Helping a child with attention disorder

What you need to know:

  • Try introducing to a child another activity that lowers the energy levels and with this it means you should reduce the rate at which the child watches TV.
  • Experts say the causes of ADHD are not yet known but people who are at the risk of getting it include children with low birth weight, those with brain injuries, exposed to environmental toxins at a tender age and many others

Not all special needs children come with physical defects, some are psychological and need to be investigated.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a brain disorder marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention or impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development of the child.
It has no treatment, all you can do is to help such a child and not criticise them. Available treatments can help reduce symptoms and improve functioning.

Experts say the causes of ADHD are not yet known but people who are at the risk of getting it include children with low birth weight, those with brain injuries, exposed to environmental toxins at a tender age and many others.
A child with attention deficit hyper activity disorder usually appears stubborn and inattentive, it takes an observant person to realise the child has a disorder. This means you can work with the teachers and community members to get a proper diagnosis.
Rose Nabuduwa, a head teacher at Victory Junior School, says she had a pupil at school who was troublesome.
“He was not only stubborn but was also inattentive in class thus making him a poor performer,” says Nabuduwa.
She says the parents got concerned about the boy’s poor performance and decided to engage teachers about their son’s poor performance. The boy get special attention from the teachers just to make sure that he improved in performance but he never did.

With time they got tired of his poor performance and impulsive behaviour. It was recommended that he should be expelled from school.
“I too thought it was a good idea but on a second thought I stopped thinking as a head teacher and empathised with the parents of the child that is when I asked the parents to seek help from psychologists,” she says.
The parents grudgingly sought services of a psychologist who diagnosed the child with attention deficit hyper activity disorder and they commenced on the treatment immediately.

Symptoms
Herns Koojo a doctor at Clinix Hospital, says it is hard for non-professionals to identify ADHD unless the symptoms are explained to them. These include
•They answer questions even before it is completed due to the fact that they assume they know what the person is trying to communicate.
•A child with ADHD overlooks or misses details and also makes careless mistakes in schoolwork or during other activities.
•Such children are unable to play or engage in hobbies quietly because they talk non-stop and want their ideas to be the ones considered all the time.

•Have problems sustaining attention in tasks or play, including conversation or lengthy reading.
•They fidget all the times and leave the classroom unexpectedly no matter how important what is being taught in class is due to the fact that they are always restless.
•They do not follow through on instructions and fail to finish schoolwork, chores or duties at school and start tasks but quickly lose focus and get easily sidetracked.
•They are careless and easily lose things no matter how important they are to them.

•They have problems organising tasks and activities, such as keeping materials and belongings in order, have messy work and poor time management, and fail to meet deadlines.
•A child with ADHD avoids tasks that require sustained mental work like homework due to the fact that it is hectic and they easily are distracted.
•They are forgetful and need to be constantly reminded about obvious things they need to do for example house chores, packing their scholastic materials, doing homework after school.

Expert take
Findings. Ali Male recommends the following:
Parents can help their children through observing their behaviour that may suggest the development of the disorder.
When making rules or instilling discipline in such a child, you should be clear and consistent in order to avoid confusion and also make it easy for the child to follow.
Try introducing to a child another activity that lowers the energy levels and with this it means you should reduce the rate at which the child watches TV.