Understanding ADHD – Some New Research to Help You Understand Your ADHD Child Better
There has been fascinating research done on ADHD by the University of Central Florida which is connected with hyperactivity and ADHD. This study may reveal why ADHD kids move around and are in constant motion and fidget such a lot. The findings have been published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology and may go some way to help us in understanding ADHD a little better.
Research on hyperactivity
The study showed that when children, both ADHD and non ADHD were asked to do a complex task, they started to move around. But what was fascinating was that the ADHD kids moved around a lot more. They started swivelling in their chairs a lot more and also displayed a lot more hand and foot movements.
The results of the study showed that ADHD children needed hyperactivity just to sty alert and focused especially in tasks where they had to use their memory. It seems that they actually need the movement to keep alert and on task.
One practical application from this research in understanding ADHD is that we can get kids to use stability balls when they are doing their homework. I know that some schools have used these balls with success and that kids actually concentrate better when on them. So much for asking ADHD kids to sit still. We may actually be hindering them from concentrating when we do that!
Impulsivity
As regards impulsivity, recent research shows that ADHD kids are more at risk. When they become teenagers and start to drive, this can become a real worry for parents. Risky behavior is also a worry when it comes to using drugs, experimenting with sex and even dropping out at school. As their stop and think capacity is severely limited, we should not be surprised that these are the outcomes.
Injury prevention strategies
The key to this is to try and integrate teaching them injury prevention strategies with behavior modification. This will help us and them in understanding ADHD better. As regards driving, lowering the volume of music is important as this can be a major source of distraction which can lead to impulsive driving. We can also give them presents of hands free phone so that answering a phone call while driving will present the least hazard possible to both driver and any pedestrians.
Research also suggests that behavior modification which uses rewards and consequences can be the most effective way of dealing with ADHD and also understanding ADHD from the point of view of long term therapy. ADHD evaluation which looks beyond medication and focuses on behavior is the way to go.
As regards medication, the jury is still out and the controversy rages on about the safety of amphetamines for our children and the effects on their neural development.
ADHD homeopathic remedies are now regarded as a much safer alternative. Maybe there are some aspects of this type of treatment that you are unaware of. I have listed them all on my website so that you can decide if this could be suitable for your ADHD child.
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