Attention Deficit Disorder/ Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder
What are the characteristics of the ADD child? These characteristics include:
- the child who often fails to give close attention to details or makes
careless
- Mistakes in schoolwork
- the child who often has difficulties sustaining
attention in tasks or play activities
- the child who often does not seem
to listen when spoken to directly
- the child who often does not follow
through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork or chores
- the child
who has difficulty organizing tasks and activities
- the child who often
avoids, dislikes or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained
mental effort.
- The child who often loses things necessary for tasks or
activities
- The child who is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli
- The child
who is often forgetful in daily activities
What all these descriptions have in common, is that they all describe a difficulty
in controlling some aspects of the child's behaviour. If your child has six
or more of these symptoms, and has had them for at least six months; then he
meets the diagnostic criteria for Attention Deficit Disorder.
If he or she also has been found to:
- often fidget with hands or feet or squirms in the chair
- often leaves
his seat in the classroom or in other situations
- often runs about or climbs
excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate
- often has difficulty
playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly
- is often "on the
go" or often acts as if "driven by
a motor"
- often has difficulty awaiting turn
- often talks excessively
- often blurts out answers before questions have
been completed
- often interrupts or intrudes on others
If your child has at least six of these traits and has had them for at least
6 months,
then he or she meets the diagnostic criteria for ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder). Of course most children have some of these traits some of the time,
what is a factor in the diagnosis, is the child having at least six of these
traits for a significant period of time.
Like many other behaviour disorders, ADHD is very complex. There are similarities
among children who are diagnosed as having ADHD, but there are also huge differences.
Two children may overlap in some symptoms but diverge greatly in others. The
severity of characteristics displayed by individual children varies greatly,
making an instant diagnosis virtually impossible. A diagnosis of ADHD requires
the coordinated efforts of several professionals asking the right questions
and using a variety of tests to eliminate problems that mimic ADHD.
It is in the coordination of services, and decisions concerning behaviour
management,
Where I can help you. Having worked in the public sector for over 16 years,
and specifically in the department of children with "Special Needs" for
a significant part of the that time, as well as 22 years in the counselling
field, there are several ways I can help you with:
- Information concerning your rights to FREE services
- Accessing the public sector for services
- Directing you to the appropriate agencies
- Teaching you how to assert your rights in a non-threatening manner
- Offering you resources for private services, such as tutors, behaviour therapists, etc.
- Techniques on how to encourage the school system to work with you
- How to explain ADHD to your child and his siblings
- Building self-esteem in your child
- Deciding about medication; the pros and cons
- Deciding about being "coded" in school, the pros and cons
- Maintaining harmony in the home throughout this challenging period of time.
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