Such children should be given maximum attention.
Your child find it difficult to concentrate? He was fidgety, restless and easily distracted? Perhaps you are dealing with ADHD – attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity.
Difficulty in maintaining attention is one of the main symptoms of ADHD. A child with this syndrome is difficult to hear the speaker, follow his directions and perform tasks. He can dream and make mistakes due to carelessness. Or he may avoid situations that require concentration and appear to him to be too boring.
Hyperactivity
Another symptom of ADHD is hyperactivity: the child is extremely difficult to sit still. He is all the time running somewhere, can’t do one thing and is constantly in motion. He can’t sit through a lesson: he fidgets, squirms or refuses to do. You can also pay attention to what he says a lot and it’s hard to play quiet games.
Impulsivity
The child with attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity is very difficult to wait, especially for situations where he has to stand in line. These children have time to respond to the question of the teacher even before the teacher finished talking.
Why is this happening?
Children with ADHD have less activity in areas of the brain responsible for attention. They also observed the imbalance of chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. While it is not clear what is the main cause of ADHD, but it is already known that the syndrome of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder is more common in those families in which he is already with other family members.
There are no lab tests to determine ADHD. The diagnosis, usually made on the basis of the survey of parents and the child. In order to seriously speak about this diagnosis requires that the child observed a set of symptoms such as difficulties with attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior for at least 6 months. Symptoms related to ADHD appear before the age of 12 years.
The types of ADHD
Combined type is the most common, it combines all three signs of ADHD.
With a dominant hyperactive-impulsive type, the child is fussy and can not control his impulsive behavior.
With a dominant inattentive type children find it difficult to concentrate, but they are not too active and, as a rule, do not violate the order in the classroom.
Medications for ADHD
Stimulant drugs will help to increase the attention span of your child and control his hyperactive or impulsive behavior. Studies show that these drugs yield positive results in 65-80%. Like any other medications, drugs to treat ADHD, can give side effects. Therefore, you should discuss this with your doctor before taking medicines.
Psychological support is important for these children as statistics show that prolonged treatment with behavioral therapy works better than only medication.
Training
Most children with ADHD are in regular classes, but some of them are easier to perceive information in special classes. In any case, you should notify your child’s teachers that he may have some problems, and tell them how best to react to his behavior.
You can also help your child by organizing a schedule at home that lists all the things he needs to do during the day. Time sleeping, eating, walking and training should be the same from day to day. So you can help your child learn to plan your day and complete all tasks in time.
The diet of a child with ADHD
Studies give conflicting results, but some experts believe that certain foods can be good for the brain. These include foods with high protein such as eggs, meat, legumes and nuts can help improve focus. You can also replace simple carbohydrates like sweets and white bread, complex: pears and wholegrain bread.
Some parents notice that after a fast food and sweet worsen the symptoms of ADHD in their children. In any case, rejection of the use of such products will benefit your child.
ADHD and TV
The relationship between viewing TV programs and cartoons has not been proven, but experts recommend limiting time watching television to 2 hours a day. Instead, you should encourage outdoor play, reading, solving logic problems.
Can you prevent ADHD?
100% way to prevent ADHD does not exist, but you can reduce the risk of its development. For this it is necessary during pregnancy to avoid drinking alcohol and Smoking. Children of Smoking mothers are two times more likely to get ADHD.
