ADHD can be a nightmare for some families and children. It can also a cross for adults who try to deal with the symptoms. ADHD, however, if managed with therapy and medications is possible. Many individuals can deal with their ADHD and still live very productive lives.
How others relate to people with ADHD is also a big factor to how one lives with it. Please also review our ADHD Consulting program
The article, “The Black Sheep of Mental Health Disorders: Living with ADHD” by DEVIN MCMAHON looks at the difficulties one can encounter with ADHD. He states,
“There’s no denying that we were made different. We tend to be more generous, more loving, more funny, more creative, and more entrepreneurial. The problem, it turns out, is not within our own selves. The problem is with the society we were born into.”
This article looks at not just the issue of ADHD for the person but how society perceives the person. Please also review our ADHD Consulting Program and see if it meets your academic and professional standards
Learning disabilities are a big issue for families and schools. Many children suffer from some type of learning disability. In fact, one in every five children have some type of learning disability from Dyslexia to Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder or ADHD. (1)
Learning Disabilities affect thousands of children and adults
Learning disabilities vary. The most prominent learning disability is Dyslexia or other forms of it in reading, writing and math. 39 percent of the learning disability population have some sort of Dyslexia, Dysgraphia or Dyscalculia. The second leading group comprises around 15 percent with dyspraxis or motor control and Attention Deficit. Roughly the same amount suffer from speech impairments. Around 10 percent are Autistic and the final percentages deal with emotional and other deeper intellectual issues. (2)
In response, schools create a variety of individual education programs but only 1 in 16 public school students with special needs receive the attention they need. 2.3 million students or 5 percent of the public population partakes in some type of IEP, while over 900,000 are enrolled in other health impairments. Hence it is important to understand these learning issues and help the children receive the help and aid they need to succeed.
With many perceptions on learning disabilities still not accurate enough within the general public, issues can arise when children are not properly care for. Most students with learning disabilities are bullied and misunderstood. This results in poorer academic success. In 2011, over 30 percent were held back a grade, and around 50 percent faced expulsion. Due to the bullying and lack of understanding by both parents and teachers, these numbers remain high. (3)
Parents themselves find themselves conflicted. One third of parents do not feel they can handle a child with a learning disability. Another third, understands the disability but feel they cannot properly help the child. Another third feel they can help their child and remain optimistic. (4)
If not helped, these children are three times more likely to drop out of school and two times more likely to be jobless. (5)
Parents and teachers need to become more proactive and aware as well. Unfortunately 33 percent of teachers feel children with learning disabilities are just lazy. 43 percent of parents say they would not want others to even know of their child’s issue and 48 percent believe their child will outgrow the disability. (6)
These alarming trends lead to chaos in the child’s life. The child does not receive the specialized education and treatment he needs. The child needs help not only from parents and teachers but also experts in the learning disability to help guide the child. In order to combat this, society needs more awareness. Awareness needs to be raised about disabilities beyond even the more basic issues. Secondly, parents need to be more proactive in learning about the issue and addressing it with the appropriate parties. Third, schools need to ensure that teachers are better equipped to handle special needs and have some type of minimal training in identifying it. Finally, schools need to have the appropriate programs necessary to help these children with specialized programs. While there are some programs, there needs to be more to meet the ever growing needs of these children in the public school systems.
Students who do not receive help with learning disabilities quickly fall behind in school and eventually life
In identifying these issues, many teachers, as well as school counselors, look to specialize in special education. Some already have a primary background in these studies during their undergraduate and graduate studies and others may seek various certifications to enhance their knowledge in these backgrounds. Clinical counselors, as well as teachers and school counselors are looking at ways to be more educated in helping students deal with learning disabilities.
ADHD
One specialized area of concern deals with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. This disorder as noted deals with around 15 percent of the student population. The student is unable to focus for long periods of time and may also exhibit problems sitting still. In some cases, it is only attention, but in other cases, both lack of concentration and inability to remain calm can be present in ADHD.
In regards to ADHD, inattention is one key symptom. In looking at these symptoms, the child may be disorganized, lack focus, make careless mistakes, forget tasks consistently, and can become easily distracted. (7)
ADHD also can affect hyperactivity. The child may have a hard time sitting in a seat for a long period of time. Furthermore the child will need to get up and feel the need to walk around. In other cases, the child may feel the need to climb around things he or she should not be around. Also excessive talking is a sign of this hyperactivity. (8)
Learning to help children cope with ADHD is essential for their success.
ADHD also affects impulse. Impulsivity includes impatience, not thinking things through before acting, The child may have a hard time waiting his turn to speak, interrupt others, answer a question before finishing the question, or start conversations at inappropriate times. (9)
While hyperactivity can diminish, inattentiveness can last into adulthood and cause a variety of adult issues. It is important to treat ADHD. Some coping strategies can be employed with a counseling professional and later implemented at home and in school. Sometimes coping strategies are enough, while in some other cases, medication is recommended to help curb the problem.
ADHD is a big issue and requires professionals in the school setting as well the clinical to diagnose it and help cope. While licensed professional counselors working with doctors are the primary treatment venue, non licensed personal can also become certified in ADHD Consulting and help parents and teachers cope with the issue. Many behavioral issues can be addressed.
ADHD Consulting Program
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals offers an online, independent study program for professionals seeking certification in ADHD Consulting. It is open to licensed professional counselors, as well non licensed counselors or even educators. The primary purpose of the certification is to help school counselors and other educators have a stronger understanding of ADHD and how to help students through behavioral coping strategies deal with ADHD. By working with parents and the child, better outcomes can be possibly found and if necessary, direction to licensed professional counselors or medical professionals who can prescribe the necessary medication.
Please review our ADHD Consultant Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. Counselors and educators are great candidates.
If you are a licensed professional counselor seeking a certification in ADHD Consulting, or a non licensed counselor or educator, you may wish to consider earning this certification and utilizing it in your professional career. The certification is good for four years and can be renewed. After completing the required courses for those with no ADHD educational background, one can then apply for certification within the organization.
Please consider and review the ADHD Consulting Program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.
ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder is disorder that affects many children, teens and adults. Many just associate it with younger children but it can affect all ages.
Please also review our Attention Deficit Consulting Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals
The primary symptoms include lack of attention or focus, as well as an inability to calm down or remain still. Some only experience lack of attention, while others experience the hyperactivity. Some may also experience both. Hence there are variety of levels of severity associated with it.
Numerous clinics, schools and counseling services offer help for individuals, as well as students, in coping with the disorder. These coping methods and sometimes medication, are able to help the person through school or work.
Without these coping methods, ADHD has the ability to cause havoc in any personal, professional or school lives.
Because of this, a variety of healthcare professionals specialize in the care of ADHD and some look to earn additional certifications. AIHCP offers a certification in Attention Deficit Consulting that prepares a variety of healthcare and behavioral health professionals in helping those with ADHD.
The Attention Deficit Consulting Certification offered by AIHCP is a four year certification that can be earned online. After completing the core courses in the program, one can apply for this certification.
Attention Deficit is a big issue with so many people. It can cause many problems for those in school, or working, or even in the simple family life. Professionals with this certification can better help these individuals. Please review AIHCPsS Attention Deficit Consulting Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional needs.
ADHD affects millions of children and often continues into adulthood. It is a combination of inattentiveness but also hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Some children can outgrow the symptoms with medication and counseling but others have to learn to cope and deal with the symptoms throughout life.
What are symptoms of ADHD. Please also review our ADHD Consulting Program and see if it meets your professional goals
The primary symptoms of the disorder include individuals who are predominantly inattentive as well as hyperactive and impulsive. Some only display one aspect of the disorder, while others feel the full wrath of the combination in their daily life. The symptoms are difficult sometimes to diagnose because most children display hyperactivity and inattentiveness, so one must carefully diagnosis as to whether these symptoms are random or a sign of ADHD.
For the most, part if one has ADHD, it manifests in all aspects of life. The child will display the symptoms not just at school, but also at home. The disorder reflects itself in all aspects of life with children. Among the inattentive signs to look for, parents should watch for the inability to organize things, the inability to remember tasks throughout the day, difficulty in following instructions, consistent losing of items, as well as the appearance of not listening while being spoken to.
In regards to hyperactivity, parents should look out for various symptoms, including, consistent fidgeting, difficulty sitting in one place, constant motion, excessive talking, impatience, and interruptions. When combined with the Attention Deficit symptoms, one can see how an array of problems can occur.
Among the issues that erupt due to this disorder are problems that will reflect in school and home. Poor grades, school discipline issues and an erratic home life can cause stress and frustration in all environments. These secondary issues of disorder and chaos can have serious consequences for the entire family. This is why is it so important to treat early.
While the exact causes of ADHD are not clear, most professionals have narrowed the disorder down to genetics, environment and development. ADHD can run in families and can be handed down to future generations. Furthermore, ADHD can have external factors, such as exposure to lead paint, and it can also emerge through central nervous system development at key points.
It is important to seek professional help. Licensed therapists certified in ADHD Consulting is an excellent source of help. Also, non-licensed counselors with ADHD certification can help educate and give coping strategies and can work in unison with healthcare professionals who can subscribe medications if needed.
If you would like to learn more about becoming certified in ADHD Consulting from the American Institute of Health Care Professionals, then please review the program and see if it matches your academic and professional goals.
A systematic review has concluded that non-drug interventions in schools may be effective in improving outcomes such as performance in standardized tests for children with ADHD. However, the research also found so many different types of strategies, often combined in different ways and so many different ways of measuring whether they worked, that it was that it was impossible to clearly identify what works best.
Non drug interventions for ADHD treatment in classroom settings are something some parents and teachers are considering. While there are good results, there are also many subjective aspects that make it hard for a clear cut preferred way that works best.
What is Applied Behavior Analysis and How Does it Help?
Applied Behavior Analysis refers to the process of carefully observing, teaching and modifying behavior. The technique proves successful for individuals diagnosed with autism or other developmental difficulties. By altering the immediate environment and monitoring responses, clinicians and educators hope to change behaviors or teach skills of daily living. The supervised methods are used in a controlled setting and may involve anywhere from 20 to 40 hours of instruction every week.
The ABC Basics
The first step requires analyzing three important current behavior responses.
Antecedent: The child is requested to perform a specific action.
Behavior: This involves the response to the request be it compliance, noncompliance or no response
Consequence: The term refers to the therapist’s response to the child’s action by offering positive reinforcement or firm verbal disapproval.
Applied Techniques
Task Analysis: The process entails evaluating a chore or task to determine how to break the request into steps that may be taught using chaining.
Chaining: This phase of the technique involves teaching the youngster individual steps that eventually link together to complete a specific skill.
Prompting: A clinician, therapist or parent assists the child encouragingly in order to obtain the desired response. Prompting might include verbal or visual cues, physical guidance or an actual demonstration.
Fading: This phase involves a gradual decline in prompting, as the child demonstrates the desired behavior. This may be accomplished with fewer prompts or by graduating from demonstration and guidance to simple verbal cues.
Shaping: The action might also be considered molding, as the child’s behavior is gradually altered to achieve a specific effect. The behavior of a youngster who bites might gradually change into blowing kisses using repeated interventions and positive reinforcement when the child succeeds.
Differential reinforcement: The method involves offering positive or negative reinforcement appropriate to the act. Depending on the difficulty of the chore or behavior required, a therapist with an online certification in applied behavior analysis says this reinforcement can range from an encouraging word to an enthusiastic celebration of the child’s accomplishment.
Generalization: Once a child successfully completes a chore, skill or task within a certain time and in a structured environment, attempts are made to encourage the student to perform the action in other locations. For example, after learning basic reading skills in a classroom might transfer to reading at home or outdoors.
Video modeling: Videotaping serves as a learning technique while going through the chaining process. Each step of a task might be taped, linked together and presented to a student as a form of demonstrating an entire skill.
Applications for the Treatment of ADHD
When using applied behavior analysis to treat a child with ADHD, it is important to understand the motivation behind the behaviors which require correction. These behaviors, as exhibited in children with ADHD, are off-task and distracting, and typically originate from a desire to avoid undesirable activities (chores, work, etc.) or to get attention (from parents, peers, teachers, etc.). Before beginning an applied behavior treatment, be sure to conduct an assessment of the child’s behavior and possible reasons for it.
Applied behavior analysis remains the most common and effective method of helping children or adults having learning difficulties. The methods are often used to instill acceptable motor, cognitive, social or verbal skills. These can help an autistic child or a child with ADHD understand what proper social behavior and responses are—an extremely valuable skill for any child to have. The technique is also beneficial for altering inappropriate behaviors in children of all cognitive capabilities, including those with ADHD and learning disorders.
About the Author: Marlena Stoddard is a freelance writer who received her BA from the University of Georgia.
If you would like to learn more about ADHD Consulting Training then please review our program at AIHCP and see if it matches your academic and professional needs
Repeatedly training the brain to get better at specific tasks can boost attention levels in daily life, finds an analysis of a pool of 12 previous studies
Helping train the brain to be more attentive seems like a good way to help people with ADHD. This article looks at how it works and how one can utilize this to help themselves or someone they know and love
If you would like to learn more about ADHD Consulting, then please review our program
Is the Rise in ADHD Drugs a Pharmaceutical Campaign?
Could the increase in doctor prescribed ADHD drugs be because of pharmaceutical companies trying to cash in our the mental health of our children? It sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller, however in this ending our child’s health is at stake.
By Alan Schwarz
From New York Times
“The rise of A.D.H.D. diagnoses and prescriptions for stimulants over the years coincided with a remarkably successful two-decade campaign by pharmaceutical companies to publicize the syndrome and promote the pills to doctors, educators and parents. With the children’s market booming, the industry is now employing similar marketing techniques as it focuses on adult A.D.H.D., which could become even more profitable.”
Learning about ADHD counseling and alternative treatments to ADHD is the best way to keep your child off ADHD drugs. We owe it to our children to give them the best treatments possible. In today’s society it is fun to pretend a magic pill can solve all of our problems but often it is not. The mental health of our children are at stake. They deserve better.
Some alternative treatments for Childhood ADHD are; low processed and sugary food diet, plenty of exercise, keeping options for the child simple (for example only limit selections of dinner to 2 choices instead of a whole menu.), etc. These are simple strategies to control your child’s ADHD without the use of potentially addictive and mind altering ADHD drugs.
If you are interested and want to learn more ADHD treatment strategies or would like to earn a certificate in ADHD Counseling please feel free to check out our webpage.
People have been caught red handed faking ADHD so they can get prescriptions for ADHD drugs. Students are abusing these drugs for the high they cause and some of them are using to increase their concentration before exams. If used as a study aid or not this is a big concern. ADHD drug abusers is a big issue!
“College students faking symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder to get hold of pills may have met their match in an ADHD lie detector device.
People are acting fidgety and inattentive to try to dupe doctors into writing prescriptions for ADHD drugs, which can be used to get high, stay awake or concentrate while studying. The growing illicit use of the drugs on college campuses and a tripling in emergency-room visits linked to the pills have helped spur efforts to improve diagnosis.”
Students use drugs like Adderall XR and Ritalin to help them focus before exams and work harder without distractions on pages and assignments. The ends however do not justify the means. It is still drug abuse.
Doctors are fighting back! They have a tool called “Quotient” Quotient is a computer equipped with infrared motion tracking equipment designed to record movements and responses. It is programmed with data from actual ADHD patients. These movements are hard to fake and can accurately tell whether someone is putting on a show for the doctors by 92%.
Doctors are also stating that Quotient can also be used to help parents find out if their child has ADHD and if ADHD prescription drugs could help them out. A lot of doctors are turning to this computer to help them accurately diagnose ADHD and not just try to detect fakers.
If you are interested in learning more about ADHD or earning a certification in ADHD counseling then please feel free to check out www.AIHCP.org.
“Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is misnamed, says Jill Whalan.”
American Institute Health Care Professionals’ insight:
Helping Children with ADHD is the Goal of this New Program.
Understanding ADHD is important because many children suffer from it everyday. Where some see an unruly and disruptive child, others see a mind being pulled in several directions at once. This makes a simple task such as paying attention in school extremely hard for some children.
Learning about ADHD can help doctors design programs for ADHD. Once we develop these programs we can help children understand their disorder and themselves better. Helping children with ADHD come to understand that there is nothing wrong with them and how they can cope and adapt to their ADHD can be a very effective way in treating it.
One such ADHD program for children is doing just that. It is helping kids understand ADHD and how they can control it. It is also helping parents understand ADHD as well. A good example in the article was a parent learned to give her daughter one thing to do at a time. Telling her to do several things at once would lead her to become sidetracked.
