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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
was once called hyperkinesis or minimal brain dysfunction. This
disorder is one of the most common mental disorders among children.
Seen through a child eyes with ADHD is like a fast-moving kaleidoscope,
where sounds, images and thoughts are constantly turning. Every person
has experienced some of these symptoms once in their life. Just not
everyday all day like a person with ADHD.
This does not only affect the person with the disorder but the
people around them. Whether it is your mom and dad, teacher, friends,
or siblings. They need to understand that ADHD is a real disability
that effects all aspects of a person’s life. “Additionally, there are
now brain studies that show that when someone with ADHD is told to
“just try harder” and does, the result can be anxiety and a brain that
actually starts to shut down it’s primary executive functions (Booth).”
For a while now scientists have come up with many different theories
about ADHD. Some theories have ended up short and some have opened up
new and exciting doors of investigation. One theory was that anyone
with ADHD has had some minor head injuries or undetectable damage to
the brain. For a long time this disorder was called “minimal brain
damage” or “minimal brain dysfunction.” But as researchers found out
that only certain types of head injuries can explain some cases of
attention disorder. In knowing that the theory was excluded.
Because children with ADHD often struggle in their schoolwork, peer
relations, and ability to follow rules at home and at school, it is
reasonable to hypothesize that their feelings of capability suffer as a
result. Thus, the self-image of children with ADHD were lower than
those of other children with regards to their feelings about their
behavior, their ability to get along with others, and their ability to
succeed in school.
The parents need to pay attention to the feelings that a child with
ADHD has about him or herself. In many instances, particularly when
parents are struggling to manage their child's difficult behavior, it
can be easy to lose sight of the effects that ADHD can have on some
children's self-esteem. When one considers how much negative feedback a
child with ADHD may contend with on a regular basis, it is not
difficult to imagine how this could adversely affect a child's feelings
about him or herself.
It can also be quite helpful to provide a child with the opportunity
to talk about his or her feelings-even when those feelings are
negative. Engaging your child in discussions about how he/she feels
things are going at home, at school, and with peers can provide you
with a great opportunity to learn whether your child is feeling down
and discouraged. Talking about such feelings may not solve the problem,
but it can help a child to develop more control over any negative
feelings. It can also lead to a problem-solving discussion about how to
try and help things improve.
Children with ADHD have a variety of needs. Some children are too
hyperactive or inattentive to function in a regular classroom, even
with medication and a behavior management plan. Such children may be
placed in a special education class for all or part of the day. In some
schools, the special education teacher teams with the classroom teacher
to meet each child's unique needs. However, most children are able to
stay in the regular classroom. Whenever possible, educators prefer not
to segregate children, but to let them learn along with their peers.
Children with ADHD often need some special accommodations to help
them learn. For example, the teacher may seat the child in an area with
few distractions, provide an area where the child can move around and
release excess energy, or establish a clearly posted system of rules
and reward appropriate behavior. Sometimes just keeping a card or a
picture on the desk can serve as a visual reminder to use the right
school behavior, like raising a hand instead of shouting out, or
staying in a seat instead of wandering around the room. Giving a child
extra time on test can make the difference between passing and failing,
and gives a fair chance to show what they learned. Reviewing
instructions or writing assignments on the board, and even listing the
books and materials they will need for the task, may make it possible
for disorganized, inattentive children to complete the work. Telling
students in advance what they will learn, providing visual aids, and
giving written as well as oral instructions are all ways to help
students focus and remember the key parts of the lesson. Because
schools demand that children sit still, wait for a turn, pay attention,
and stick with a task, it's no surprise that many children with ADHD
have problems in class. Their minds are fully capable of learning, but
their hyperactivity and inattention make learning difficult. As a
result, many students with ADHD repeat a grade or drop out of school
early. Fortunately, with the right combination of appropriate
educational practices, medication, and counseling, these outcomes can
be avoided. Because of the uncertainty and confusion, not to mention
the ramifications of inappropriate behavior and a parent’s reaction to
the stress, numerous problems often confront the family. Some families
are drawn and stretched in every direction. The child usually becomes
the center of the attention, with other family members trying to pull
it all together and maintain a sense of balance.
With the addition of children to the family, husbands and wives find
their sexual intimacy is affected. Workload also becomes a
consideration, as mother becomes, in many cases, the primary caretaker.
If mother has a full-time job outside of the home, plus the
responsibility for the majority of housework and meeting the needs of
all her children, she then has two jobs and is often too exhausted to
engage in sexual intimacy with her spouse. Now add the addition of a
child with ADHD, plus the focused time that must be spent with the
child, financial concerns, and job related pressures, and you have a
horrendous strain on the marital relationship.
Parents of children with ADHD need to examine issues that may be
less obvious to them such as anger, frustration, and disappointment.
Intense feelings may involuntarily affect your marital relationship.
Resentment or frustration can build if one spouse feels the other is
not a contributing partner in managing household chores, shopping,
homework, and caring for the overall needs of the children. When
negative feelings become overwhelming and a spouse finds a fault with
the other, divorce may be the outcome.
“I’ve given up on my mother and father,” says another mother. “They
don’t believe that my daughter has a medical problem and see my husband
and I as the reason she acts the way she does. Consequently, we don’t
do much with them because every time we are all together the strain is
unbearable. They become upset with my daughter and raise their voices.
She cries, and it hurts to see her get so upset. We visit them but only
for a short period of time-a half-hour here and there. Hopefully, as
she matures, we’ll be able to spend more time with my family. I really
could use the emotional support that my parents could offer us if
things were different.” (Roberts, 1994) Grandparents need to know the
truth so they can understand that not all children can be parented the
same. You and your spouse are probably the only people who are going to
teach your parents about ADHD. Provide them with reading material or
videos on ADHD, invite them to attend a support group meeting with you
or ask them to attend an ADHD conference, to introduce them to other
parents with ADHD children. It may take a while for them to comprehend
everything but give them time and they will come around. Parents also
have to realize that instead of getting upset with the grandparents’
reactions to their child, they must patiently teach their parents about
ADHD, even if it takes years.
When a child becomes the focus of mom and dad’s attention, stress
related problems would develop with other siblings. Siblings are
encouraged to express their brother or sister with ADHD, even if those
feelings are negative. Parents should listen carefully and express
empathy. Encourage your child to treat his sibling with kindness and
compassion-the same way he would treat a friend who had a medical
problem.
Many parents say that the biggest problems they experience with
their non-ADHD children are related to behavior. Not surprisingly, when
the non ADHD sibling was younger, parents report that the sibling
copied or mimicked the behavior of the child with ADHD in what they
felt was an attempt to get the same attention, even if the attention
resulted in punishment. One mother reported her daughter suddenly
couldn’t do her homework once she realized that her older brother had a
tutor. She wanted a tutor also, so for a time I acted as her tutor
while continuing to emphasize the good work she did on her own.
Eventually, she reached the point where she insisted that she could do
her work without my help.
Many children with ADHD who have been identified are transferred to
alternative educational settings, which may offer little if any
meaningful education. More importantly, these alternative settings
often fail to offer essential educational and therapeutic components
the students need to be able to control or eliminate behaviors
determined to be beyond the control of typical school settings.
Children with ADHD are disproportionately affected by these
circumstances for two reasons. First, some of the neurological
differences of ADHD may reveal themselves as behavior, which is
inconsistent with classroom and school rules, ranging from minor
non-compliance in most cases to severe misbehavior in relatively few
extreme cases. Second, in contrast to children with other disabilities
who are already served under the IDEA, many children with ADHD are in
school districts, which do not consider ADHD a qualifying disability
under the federal special education law.
As a result, through this paper I have found information about what
can be done for the children who have this disorder. If parents,
teachers administrator and counselor get together and form a plan for
the individual child and his or hers particular needs I believe there
can be more successful outcomes. The future for these children can be
bright and fulfilling. We will help and change them one child at a time.
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