How to Cope with Children with ADHD

Children nowadays are born in a happy era and don’t have to worry about life, but their parents are worried about them. Children nowadays also suffer from various childhood diseases, which makes their parents very worried. This always poses a great hindrance to children's growth and learning. It is not conducive to the healthy growth of children. Now there are a large number of parents who are worried about their children suffering from ADHD and don’t know what to do to be beneficial to their children’s disease and help them recover.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), known as ADHD in my country, is a common psychological disorder in children. It manifests as inattention and short attention span, hyperactivity and impulsivity that are disproportionate to age and developmental level, often accompanied by learning difficulties, conduct disorders and maladjustment.

1. Psychotherapy

There are two main approaches: behavioral therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. The patient has poor relationships with peers, uses aggressive language and behavior toward others, and has poor self-control. Behavioral therapy utilizes the principle of operant conditioning to promptly provide positive or negative reinforcement to the patient's behavior, enabling the patient to learn appropriate social skills and replace inappropriate behavior patterns with new and effective behaviors. Cognitive behavioral therapy mainly addresses patients' impulsive problems, allowing patients to learn how to solve problems, identify whether their behavior is appropriate, and choose appropriate behavior.

2. Medication

Medications can improve attention deficits, reduce activity levels, improve academic performance to some extent, and improve relationships with family members in the short term.

(1) The first-line treatment drugs for central nervous system stimulants are currently mainly methylphenidate and its controlled-release tablets in China.

Central nervous system stimulants may induce or aggravate tic symptoms in patients and are not recommended for patients with comorbid tic disorders. The issue of substance abuse must also be considered when using CNS stimulants for a long time.

(2) The representative drug of selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor is atomoxetine. The efficacy of atomoxetine is comparable to that of methylphenidate, with fewer adverse reactions and good tolerability. It has been listed as a first-line treatment for ADHD.

3. Behavior management and education

Teachers and parents need to carry out effective behavior management and psychological education based on the characteristics of the patients, avoid discrimination, corporal punishment or other rough educational methods, and appropriately use praise and encouragement to improve the patients' self-confidence and self-consciousness.

4. Education and training for parents

It is suitable for patients with conduct disorders or other psychological problems, whose parents do not agree to drug treatment or whose parents' education methods are inappropriate. Education and training can take the form of individual families or small groups.

The above are some treatment methods and coping measures for children with ADHD so as not to make parents panic. At least parents and teachers know what measures they should take when they encounter such a situation in the future so as not to harm the children. Moreover, we can look at this disease correctly and have certain methods on how to deal with this situation. There are still many families suffering from this disease, but don't worry. As long as you stick to some correct practices, the disease will be cured.