Raising A Child With ADHD: In late 1798, Sir Alexander Crichton came to a conclusion that was far ahead of his time. He determined that children in school seemed to be suffering from a peculiar form of involuntary attention shifts. This "mental restlessness" as he described it would later be observed by a British pediatrician Sir George Still as "a defect of moral control." It is a disorder that we have had an inkling about for quite some time now, but awareness and ubiquity of information have been lacking thus far.
What Is ADHD? Signs To Watch Out For
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a classified neurodevelopmental disorder in children that can manifest and develop well into adulthood. The symptoms are easily observed but not recognized, leading to a large number of children going undiagnosed in a country like ours. People with ADHD have several symptoms that can affect them negatively in their day-to-day lives such as:
Limited attention span
Restlessness masquerading as high energy
Impulsiveness in decision-making
Difficulty with organizing tasks
Interrupting conversations
Tips For Parents To Recognize And Support A Child With ADHD
Here are few tips and strategies that parents can learn and apply in their day-to-day lives when raising a child with ADHD, according to Nuwaira Pasha, Educator and Director at One School:
Creating structure and routines: Learners who have difficulty with creating structure in their life can get a significant leg up with some help when it comes to organizing their day and creating routines for themselves. Therefore, guide learners to write down their day and help them provide accountability when it comes to the different tasks that they have in store for them.
Encouraging physical activity and healthy habits: ADHD forces the subject's mind to swing between a variety of emotions, wildly across relatively short periods of time, which is why learners who suffer from ADHD show significant neglect when taking care of their physical selves. Therefore, address hygiene concerns that can develop over long periods of time due to the mental blocks associated with negative self-reflection.
Enhancing social skills and relationships: Any relationship requires consistent positive engagement for long-term association. Due to the way that ADHD affects different people, those suffering from this neurodevelopmental disorder have a hard time sustaining long-term relationships with others. Therefore, recognizing that negative self-reflection is usually a part of the ADHD person's coping mechanism and can lead to stunted social skills.
Positive reinforcement and celebrating achievements: Within the mind of an ADHD learner, taking stock and processing the outcomes of a personal achievement is difficult to contend with. During these pivotal moments, encouraging and reinforcing their self-esteem with simple messages like "You have done a great job..." or even just a "Well done..." can be an instant source of long-term motivation for the learner.
Communication and consistency: Consistency is key when managing ADHD symptoms in different settings. Maintaining regular communication between home and school establishes a stable support system.
"Raising a child with ADHD may not be easy, but being consistent is the name of the game and the process of helping a child works best in combination with behavioural therapy and community support," Nuwaira Pasha said. "When the adults in the room work together, learners have significantly positive outcomes."
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