Posts Tagged ‘hyperactivity’

Hyperactivity is a syndrome covering a fairly large number of component parts rather than being one single entity. Symptoms include excessive movements, a short attention span, an impulsive nature and being easily distracted. Put all these together and you have the typical “hyperactive” child. It is this combination that will lead to a visit to the doctor’s. Many now believe that the disorder of attention or the inability to concentrate is perhaps the most important aspect from the child’s point of view.

There is quite a spate of terminology, and parents may come across words such as “learning disability,” and “MBD,” short for minimal brain dysfunction. The term hyperactivity is the term commonly used in Australia. Educators and overseas commentators use the others.

The figure is said to be between 4 and 10 per cent of primary school children, and boys are affected much more often than girls – the figure is said to be nine boys to one girl.

Causes of hyperactivity are still undecided, but many ideas have been put forward. Some claim it is a genetically determined disorder. Others believe it’s psychogenic. There may have been a poor interpersonal relationship between child and parent in early life, or early separations. Others stick to the fact that the child’s brain has been minimally damaged. This may have taken place before birth. They point to the fact that brain tracings called EEGs are abnormal in about 50 per cent of these children.

Hyperactivity Treatment

Any child with a possible diagnosis of hyperactivity must be under very specialized care and attention. This will have included the diagnostic process, as well as following the treatment.

The score is based on the views of Dr Ben Feingold, who claims that certain foodstuffs, such as additives, artificial colorings and flavorings may cause the condition. By eliminating these items from the diet, the child, it is claimed, may revert to a normal temperament.

Many parents have followed this diet and gained extremely satisfactory results. Also, with experimentation, they have found the foods, or additives, or forms of medication that simply do not agree. Then by elimination, the same benefits are gained. A great deal of work has been published for several years, and the evidence seems to be productive.

Some doctors prescribe a drug called methylphenidate. (“Ritalin” is the name written on the prescription.) In many cases, this seems to normalize the child’s behavior. Many parents have found it totally changes the child’s attitude, makes them calm and controllable. In a family of several children, a hyperactive one can create havoc. Medication often has this beneficial effect. It must be given under strict medical supervision, for the drug is available in this country for limited uses only.

Ideally, medication is teamed in with the other suggestions already given. Once more, your own doctor will give further guidance. I think it’s important to be associated with a doctor who believes in this disorder and is familiar with current methods of treatment. As we said earlier, many doctors still do not believe the condition exists! But I assure you, parents of affected children certainly know it is a very real issue.

It’s now possible to know the ingredients in the food you purchase as a numerical system of “Food Additives” has been worked out by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

This can help parents in selecting the correct food for their children who may have certain allergies, or who appear to react adversely to certain food chemicals or other ingredients. It can also help parents with children who are hyperactive in selecting foods that appear to assist rather than aggravate the symptoms.

Inattention and Distractability

An ADHD child cannot stay focused on any task that requires continuous attention, especially schoolwork. He may daydream or become distracted by any sight or sound in his vicinity. Completing an assignment can require much effort, but he is likely to misplace the final product between home and school. He cannot remember a sequence of directions: “Take out the trash, feed the bird, and pick up your clothes before you take your bath” might result in one or at most two of the commands being completed. The others will be forgotten or jumbled.

Hyperactivity

Perpetual motion has traditionally been the most striking trademark of ADHD, but in fact it is prominent in only about 30 percent of children who have the disorder. Experts now divide children with ADHD into subtypes based on their most overt characteristic: lack of attention, hyperactivity, or a blend of the two. While difficulty with attention may not be apparent until the child enters school, hyperactivity makes an impact on everyone in his world from the time he is young.

Some parents are aware that “something is different,” from the first days of life with their demanding baby who later turns into a turbocharged toddler. Most parents of small children wish they could acquire some of the energy of their offspring, but the hyperactive child is in a different league, living every day at top speed. Many children with ADHD also have volatile modal. Whether they are joyful or angry, everyone in earshot will hear about it. Just as rapidly, these feelings seem to pass as the child forgets the episode and moves on to some-else.

Impulsiveness

The child with ADHD has a little timer. He cannot wait his turn, stand in line, follow directions, or keep his hands off whatever he supposed to touch. He talks before he thinks, acts before he analyzes, and leaps before he looks. As a result, he suffers more than a few battle wounds and fractures.

ADHD has been given many names over the US including Minimal Brain Dysfunction and Hyperkinetic Reaction of Childhood. The following causes have been related to ADHD: brain damage, birth trauma, poor parenting, lack of discipline, food additives, sugar and pure wilfulness. The best understanding at present is that the primary basis for ADHD is neurochemically subtle inherited malfunction of the intricate passing messages between cells in the brain. So far, no spool medical finding, blood test, or X-ray is sensitive CTIOU to detect the abnormality, although a doctor’s evaluation is important in ruling out other causes of the troublesome behavior.

The child with ADHD exhibits difficulties in many areas of life (home, school, playground), but not a beam to the same degree, and parents may be confused or frustrated by some of the inconsistencies. Certain activities – usually ones that are highly intense such as games – can hold his interest, at times to a striking degree. In some one-on-one situations, he may act quite normal. This variability is actually very typical with ADHD, but it gives the definite impression that the child’s lack of attention is simple laziness or that impulsivity is wilful defiance.

One of the greatest challenges of parenting an ADHD child is discerning how much of a particular behaviour arises from biology and how much from consciousness. As the child grows older, the causes may blend. For example, extreme difficulty with schoolwork, which requires prolonged concentration and mental effort, them to dislike and then eventually to refusal to participate.

Repeated rejection by others because of behavior hest control may push him toward more deliberately excessive acts.