 24 hours a day and often into adulthood. A small percentage of children can overcome this condition, but most simply become adults who continue to struggle with their ADHD.
As mentioned in the summary above, there have been changes in definition and direction in recent years as a result of ongoing research and testing in the area of ADHD. Nowadays it is no longer appropriate to consider this disorder simply as an "attention problem". The condition is identified more precisely as a lack of self-regulation or "how the ego manages to handle itself in the wider area of social behavior".
Too often people doubt the existence of this disorder and instead place the burden of a child's behavior on lack of parenthood or inappropriate parenthood and insist that better discipline is the way to solve this problem. And I bet none of these people ever had the opportunity to raise a child with this disease, for whom two genes in the molecular genetics of ADHD have been reliably identified.
Many parents are victims of information that has no scientific basis and yet has strong followers. Just saying that something is nothing reduces the stress and pressure that this disease puts on a child or family as they struggle day and day and hour and hour to find ways to help a young person who is in the There is only one angel and the next is an exuberant horror. And when you wake up to your child's cry that can't understand why it does what it does, and often can't do much, just shrugs to answer the question: why? Or what did you hope to destroy this toy or game? You realize that your child or children are actually victims of an illness over which they have no control. If you have ever lived with someone who has ADHD, you know that this is real because no person without a medical or psychological condition can have such different personality traits.
Children or adults who suffer from this disease have "... a disturbed sense of time ... They do not use their sense of time to control their behavior and that of others and therefore cannot relate to ... on time, punctual and the future in general as well as others are able to do this, including intervals of only 10 to 20 seconds, time is running out and they are never able to deal with it more effectively than others in their age group. "[Foreword, page xi. Management of ADHD ...],.
Again referring to the revised edition of Taking Responsibility for ADHD .... In the introduction, Dr. Barkley has a philosophy for parents of children diagnosed with ADHD that essentially includes Consider our responsibility as a three-legged stool. The individual legs are:
Becoming a principle-based parent - the bottom line is that we have to keep ourselves at a higher level because we have control over the results and the freedom to act to change what needs to be bigger and better than us. Before they became parents of children with ADHD. We are the only person a child should turn to, regardless of the problem.
Become an Executive Parent - Here we are the case managers for our children. We have to educate ourselves and ask questions. Be your child's executive case manager and stay in control. This is often a position that we will maintain for most of our children's lives, even in adulthood, hence the term "life case manager".
Become a scientific parent - question everything, be open to new information, but remain skeptical. Experiment, but allow revisions and make changes based on the results.
As mentioned earlier, I am a parent working with two children diagnosed with ADHD and know that no one else should tell me that my children have a problem and that it is not their fault. Raising children is always a challenge and there are many different perspectives on how to do it right, but having children with this disorder gives me a chance, and this book, Managing ADHD, edited by Russell A. Barkley, PhD., Is in indeed an excellent guide that I can follow.
There are many other books on the market that can provide you with high quality, perspective information on this condition, and some that I would recommend to any parent include:
Delivered From Distraction, A. 2005, by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., and John J. Ratey, M.D.
Driven To Distraction, 1994, by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., and John J. Ratey, M.D.
Attention Deficit Disorder - Another Perception, 1993, 1997, by Thom Hartmann
You can never have too much information or information about this life-changing condition. With medication, it is possible to check whether the dosage is suitable for your child's height, metabolism and attitude. However, working with these children requires a diplomatic mindset and a desire to avoid unnecessary confrontation.
This is a case in which I have to choose the most important struggles for the healthy growth and maturation of my children. The stages always seem progressive as you approach the positive, and terribly extreme as the negative pervades the relationship between an ADHD child and a parent. Our responsibility is big, raising a child is a big responsibility. Raising a child or children with ADHD gives us the opportunity to be more than we otherwise could have been. Take up the challenge by asking our affected children to do the same. We cannot expect more from it than we ask of ourselves.
I welcome your contribution and I am open to any comments or discussions that you would like to introduce to ADHD, the behavior of the next generation or our responsibility as parents.
Reviewed By Dr Andrew Charlton Has 62 publications, the author of 3 patents for inventions, 2 teaching aids on medical and pharmaceutical education of Australian universities for use in the educational process in medical universities.
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