ADHD: The New Childhood Epidemic
My son has just been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. Parents have been hearing this diagnosis thrown around for the past two decades with greater frequency. And it doesn't seem to be slowing down. My son is not quite five years old and our child psychiatrist has already offered us medication for his symptoms.
Like any parent, I am concerned for my son's well-being over anything else, even if it means I have to somehow find a little more patience to help him deal with his difficulties. My husband and I both agree that medication should be used only as a last resort. Even though the doctor assured us that there is only a slight chance of adverse side effects, the chance of ANY side effects keeps us focused on trying alternative methods.
When I first mentioned to friends and colleagues my son's possibility of having ADHD, many were quick to jump in and offer advice. Thankful as I was, it only left me with more questions about the disorder and treatments. Most moms are against medicating their children. Many offered advice on behavioral therapy, which is the way my husband and I agreed to go for in our son's treatment.
Behavioral therapy is a method of training. It begins with the parents. Parents must learn to react, redirect and respond appropriately with a child of ADHD. It's not a quick-fix, but the benefits of using behavioral therapy effectively are said to be far greater than any medication. My husband and I will have to learn to use these methods in order to help our son.
The first thing we've put into action is the "Token Economy" system. This is a reward system put into place to reward the child for positive behavior. When our son does something like put on his own clothes or cleans his room, he is rewarded with a 'star' on the board. He can earn stars towards different rewards that cost a set amount of stars throughout the week. At the end of the week he can choose which rewards he wants, based on how many stars he earned.
The doctor pointed out that it's a bad idea to reward our child with monetary prizes as the prize bank will tend to escalate. She suggests using things he already gets for free such as the opportunity to watch his favorite DVD, or uninterrupted play time with Daddy, or even game time.
One other method we have put into place, even before we had our conference with the doctor, is the egg timer. We have a hard time keeping our son focused on anything for more than a few seconds. Putting an egg timer on and letting him know that he only had this much time left helps him stay on task.
For example: one of the most difficult things for him to accomplish is eating his dinner in a timely manner. He tends to want to get up, bounce around, play with his food, tell stories, etc. We put the timer on the table and set if for 30 minutes. We let him know that once the timer goes off, he will be done with his dinner whether he's eaten it all or not. If there's anything left on his plate, it will be thrown in the trash and he will lose his opportunity to finish it. If he finishes it all, he gets a star.
So we are rewarding him for his behavior but setting boundaries and consequences for not completing the task. It has been very effective so far.
These are only a couple of techniques we've put into place. We plan on doing our research and implementing more strategies to help our son through this difficult time in his life. Hopefully, our struggles and victories along the way will help and inspire other parents dealing with this far-to-common problem with their kids.
