How does behaviour therapy work?
Behaviour therapists work with children with a diagnosed ADHD – they create plans to help change negative habits and actions with positive ones. Behaviour therapy for children is as much about changing the parent’s behaviour as the child’s behaviour. Parents are often the ‘reinforcers’ of negative behaviour and a good behaviour therapist will help coach the parent on how to help the child.
How can behaviour therapy help children with ADHD
Behaviour therapy can be incredible effective for children with a wide variety of development delays. It is especially helpful for children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD.
The reason for this is because children with ADHD struggle with self-control and to control their emotions. It is also not uncommon for children with ADHD to lie or bend the trust should we rather say. Profound ADHD can lead to disruptive in-class behaviours and a total avoidance of academic work.
Behaviour therapy helps children change they way they act and respond to situations. if implemented successfully then behaviour therapy will replace negative behaviours with positive ones.
Who will benefit from behaviour therapy?
For children whose impulsive behaviour is creating conflict at home and getting them into trouble at school, behaviour therapy can help them rein in the behaviour that’s problematic. Done right it will help establish more positive relationships with “authority figures” and/or parents.
What does school intervention mean for a child with ADHD?
Young children can benefit tremendously from intensive early Intervention by means of full time specialist school intervention. This basically means the you take the child out off a mainstream pre-school and place them into an environment that can encourage positive behaviour, like the implementation of daily report cards and behaviour therapy.
What does the implementation of a “daily report card” mean?
It basically means that teachers, therapists and parents all work on the same goals. The goals for the child are set based on the challenges the child faces. These goals may include emotional challenges, academic challenges or social challenges. They goals can also mend adherence to home or classroom rules such as not interrupting, staying seated or following instruction0.
Is there a cure for ADHD?
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a disorder that affects the brain and there is no cure for it. Parent do however have several options that can help the child manage the symptoms of ADHD. ADHD Treatments range from behavior intervention therapy and/or anger management to medication.
Is medication recommended for ADHD?
For many medication is a standalone treatment for ADHD. The use of pharmaceutical or prescription medication is however a very personal one and many parents prefer natural remedies for ADHD.
Pharmaceutical medical intervention can be a valuable tool for managing the core symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but it is not the only treatment option available to the family. Research has shown that a large number of patients with ADHD experience a positive response to alternative remedies and therapies.
Is medication recommended for ADHD?
For many medication is a standalone treatment for ADHD. The use of pharmaceutical or prescription medication is however a very personal one and many parents prefer natural remedies for ADHD.
Pharmaceutical medical intervention can be a valuable tool for managing the core symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but it is not the only treatment option available to the family. Research has shown that a large number of patients with ADHD experience a positive response to alternative remedies and therapies.
What is the common diagnostic age of ADHD
Most children get their ADHD diagnosis before they start school and some as yearly as 3 or 4 years old.
Many people with ADHD will however not get diagnosed until later in their lives. Some in their teenage years and others when they are adults.
For these people late diagnosis is based predominately on their inattentive behaviours.
Whilst their inattentive behaviors are less disruptive and less overt as compared to impulsive/hyperactive symptoms off toddlers they still become problematic in later years when sustained attention, planning, organization and self-management is needed for studies or work.
For many – being diagnosed later in life becomes a HUGE sense of relief, because it explains a wider range of problems they struggled with growing up.
What is the most effective treatment for ADHD?
This is a particularly difficult question to answer because many parents choose prescription medication and the truth is that stimulants are the best-known and most widely used treatment for ADHD. These prescription medicines are also very effective.
Whether they are the most effective is however a debate for another day.
The “to medicate” or “not to medicate” is a very personal treatment solutions and many professionals, therapists and parents have had incredible success with the treatment of ADHD by means off:
- Behavior therapy which includes parent training
- Anger management therapy has been known to be very helpful for some children
- Herbal treatments or bio-medical approaches and nutrition can have fantastic results.
- Specialist educational intervention or remediation in areas of academic under-achievement help builds confidence and good learning habits
What treatments are recommended for children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?
In accordance with the CDC – The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends parent training in behavior management as the first line of treatment. For children 6years and older – a combination off medication and behavior therapy together is recommended and the AAP furthermore recommends introducing / adding behavioral classroom intervention to support the student.
Are there different types of ADHD?
There are 3 types of ADHD and these include:
- Inattentive: this was previously known as ADD and it basically means that the child tends to not be excessively hyperactive and they tend to not disrupt a classroom setting. These children are generally quiet, but they don’t finish assignments, they seem to daydream and it is a diagnosis that tends to be give to girls more so than boys.
- Secondly there is the Hyperactive/Impulsive child: the is when the child shows signs off impulsive behaviour and hyperactivity. In this type of ADHD the child is still able to pay attention to a task. It is by far the least diagnosed type of ADHD.
- Third type is a combination of inattentive/hyperactive & impulsive and the children that are diagnosed with this type of ADHD show a wide number of signs consistently in all 3 dimensions.
I have heard chewing gum can help my child with ADHD – is this true?
Many children with ADHD seek oral motor input – some even crave it. You may find that chewing gum will help your child. It will definitely help with the chewing of pencils, stationary and clothing.
By chewing gum, the movement of the jaw acts as a grounding force for the muscles and joints in the face, resulting in improved attention and concentration.
So yes – it does help if the child is oral seeing and is can be a great outlet for restlessness.
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