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Attention please

Patience and empathy can work wonders with AAHD children

PHOTO: M. MOORTHY

FOCUS ON POSITIVE TRAITS Patience is the key

Eight-year-old Srinivas cannot sit still, cannot complete a simple task, is unpopular with all his classmates and always appears to be in trouble.

His parents are embarrassed and confused, his teacher throws up her hands in despair, his grandma says he'll grow out of it and his mother's friends call him a spoilt brat!

This may sounds like a familiar story to many parents. If that is the case, then your child may be suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(AAHD). You may be further confused to find out that no one really knows the real cause of AAHD although there are many speculations and theories.

AAHD is marked by inattention, impulsivity, low tolerance of frustration and aggressive activity at the wrong place and at the wrong time, for example in school.

These characteristics do appear in all children at some point of time. However, when these activities begin to affect the daily normal functioning of the child and becomes a source of stress for both the child and the parent, the matter needs looking into.

Statistics reveal that one in 25 children is believed to have AAHD. More boys than girls are affected and about 40 per cent of children with AAHD have one learning disability or the other.

How to deal with AAHD

As a parent here's what you need to know about dealing with AAHD:

Consult an experienced psychiatrist or psychologist about your child's condition.

The psychiatrist will probably then send out questionnaires to all the important adults in the child's life.

This will provide an accurate picture of the child's behaviour patterns in and outside his home.

A child generally exhibits behaviour related to AAHD in places where he is supposed to follow rules or pay attention and follow a certain conduct of behaviour.

Medication

Your psychiatrist may prescribe medication, which are in fact stimulants and not tranquillisers that help the child to control his attention span by stimulating that particular part of the brain.

In addition to medication, behaviour modification therapy is also found to quite effective in controlling AAHD.

Teachers and parents should understand the predicament of the child and deal with him using empathy and patience.

Parents can join groups of other parents who have children suffering from AAHD and in the process learn different ways of handling their child, thus benefiting from some one else's experience.

Informative books that deal with the same topic can also be quite useful.

Children who suffer from AAHD also suffer from low self-esteem, owing to constant criticism from parents, teachers and friends, thus compounding their problems.

Find the good

Avoid making the mistake of dwelling on the bad behaviour and ignoring the good. Find something that your child is good at and take advantage of his high energy levels. You can object to the behaviour but certainly not to the person.

On the bright side children with AAHD can grow up to do very well. It depends on the quality of intervention they receive. They also tend to have positive personality traits like enthusiasm, zest, spontaneity and energy. Traits, which are hard to come by now-a-days.

FIONA SCOTT

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