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The Effect of ADHD on Children and Families

ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is an often misunderstood and misdiagnosed mental disorder. The main symptoms of ADHD are excessive hyperactivity, impulsiveness and inattentiveness. There's controversy over this diagnosis because these symptoms are also signs of normal childhood behavior. Therefore, only a licensed professional can determine if "excessive" is indicative of the child's behavior. Despite this controversy, everyone agrees that true ADHD affects not only the child with the disorder but also the child's family.

  1. Definition

    • ADHD is a mental health problem caused by the improper functioning of the brain. It's frustrating to families because no single test can diagnose ADHD. Instead, information is gathered from the child's parents, the child, caregivers, and the school, and then compared to the behaviors of other children that age.

    Characteristics

    • Children with ADHD not only have difficulty paying attention, staying focused, controlling impulses and reading social cues of others, but also with hyperactivity such as excessive talking, running around, and interrupting others. These impulsive actions can cause the child to fall behind in school and have problems making friends. All this can take a toll on the family. Studies show that parents of a child with ADHD have a higher divorce rate than the general population, in part, because of their increased stress, frustration, and guilt over feeling frustrated.

    Misconceptions

    • People not only incorrectly tag children with ADHD as slow, lazy, disobedient and dumb, but also incorrectly assume the child's disruptive behavior is the result of their parent's bad parenting. Although children with ADHD are often highly intelligent and gifted in the arts, these stereotypical labels can cause the family embarrassment, resentment and add to the stress and tension in the family.

    Behaviors

    • The disruptive behaviors displayed by a child with ADHD affects the entire family. Everyday routines, such as eating, playing, watching television, and doing homework become a fight when a child is excessively loud, disorderly, unfocused, and hyper. Normal routines become a constant battle, keeping the family on edge.

    Support

    • Medications and behavior therapy are often prescribed to treat a child with ADHD. Also, involve your child's teachers in his or her treatment plan. Special individualized lesson plans should be created to help your child stay on task.

      It's important for family life to have structure and consistency, and children with ADHD need clear established rules and direction, plenty of encouragement and praise, and rewards and consequences for their behavior. The negative effects of ADHD on the family can be minimized if the family readjusts its way of doing things to account for the child's disorder.

    Insight

    • Although it can be frustrating and nerve-racking teaching a child with ADHD, it's important to remember that your child's behavior is due to a mental health disorder. With proper treatment, behavior modification and support, a child with ADHD can learn to listen better, interact better, and be more focused and productive.

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