Once again I hear: “We were told that the child has hyperactivity. I read on the Internet – horror! Help, what should we do!?”
Throughout my work in kindergarten, then in private practice, I have repeatedly encountered incorrect use of the concept of “hyperactivity”.
Each “superficial” specialist likes to use unfamiliar, foreign words, thereby raising his authority and self-esteem. But the word “not a sparrow” will fly out and may turn into a completely different side to you.
So it was at the pedagogical council, when the deputy head used this term for no reason. In response, I received an objection from the defectologist, a remark from the head, and as a result I had to rewrite the documents.
It is worse when such grief specialist-consultant tells parents about the child’s hyperactivity. Parents get scared and behave like molecules in Brownian motion.
Someone panics, someone searches for information on the Internet, someone goes to a medical institution (parents with such motivation were at my consultation), and someone does not pay attention at all.
In this regard, I want to help parents understand whether a child is hyperactive or not.
The very first moment: activity, mobility and curiosity are the natural characteristics of children of preschool and primary school age.
Aggressiveness, anxiety, isolation arise as a response to uncomfortable conditions in society.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can be diagnosed by a psychiatrist, not a psychologist.
It is the responsibility of the psychologist to redirect the baby to a consultation with a psychiatrist if he, the psychologist, notices the reasons for this.
Criteria by which you can distinguish an active and inquisitive child from a hyperactive one:
—-Unable to pay attention to details; due to negligence, frivolity, makes mistakes in school assignments, in work performed and other activities.
—-Usually has difficulty maintaining attention when performing tasks or during games.
—- It is difficult for a child to adhere to the proposed instructions and to cope to the end with the completion of lessons, homework or duties at the workplace (which has nothing to do with negative or protest behavior, inability to understand the task).
—-Experiences difficulties in organizing the independent performance of tasks and other activities.
—-Frequently loses things (eg toys, school supplies, pencils, books, work tools).
—- Easily distracted by extraneous stimuli.
—-Forgets assignments in everyday situations.
—- The baby has restless movements in the hands and feet; sitting on a chair, spinning, spinning.
—-Frequently gets up from his seat in the classroom during lessons or in other situations where you need to stay in place.
—-Usually unable to play quietly, calmly, or do anything on his own.
—- Often in constant motion and behaves “as if a motor was attached to it.”
—- Sometimes talkative. Answers questions without hesitation, without listening to them to the end.
—-Usually hardly waits for his turn in various situations.
—- Often interferes with others, sticks to others (for example, interferes in conversations or games).
Causes, according to doctors, hyperactivity in children:
1. Minimal brain dysfunction
2. Pathologies of pregnancy, childbirth (85% of cases)
3. Infections and intoxications under the age of three
4. Genetic conditioning
If your child has been diagnosed with hyperactivity syndrome by a psychiatrist, you should know that this is not a sentence!
Your positive attitude and confidence, together with love, will help you cope with your baby’s developmental peculiarity. Together with a doctor, psychologist, educator or school teacher, you socialize the child, but the sooner you seek help, the better.
In my practice, there was a case when the mother of a child with hyperactivity syndrome turned to me for help. I examined the child, and my mother began to give recommendations on how to take care of him at home. To which my mother told me: “You must help my child!”
My answer: “We must together.”
Mom: “No, you should, I specially transferred him to your garden, because in the previous garden they wanted to force me to conduct classes with him. Only you have to make a normal child out of him.”
My mother had to explain for a long time that without reinforcement at home, the acquired skills of control and concentration of attention would not be fixed and my work would be lost.
Tips for parents on how to deal with your child:
1. Maintain a positive attitude in your relationship with your child. Praise him every time he deserves it, emphasize successes. This helps build the child’s self-confidence.
2. Speak with restraint, calmly. Don’t resort to physical punishment. Build your relationship on trust, not fear. Solve problems together.
3. Avoid repeating the word “no”, “no”.
4. Give the child only one task for a short period of time so that he can complete it (it can take 2.3 weeks to master the skill of completing the task). Only after that, give the next task.
5. Entrust him with some of the household chores that need to be done daily and in no case do them for him.
6. Use visual stimulation to reinforce verbal instructions. Before leaving the house, read the rules of conduct at school, kindergarten, etc. , which should be written in a conspicuous place. Discuss the rules of conduct with your child.
7. Reward your child for all activities that require concentration (working with blocks, coloring pictures, etc.).
8. Lead a point or symbolic reward system (you can mark each act with an asterisk, and reward a certain number of them with sweets, toys, etc.)
9. Avoid higher or lower requirements. Give him tasks that match his abilities.
10. Do not compare your child with other children. It lowers self-esteem and kills confidence. You can compare it with the successes previously obtained (look at what you get here, try today and it will come out even better).
11. Instill in your child accuracy, self-organization skills and develop in him a sense of responsibility for his own actions.
12. Establish contact with school teachers, a kindergarten teacher, tell them about the essence and main manifestations of hyperactivity in your child. You can exchange cards – messages: what happened today, what needs to be worked on.
13. Teach your child to follow a clear daily routine.
14. Avoid large crowds, noisy companies.
15. During games, limit the child to one partner first. After mastering the rules of the game, you can play collective games.
16. Protect the child from fatigue, as it leads to a decrease in self-control and an increase in hyperactivity.
17. Let your child expend excess energy. Useful daily physical activity in the fresh air – long walks, running, sports activities.
All this must be done in a positive mood, not to take it out on the child. And, once again, no physical punishment. After all, hyperactive children are not sensitive to pain and the effect may be the opposite: instead of the expected obedience, aggression and cruelty in response.
Remember: “A child is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled”!