Tuesday, October 13, 2015

This Boy's Life from Real Simple April 2011

I love the opening:
"When a child suffers from ADHD, everyone around him suffers, too."
This story was written by Stephanie Booth.

What do you think of when you hear 'ADHD'?  Many think, my kid has that too.  He has trouble focusing.  Or my daughter just can't sit still.  I am sure she has ADHD.  But in reality, ADHD is "a debilitating inability to concentrate or to control impulses." But many children have more than just ADHD.  Children may want to learn and want to have friends but this disability makes it impossible.

Possible others diagnosis with can complicate life include:
SPD a neurological dysfunction in which the brain has difficulty integrating the information gathered from the five senses.
Expressive developmental language disorder - difficulty putting together complex sentences.
Dyslexia

After learning about these many parents opt for medication to control behavior.  The next problems is finding out what one works.  Medication levels take time.  Some parents find taking them off medication during the summer is helpful.

Once a parent finds out medication work then therapy is an option but an expensive one.

So join a parent group and find out what is working for others.  Work with your pediatrician to see what other things can be helpful.  Sometimes exercise is helpful.

And don't forget:
"When a child suffers from ADHD, everyone around him suffers, too."