Hyperactive children are usually diagnosed as suffering from
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder. Sometimes the fidgeting,
restlessness and temper tantrums associated with hyperactivity
signify a far more serious condition such epilepsy, brain tumors,
bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and autism. To complicate matters
more, most parents of hyperactive children interpret their
behavior to be a bad case of willful disobedience. In actuality,
hyperactive children mean well but are unable to control their
emotions and actions.
Attention Deficit Disorder is a general term that describes
all conditions that involve the three pronged symptoms of distraction,
impulsivity and hyperactivity. ADHD is a clinical term that
is used to describe three subsets of the disorder: Combined
Type, Predominantly Inattentive Type, and Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive
Type. Hyperactive children generally are diagnosed as the Hyperactive-impulsive
Type.
Typically, hyperactive children have problems with paying
attention and following through with instructions. They often
seem not to be listening, make inappropriate remarks, and tend
to be disorganized. They also have difficulty managing schedules
and breaking down a task into individual components.
Hyperactive children exasperate others because they often
have terrible short-term memories, but can describe often-irrelevant
details from the past in great detail. In addition some individuals
with ADD can be impatient, verbally impulsive and unable to
wait their turn. However, it is important to remember that
not all people with ADD demonstrate all of these symptoms all
of the time.
ADD is not classified as a learning disability although ADD
sufferers can develop disabilities as reaction to the pressure
that they feel they are under. Although ADD obviously effects
the academic performance of a person, it will also affect the
social life, athletic performance and the child's relationship
with his or her siblings.
Many parents of ADHD children are still waiting for their
child's case of the "terrible twos" to be over even
after the child has reached adolescence. These impulsive and
hyperactive children are often unable to "look before
they leap" and cause serious safety threats to the entire
family.
As children with ADHD are also usually very creative and
intelligent, it is difficult to quell their curiosity. Hyperactive
children are always getting into medicine cabinets, trying
to cook supper on their own and seeing how high they can climb
up a tree. To make things worse some ADHD children have perceptual,
coordination and balance disorders that affects their judgement.
This leads to a lot of spills, breakage and loss of valuable
property.
Fortunately there are a number of effective widely available
medications that are designed to calm hyperactive children
so that they can focus on matters on hand. These medications
include stimulants such as Dexedrine and Ritalin, anti-depressants
such as Wellbutrin and Trofanil and the newer medicine Strattera.
There are many good resources and books available that can
teach you how to cope with and understand the often-baffling
behaviors of hyperactive children. As managing hyperactive
children can be both draining and toxic emotionally, parents
and teachers who deal with them on a daily basis are advised
to get professionally counseling to help them deal with effects
of this exasperating disorder.
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