The Role Of Parents & Teachers Towards ADHD Students

ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviours (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active. It is normal for children to have trouble focusing and behaving at one time or another.

However, children with ADHD do not just grow out of these behaviours. The symptoms continue, can be severe, and can cause difficulty at school, at home, or with friends. The teachers and parents play a major role in shaping the lives of the child. The teachers should be dutiful and willing to uplift the child. The parents should undertake special responsibility to teach the child. Thus, ensuring that ADHD students can study and be on par with the other students.

The main signs of children with ADHD are

• Demanding attention by talking out of turn or moving around the room.
• Having trouble following instructions, especially when they’re presented in a list, and with operations that require ordered steps, such as long division or solving equations.
• Often forgetting to write down homework assignments, complete them, or bring completed work to school.
• Often lack fine motor control, which makes note-taking difficult and handwriting a trial to read.
• Having problems with long-term projects where there is no direct supervision.
• Not to pull their weight during group work and may even keep a group from accomplishing its task.

Parents should be extremely cooperative towards their teachers. They should regularly check their notebook and complete the notes if, the child has not completed them in class.

The teachers cannot prepare notes separately for the students, so the parents should undertake this responsibility. The ADHD kid is usually not intellectually disabled and hence can learn like the other kids if they are given special attention.

Parents must accept the fact that children with ADHD have functionally different brains from those of other children. While children with ADHD can still learn what is acceptable and what isn’t, their disorder does make them more prone to impulsive behaviour.

The teachers play a special role in evaluating the needs of the children. They should access their strengths and weaknesses and undertake a step accordingly. The teachers can help the students to stay focused and learn to their full capabilities.

The teacher should always think positively and should not deny helping such students. Some teachers simply use such statements ‘We are always pestering the kid to write notes, but the child is not writing’. But such kids may be very smart but due to the teacher’s discouragement, the child may not develop fully to their potential.

At Jeevaniyam, with the help of our professionals, we detect ADHD at a very young age in children and help them overcome it with a combination of our ayurvedic protocols and two basic principles of behaviour management therapy. The first is encouraging and rewarding good behaviour (positive reinforcement). The second is removing rewards by following bad behaviour with appropriate consequences, leading to the extinguishing of bad behaviour (punishment, in behaviourist terms).

You teach your child to understand that actions have consequences by establishing rules and clear outcomes for following or disobeying these rules. These principles must be followed in every area of a child’s life. That means at home, in the classroom, and in the social arena.

Effective Ways to Handle Hyperactive Children

Children of all ages typically have a lot of energy; nevertheless, hyperactive children are those who are restless and have trouble listening, receiving commands, or following instructions or directions. If you have a hyperactive child, then managing them can be challenging and stressful at times. Even though a hyperactive child may look unsteady, with endless energy and a propensity for hopping from one activity to the next, restoring order to their life is not difficult. Patience can be considered a major attribute in parents while dealing with these children.

The first step of a parent is to correctly identify whether the child is hyperactive or not. The best way to identify this is by checking whether the child is having reckless behaviour and too much activity that stems from receiving a lack of sufficient attention. Such kids are prone to never get tired, can’t focus or have short attention spans in general. Hyperactivity in children results in poor academic performance, lack of socialization and in severe cases even complete withdrawal from participating in group activities, which in turn can lead to depression, frustration, and poor self-esteem.

Many parents prefer to maintain a loose and relaxed household without an overabundance of rules. This laid-back parenting style works well for many children. Hyperactive children, however, tend to have trouble in unclear environments. Hyperactivity is caused by a psychological disorder known as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This is a problem with brain chemistry that affects the brain’s ability to pass information between brain cells. Therefore, it is not simply a matter of getting the child to see reason. Living within the constraints of daily life will be a struggle for him, so focus on the issues that truly matter and let other areas slide.

We, at Jeevaniyam advise parents with the following tips:

• Break Down Complex Instructions
• Minimize Distractions
• Utilize Positive Reinforcement like praise and rewards for completing tasks
• Help the Child Create a To-Do List
• Give a chance for the child to run around and simply play in an unstructured setting
• Be educated on your child’s disorder
• Try and calm your child down
• Play Games
• Change Diet

What you need to know about ADHD?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a mental health condition that can cause unusual levels of hyperactivity and impulsive behaviours. This is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviours (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active.

The most common symptoms that are usually found in such cases are:

• Disorganization and problems prioritizing.
• Poor time management skills.
• Problems focusing on a task.
• Trouble multitasking.
• Excessive activity or restlessness.
• Poor planning.
• Low frustration tolerance.

It is normal for children to have trouble focusing and behaving at one time or another. However, children with ADHD do not just grow out of these behaviours. The symptoms continue, can be severe, and can cause difficulty at school, at home, or with friends. A child with ADHD might:

• Daydream a lot
• Forget or lose things a lot
• Squirm or fidget
• Talk too much
• Make careless mistakes or take unnecessary risks
• Have a hard time resisting temptation
• Have trouble taking turns
• Have difficulty getting along with others

It is s believed to have neurological origins. Genetics may also play a role. Findings indicate that people with ADHD have less Gray Matter volume. Gray matter includes the brain areas that help with:

• Speech
• Self-control
• Decision making
• Muscle control

At Jeevaniyam, ADHD is best treated with a combination of behaviour therapy and Ayurvedic medication. For preschool-aged children (4-5 years of age) with ADHD, behaviour therapy, particularly training for parents, is recommended as the first line of treatment before medication is tried. What works best can depend on the child and family. Good treatment plans will include close monitoring, follow-ups, and making changes, if needed, along the way.