ADHD in Children

ADD/ADHD makes life challenging, both for the person struggling with the problem, and family members. Because of its genetic basis, it is frequently found in several members of a family. It may co-occur with depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder, making diagnosis and treatment complex. However, it need not stop people from having happy and successful lives. Our speakers will discuss symptoms of ADD/ADHD in children and adults and frequently used medication and behavioral therapies. Coping mechanisms for the parents and sibs of ADD children and partners of ADD adults will be reviewed.

1. Created September2013; Revised September 2020
ADHD inChildren
Presented by NAMI Main Line PA,
an affiliate of the National Alliance on MentalIllness
Please view the final slide for NAMI Main Line PA, contact information
and the link to the complete YouTube video of this PowerPoint withnarration.
A six video series of this talk can be found at this YouTube
playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqHjin-
DJco7nc-Mnj96Mve-Q0wIHyKCm

2. History

3. Diagnosis
—Need 6 criteria in 2 differentsettings
Ex. School andhome
—Onset before age7
—Evidence of problems in dailyliving
—2 basic varieties: inattentive andhyperactive
—Many ways todiagnose
WhoHow

4. Inattentive
sustained attention
listening
loosingthings
boring tasks
Difficultieswith
details
followthrough
organization
distractions
remembering

5. Hyperactive
staying in your seat
quietplay
taking turns
blurting outanswers
—Difficultieswith
fidgeting
climbing
excessive talking
interrupting
“on the go” all thetime

6. Overdiagnosis
—Normal childhood behavior is diagnosed asillness
—Behavioral problems are diagnosed asillness
—Other conditions the can look like ADHD are
misdiagnosed as ADHD (anxiety, depression,mania)
—Providerinexperience

7. Underdiagnosis
—“That’s just the way sheis”
—Daydreaming doesn’t catchattention
—Chaos in the household due to parental or sibling
mental illness, divorce, or other difficulties can pull
attention away from a child withADHD
—Shame
—Providerinexperience

8. Multiplediagnoses

9. Difficult aspects ofADHD
—Excessivetalking
—Disturbs others (can’t sit still,hits)
—Inappropriatecomments
—Doesn’tlisten
—Losethings
—Homeworkdifficulties
—1-2 yrs delayed socially because don’t know how to
read socialcues
—Engage in risky, impulsivebehaviors
—Risk of MJ and alcohol use if ADHD isuntreated

11. Parentalstress
—Managing calls from the school about behavioral
problems
—Handling homework that takes a very long time to
complete
—Books, papers, hats, etc getlost
—Needing to repeatyourself
—Difficulties with socialinteractions
—What if the parent has ADDtoo?
Take-home message: Bepatient

12. Positive aspects ofADHD
—Creativity
—Smart
—Spontaneous
—Worksquickly
—Good at problemsolving
—Emotionalsensitivity
—Exuberance

13. Some famous people with ADHD
—RobinWilliams
—WaltDisney
—JohnLennon
—RussellWhite
—GregLouganis
—ThomasEdison
—DustinHoffman
—MichaelPhelps
—Leonardo daVinci
—AlbertEinstein
—Galileo
—HenryWinkler
—HenryFord
—JasonKidd
—Dwight D.Eisenhower
—Salvadore Dali

14. Myths vsfacts
—Caused by poorparenting
¡Biological and oftengenetic
—If 1 child has it, all of my children will
¡Not all children in a family will haveit
—ADHD is not adisability
¡ADHD is recognized as a disability by ADA andIDEA
—Medication is the onlytreatment
¡There are several treatmentoptions
—Kids with ADHD want to behavebadly
¡Kids with ADHD cannot be consistent in theirbehaviors

15. The ADHDbrain

16. ADHDtreatment
—Get the ADHD brain “on line” with medications that
stimulate thebrain
—Provide behavioral modifications via rewards that
stimulate thebrain
—Teach family members and teachers how to work
with an ADHD brain to get the best resultspossible
Take-home message: The ADHD brainneeds
to bestimulated

17. MTAstudy
—14-month study with 500+ children ages7-10
—4 groups ofchildren
-Medication
-Combo
-Behavioraltherapy
-Usual community care (2/3 received somemeds)
—All 4 groups had a reduction of ADHDsymptoms
—Significantly greater improvement in the medication
and combo groups with those in the medication
group doing a little bitbetter
Take-home message: Medication is thebest

18. MTAfollow-up
—2 yrs after the end of thestudy
¡Symptoms remained better than baseline in allgroups
¡There were no differences in symptoms between any of the
groups
Take-home message: It doesn’t matter what
you do, but dosomething

19. Risks of nottreating
—Poor academicperformance
—Lowself-esteem
—Less emotionalstability
—Less success in thefuture
—Physicalinjury
—Higher rates of substanceabuse
Take-home message: Less chances of living to
their fullpotential

20. Medications
—Short acting and longacting
—2 basictypes
¡Amphetamines (ex. Vyvance,Adderall)
¡Methylphenidate (ex. Conterta,Methadate)
—Used lessoften
¡Atomoxetine(Stratera)
¡Alpha agonists (Clonidine,Guanfacine)

21. Behaviormodifications
—Behavior breaks down when the demand placed on a
person exceeds their ability to complete thetask
—Want your child to develop skills to masterlife
—Learned helplessness can be the result of not taking
the time to teach a child how to master life with an
ADHDbrain
Take-home message: Pills don’t teachskills

22. What you as a parent cando
—Pick 2 or 3 key areas toaddress
—Discuss these with your child and set clear
boundaries with clearconsequences
—Remain neutral when there are violations and simply
institute the agreed uponconsequences
—Maintain a loving relationship with yourchild
Take-home message: Clear consequences
delivered withneutrality

23. Tips andideas
—Use atimer
—1 instruction at atime
—Frequent praise (ratio of 3:1 atleast)
—Charts to check off items
—Rewards to stimulate the brain
—Providechoices
—Give reminders andsupport
Take-home message: Be creative, bepatient

24. Other points to keep inmind
—All looks normal on the outside -inside there are
things going on/not going on that we can'tsee
—Keep your cool. When there's a problem -no raised
voices, nopointing
—ADHD kids are very needy. Recognize that & adjust
to it but don’tjudge
—Get help for yourself when you needit
Take-home message: Be patient and stay calm,
remember your love for yourchild

25. Resources -Books
—RaisingBoysWithADHD:SecretsforParentingHealthy,
HappySonsbyMaryAnneRicheyandJamesForgan
—TheADHDWorkbookforTeens:ActivitiestoHelpYou
GainMotivationandConfidence(InstantHelpBookfor
Teens)byLaraHonos-Webb
—TheSurvivalGuideforKidswithADDorADHDbyJohn
F. TaylorPh.D.
—Taking Charge of ADHD: A Complete Authoritative
Guide for Parents by R.Barkley
—1-2-3 Magic Effective Discipline for Children 2-12 by
Thomas W. Phelan,Ph.D.

26. Resources –Websites
—Children and Adults with ADHDwww.chadd.org/
—Jim Forgan Ph.D.http://jimforgan.com/
—A magazine with tips for parents
http://www.additudemag.com/

27. Presented by NAMIMain LinePA
an affiliate of the National Alliance on MentalIllness
www.NAMIMainLinePA.org
[email protected]
All information is current as of publication date; please let us know if you encounter brokenhyperlinks.
A six video series of this talk can be found at this YouTube
playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqHjin-
DJco7nc-Mnj96Mve-Q0wIHyKCm