It is sad to hear of a loved one suffering, but it is downright painful if that someone is your own child. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition which was not paid much attention to for many years. The fact remains, however, that ADHD is something that can adversely affect the life of your child and their relationships. One example is Olympian Michael Phelps, who had been diagnosed with this disorder. In order to know if a child does suffer from it, it is important to pay attention to a few signs.

Signs You Must Not Ignore

To start off, if a child seems to be fidgety all the time, it is a good sign that there is a chance that he or she may have ADHD. While it is true that children often display feelings of excitement as well as a degree of restlessness most of the time, the ability of a child suffering from ADHD to sit still, quite literally, surpasses any normal standards for even a very restless child who does not have ADHD. 
As a matter of fact, most children who are diagnosed with the disorder are diagnosed by the time they are 7 or 8 years old. For many kids, this has something to do with the signs that are displayed once they join school, which are related to their behavioural habits. For example, children who have ADHD are likely to show their inability to await their turn in a group activity. As a result, they are likely to interrupt not only their peers, but also their teachers to say express their thoughts.
For those who are not well versed with this issue that so many children face, the behaviour of a child with ADHD come across as being outright selfish. However, this is really not the case. In many cases, since children with ADHD find it difficult to follow plans and set out tasks, their inability to do so is often considered as lack of intelligence. Such judgements can lower the morale of the child and make him or her feel inadequate, insecure and left out.
Many children who have ADHD are not loud and usually do not stand out in a group. Rather, they are more likely to be the quiet ones who daydream. All this can have major effects on the academic record of the child, and it is fair to say that he or she is quite likely to under perform compared to the rest of the students in the class.

If you see any of these signs, do not be alarmed. However, do seek a doctor s opinion to know for sure if your child has ADHD.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - How To Know If Your Child Is Suffering?

Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD is a behavioral disorder that comprises impulsive behavior, inattentiveness and hyperactivity. This disorder tends to affect children more commonly, but the symptoms tend to disappear as one ages.

There are a number of symptoms for this disorder:

1. Concentration problems
People affected by this disorder have problems in staying focused on routine tasks. You may have problems in listening to conversations, get distracted easily, overlook various important things and have trouble remembering various things.

2. Being disorganized and forgetting things
You may exhibit symptoms such as having an extremely cluttered desk. You may also experience difficulties in completing projects and forgetting appointments. You may also lose track of time while doing important things.

3. Emotional problems
Various emotional problems such as mood swings, hypersensitivity to criticism, problems in staying motivated and having low self-esteem are common signs of ADD. The disorder may also lead you to be extremely short tempered and be constantly frustrated.

4. Hyperactivity
This symptom causes you to remain constantly agitated, unable to focus due to a racing mind, fidgeting constantly and talking excessively.

5. Impulsivity
You will exhibit impulsive behavior such as not being able to exercise self-control, blurting out inappropriate comments and have certain addictive tendencies.

Attention Deficit Disorder can cause various problems in your life. Most of these are related to the following domains:

1. Work related problems
You may constantly feel a sense of underachievement and will unable to meet your work responsibilities. You may be unable to meet deadlines, and face problems in filing paperwork.

2. Relationship problems
This disorder takes a toll on your relationships such as it can create a rift between you and your family. They may feel that you are not sensitive to their concerns.

3. Mental health problems
You may face various mental health problems such as drug abuse, anxiety, self-esteem issues and chronic stress.

Remedies for this disorder are:
1. Get proper sleep
You should always aim to sleep for at least 6 hours every day. If you are well rested, then you will be more energetic and stress free.

2. Regular exercise
You should exercise on a regular basis to keep yourself fit and healthy. It can also help you avoid problems such as obesity.

3. Improve your relationships
You should schedule time for your loved ones and engage with them. It may contribute to your overall mental well-being.

All About ADD

Forging positive peer relationships is essential for all children. Sadly, children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) find making friends and being accepted by their peers difficult. The hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsiveness associated with the disorder can impede the child s attempts of socializing with others in several ways.

Non-acceptance, isolation, loneliness- these are perhaps some of the most painful aspects of ADHD-related ailments. These experiences usually leave behind long-lasting effects on the minds of the child. The good news is, you can help your child develop social skills and competencies. Here are 4 ways you can do this-

Make your child socially aware: Studies show that children with ADHD fail to monitor their own behavior. Often they are unable to have a clear awareness and understanding of social situations or the reactions they provoke in others. ADHD-related impairments can result in weaknesses of your child s ability to read or assess a situation, self-monitor, self-evaluate, and adjust accordingly to the same.
Role-play to teach your child: Children with ADHD have tough time learning from past experiences. They tend to react without thinking about the consequences. As parents, you must provide them frequent and immediate feedback on inappropriate behavior. One way you can do this is by adopting the  role-play  method. Role-playing can help you teach your child how to practice social skills, and respond to challenging situations.
Provide opportunities to forge friendships: Arrange for a specific  play time  for the child. Provide opportunities for developing friendly bonds with peer groups. Children who are of school-going age should be encouraged more to interact with others. Setting a fixed time for playful activities can be helpful. You can have your child s friends (one or two at a time) over to take part in some activity, and watch him socialize with them. As the child grows older, friendships and relationships often become complicated. Therefore, it is important that the parents be involved and continue to facilitate positive peer interaction.
Improve your child s peer status: Once the child is tagged by his/her peer group in a negative way for lacking social skills, it becomes hard to drop the tag. Having a negative reputation is in fact one of the greatest obstacles the child may have to overcome socially. Parents are advised to work with the child s teacher/coach to address such negative reputational effects, and improve their peer status.
ADHD can thus be managed by improving one s social skills. Parents of a child who suffer from this hyperactive disorder can also seek help from a professional to get some input on the condition of their child.

Before applying the tips suggested here, it is highly recommended that an Energy Assessment be done for your child by an expert in ADHD. This will help establish the correct diagnosis in the first place and you can then explore unconventional or alternative healing methods such as Intent Healing that are helping parents who have children with ADHD see their child thrive with their talents and gifts by curing the limiting symptoms in the child.

4 Ways To Improve Social Skills Of An ADHD-Affected Child!

Children generally tend to be fairly over active and have lesser attention spans. However, when this tends to get into their performance at school and in general with getting along with other children it may be a sign of ADD or attention deficit disorder. Let's look at some of the common symptoms of this disorder.

Symptoms of ADD

1. Problems in staying focused: One of the very basic symptom is that children will often be very inattentive even during classes and will be easily distracted by small things.

2. Problems in trying to remember things or difficulty in following instructions: Children with attention deficit disorder tend to have issues with remembering things and if given tasks, being unable to complete as they can't remember instructions properly.

3. Issues with organizing, planning and trying to finish tasks: Due to the lack of attention, kids have problems retaining information and cannot plan or finish tasks given to them on a daily basis.

4. Easily bored or loses interest: Even if a child with ADD starts with something they like, interest may wane off quickly. Thus it is difficult to make them stick to a specific work schedule which may require regular practice.

5. Lack of attention to details and making careless mistakes: This is another trait of children with attention deficit disorder. They may be able to complete a task, but it will be fraught with mistakes as they wouldn't have much attention to detail.

6. Has a tendency to not listen when someone is speaking to them: This is also very common and is usually tied to being easily distracted and thus will drift off or not listen to when someone is speaking to them.

Some Myths about ADD

a. All kids with ADD are hyperactive
b. They will eventually grow out of it
c. Medication is the only option to treat ADD
d. ADD is not really a disorder and kids need to be trained better

Most of these are half truths and the extent of the problems varies from child to child. Only proper counseling will be able to diagnose the extent of the problem and what needs to be done.

How to spot ADD in Children

ADD can be spotted in children aged below 7 years via certain symptoms. Apart from the ones mentioned above, children generally tend be abrasive towards others and can make embarrassing comments quite often. They also change tasks very quickly without completing any of them. Any distraction would force them to change their track. It is best to go to a child specialist to get your child checked out for possible symptoms.

Symptoms and Myths About Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and How to Spot Them in Children

If you have noticed your child to be restless and anxious all the time, it might look cute as the child is highly energetic, but it could be a cause for concern at the same time. It is not normal and the child could be having ADHD that is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. As the name suggests, it is a disorder with deficiency of attention and in which the child is always hyperactive.

ADHD is a disorder in which the symptoms usually show up before the age of seven. It is characterized by a group of behavioral symptoms that include inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. The impact of these symptoms is felt extensively where his overall self-esteem is affected, be it at home, preschool or school, academics or extracurricular activities and in interpersonal relationships.

The most common symptoms, which are almost diagnostic of ADHD are:
1. Inability to hold attention: The child's attention span is very short and it is very difficult to keep them engaged on one particular thing.
2. Increased restlessness: The child would be extremely restless and gets distracted easily.
3. Fidgeting: The child would be seen constantly fidgeting with his fingers.

The following are the less common ones:
1. Learning disability is rare, but can happen. However, the good news is that it does not affect the child's intelligence.
2. Sleep disorders
3. Difficulty in following directions
4. Poor executive functioning skills
5. Disorganization, which can lead to poor motor coordination and impaired movements
6. ADHD kids tend to forget things very easily and need help with coordinating movements
7. The child suffering from ADHD could easily tire and/or feel lethargic with very low energy levels. This can lead to the child procrastinating things and not wanting to do things on priority basis
8. These children also have difficulties with fine motor and cognitive skills and so there is delay in their overall participation in games.

While these are the pressing symptoms of ADHD, occupational therapy can play a significant role in managing the child in the following ways. As a first step, the caregiver should have a detailed discussion with the school staff and any other people with whom the child interacts significantly. This will help identify areas that need support from an Occupational Therapy, which are the following:

1. Support with gross and/or fine motor skills
2. Support with improving handwriting
3. Support with engaging in playing sports and games
4. Support in engaging in social activities
5. Improving sensory processing difficulties
6. Improving visual perception
7. Support in adapting to the environment
8. Teaching strategies to participate in various social and academic activities

So, while an ADHD child is definitely a cause for concern, proper support from family can help manage the condition.

Symptoms of ADHD

What is ADHD?

ADHD refers to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, which is a brain-related condition found among preschoolers, children, teenagers and in many cases extends well into adulthood. These individuals have significant impairment in academics as well as social situations and interpersonal relations. The child has difficulty sustaining attention, phases of hyper activeness and cannot control his/her impulses which make their day to day life at school and home difficult.

ADHD Symptoms

The symptoms of this disorder among children can be categorized under three headings.

1.Hyperactivity which includes

- Fidgets often
- Restlessness
- Inability to stay at one place runs around and tries to climb things
- Trouble playing quietly
- Excessive talking

2. Inattention, which can be divided into symptoms like

- Getting easily distracted
- Tendency to loose things
- Daydreaming
- Facing problems related to organizing things
- Not listening carefully
- Forgetting about daily activities, carelessness

3. Impulsiveness

- Interrupts others as they speak and talks out of turn
- Answers questions without listening to what has been asked
- Not being able to wait for their turn to come

Prevalence :

10-12% of school children before puberty are affected by one or more types of ADHD. ADHD especially hyperactivity is more prevalent in boys than in girls, with the ratio up to 9:1. Inattention and poor concentration are more commonly seen amongst girls. The rate of ADHD in parents and sibling of children with ADHD is 5-10 times higher than in the general population.

ADHD Causes

The probable causes of ADHD among children are,

1. Neurodevelopmental changes - Poorly developed activity of the brain particularly in the areas that control attention and concentration cause ADHD. This causes an imbalance in the neurotransmitters or the chemicals important for brain functioning and development.

2. Genetic Factors - genetic studies show that ADHD is largely hereditary in nature with a heritability of 75% approximately.



What are the Causes and Symptoms of ADHD?

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