It is estimated that 4-5% of the childish population are born with an attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity (ADHD). It could therefore be said that, on average, in each class of 25 pupils there is a child with this syndrome
“It is really difficult to manage”; “You can’t discuss it, she always wants her to be won”; “He is too lively a child, he is never stopped.” Who knows how many parents have thought or verbalized phrases like these about their children.
Let’s start by saying that some children have temperamentary characteristics of difficult managementbut this does not mean that they have neurobiological compromises: they are more exploratory, not inclined to respect the adult directives, but have good or sufficient self -regulation. Others are suffering from ADHD, attention/hyperactivity deficit syndromeone of the most common disorders of the child’s neuropsychic development and adolescent, which is characterized by the presence of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.
What does “hyperactivity” mean?
We immediately specify that For “hyperactivity“In psychology we mean particularly restless behavior, especially in reference to children. It is a term that is often used today. We try to understand why and who are, in detail, hyperactive children.
Hyperactive children
THE hyperactive children they bring with them neurosviluppo disorders which importantly compromise their self -regulation ability. It is estimated that 4-5% of the childish population are born with a attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity. It could therefore be said that, on average, In each class of 25 pupils there is a child with ADHD syndrome. Yet, too often the problem remains completely ignored, the diagnosis of hyperactivity in children is carried out late and even more late or inadequate and the interventions are not coordinated.
Symptoms of ADHD
Sometimes the symptoms ofADHD are underestimated or ignored from the same adults who take care of the child. In particular, they are the cultural factors that, more than the others, seem to lead to incorrect interpretations compared to the symptomatology of the disorder itself. Commonly, intact, it is believed that almost all children present hyperactive and lively behaviors, and therefore when the disorder is present, it is difficult to recognize it. It can be assumed, for example, that the causes of hyperactive behavior derive from particular food styles or shortcomings of sugars or amino acids, from excessive exposure to video games and television, which can drop attention or motivation, or it can be assumed that the child is reacting through that behavior to certain inconvenience, or even parents, grandparents or uncles too much. All this leads not to fully understand the gravity of the neurobiological disorder and induces parents, educators, doctors and professionals to waste precious time to ensure a better adaptation of life of the child or boy.
But What exactly are the symptoms shown by hyperactive children? According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – DSM5 Persistent and pervasive impulsiveness in multiple contexts must be present patterns of inattention behavior, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. The onset of these symptoms must be present before 12 years of age and the same symptoms must compromise or interfere with the quality of social, school or work functioning.
Hyperactivity and impulsiveness They manifest themselves in these subjects through a series of behaviors, including:
- inability to stand still for a prolonged time;
- stop others during the conversation or difficulty waiting for their turn;
- respond hastily without waiting for the end of the conversation or application;
- Leave your place when you should remain sitting.
Inattention Instead, it occurs in the difficulty of maintaining attention on tasks that require prolonged effort (conversations, exercises, attention during lessons, reading of long texts). Often, in fact, the subject with ADHD cannot pay attention to the details, it seems not to listen to what is asked or said and has difficulty carrying out his tasks.
Among the symptoms of hyperactive children there is also a serious difficulty in planning and organization: Often the child with ADHD cannot complete the activities undertaken.
Based on the combination of symptoms, combined profiles can occur (inattention and hyperactivity/impulsiveness), or with a prevalence of symptoms related to inattention and few or no symptoms of hyperactivity, or with predominance of manifestation of hyperactivity/impulsiveness and few symptoms of carelessness. Other disorders can associate with these characteristicssuch as specific learning disorders (DSA), motor coordination disorder (DMC), provocative opposite disorder (DOP), conduct disorder (DC), anxiety or mood disorders and tic disorder.
ADHD in adults
In boys and in adult with ADHD The symptomatology described changes shape. To a reduction of hyperactivity, which turns into restlessness, are associated with different extent:
- persistent distractability;
- poor ability to pay and maintain attention and carry out the tasks entrusted for a long time;
- propensity to avoid commitments that require a prolonged mental effort;
- inability to focus on the main theme;
- forgetfulness;
- behavioral and verbal impulsiveness;
- do not respect the spins of speech within a dialogue;
- logorrhea;
- disorganization;
- feeling of boredom and difficulty in being satisfied in carrying out one’s work or in other aspects of daily life;
- Immediate frustration in the face of delay circumstances.
Diagnosis and test for ADHD
For the child with possible ADHD a diagnosis timely and correct is fundamental. Experienced professionals in identifying the disorder (psychologists, childhood neuropsychiatrists and other professional health figures), through specific tests for hyperactive children, observations and interviews, can understand the meaning of the symptoms detected by the parents. There diagnosis Of ADHD It is essentially clinicalTherefore it is carried out through the direct observation of the subject, which is subjected to a series of tests on the so -called executive functions (planning, attention, memory, impulsiveness), in order to objectively quantify the performance in such areas with respect to the chronological age. The intellectual level, reading, writing and calculating skills, any motor or visual-spatial aspects and emotional aspects is also quantified.
What are the causes of the ADHD?
When we talk about hyperactive children, the causes to be identified can be either of hereditary nature, therefore on a genetic basis, or pre or perinatoli, or serious prematurity or low birth weight, hypoxia (deficiency of oxygen at the level of the body’s tissues), polluting environmental factors, use of substances or alcohol in pregnancy, etc.
Treatment for ADHD
The ADHD is a disorder with important biological components But the environmental context can favor or on the contrary to contain what are its nuclear symptoms. Hence the need for integrated work, in order to achieve greater success than the remission of ADHD symptoms, called “treatment multimodal“. This treatment consists in taking over the child at the same time, with Psychological and sometimes medical and pharmacological therapieshis family and school. In the work with the child, starting from his operating profile, the professional expert in ADHD identifies a rehabilitation and therapeutic path based on the cognitive-behavioral model and on the enhancement of the individual neuropsychological functions of deficit (planning, attention, memory, impulsiveness), or favors the implementation of strategies adequate to autonomy and school organization, or still works on the improvement of social skills rather than on the management of the social skills rather than the management of the social skills. emotions.
How to behave with hyperactive children
It is not easy for the parents to know how to behave And what to do with i hyperactive childrenabove all because, it must be underlined, each child represents a case in himself, and will therefore be treated in a different, unique way.
The professional who deals with ADHD will offer parents a systematic advice called Parent training With the aim of providing correct information on the characteristics of the disorder and the use of adequate strategies in domestic and daily management.
Adhd and school
Let’s see now what are the strategies to be implemented when it comes to Hyperactive children at school. First of all, teachers (called Teacher Training) on the knowledge of the characteristics of the pupil with ADHD and on the didactic strategies to be used at school both on the “prior”, that is, on the events or situations that triggered the behavior, and on the “consequent”, that is, on everything that happened following the behavior (like the child and the teachers have reacted).
With antecedent events or situations, for example, we mean the arrangement of the desks, the need for the pupil with ADHD to capture attention in class, certain routines, etc. By consequent, however, we mean all those interventions aimed at promoting and encouraging, perhaps through praise or prizes, certain behaviors deemed acceptable and instead discouraging the frequency of others through, for example, the loss of privileges. This tools serve to reduce the negative effect that certain behavioral characteristics can have both in terms of teaching and in the management of the individual and the entire class. To deepen the topic ADHD and School, we still refer to the reading of the article ADHD: A lively child is not sick.
