How Is ADHD Affecting You and Your Child’s Life? Life With ADHD

SYDNEY, Australia — Are you having struggles in dealing with your child’s ADHD?

Do you want to improve your child’s quality of life using effective ways in addressing ADHD?

We will be talking about:

I. Why are medications used to address ADHD?
II. Is there any behavioural therapy for children with ADHD?
III. The Tomatis® Method as Listening Therapy

I. Why are medications prescribed to address ADHD?

There are 5 types of medicine licensed for addressing ADHD. These are manufactured as methylphenidate, lisdexamfetamine, dexamfetamine, atomoxetine, and Guanfacine.

These medicines are not a cure for ADHD but may help someone with the condition focus better, be less impulsive, feel calmer, and learn and practise new skills.

While some of these medicines can be taken every school day, a few of these medicines can also be taken daily. To prevent medicine dependency and to assess if the medicine is still needed, occasionally halting treatment is required. 

II.II Is there any behavioural therapy for children with ADHD?

Yes, behavioural therapy is used to help children with ADHD control their symptoms of inattention and/or hyperactivity. Though in most cases behavioural therapy is best if taken with medication especially for people with severe ADHD. 

The medications for ADHD if stopped will stop the benefits of taking them. These benefits include a more stable mood, less irritability, anti-depressive thoughts, and a focused mind. 

In ADHD, there are three main behavioural therapies acknowledged:

• Parent training – this type of therapy involves parents taking part in the child’s behaviour modification. Managing a child with ADHD can be a bit more challenging than the others, that’s why parents are equipped to handle their child appropriately. This therapy aims to solidify the parent-child relationship with the help of a psychologist and social worker. Mainly, they teach parents and other guardians to give praise or do positive reinforcement as researched to be effective. They’re also taught how to properly discipline them. There are programs that best fit the age group, symptoms and severity of the condition where your child is in. Choosing the best program for your child will benefit the whole family. The programs are: Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Parent Management Training (PMT), Positive Parenting Program (Triple P). The parent training will not make the ADHD go away, but lessen the effects of the condition on your child. 

1. 1. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) – a 14-18 week interactive therapy involving parents giving positive reinforcement to children ages 2 to 7. However, children needing PCIT does not only fall within that age range but also how much the child needs positive interactions. Psychologists would recommend this type of parent training therapy to parents who need help in creating positive working communication with their child.
   2. Parent Management Training (PMT) – this is a rewards-based therapy intervening with underlying behaviours such as depression and anxiety of a child with the help of the parents. This 10 session intervention method quickly teaches the parents to establish skills to deal with challenging behaviours such as tantrums. This therapy is best for older children, but it can also be for younger children as young as four years old.
   3. Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) – this therapy provides parents (and children) with the basics of efficient parent-child interaction. Depending on the level of intervention needed, you can be under a 4 session therapy or 12 session therapy. This can improve the parenting style and develop a positive, proactive working relationship with children. Positive Parenting Program is effective with children to adolescents. 

• School interventions – treating ADHD needs the help of the teachers to determine progress. The participation of parents also plays a role in school interventions for ADHD. One of the methods is utilising a “Daily Report Card” Teachers will assess if the child performs academic duties well (doing homework and seatwork), proper classroom behaviour, peer relationships (getting along with classmates), and emotional performance within the day.  A Daily Report card would: 

1. 1. Have a rewards chart – it contains a chart wherein rewards such as paper stars are pasted unto it to show that the child is doing the tasks well. It can be used at home and in school.
   2. Daily planner – people with ADHD can organise their everyday tasks and appointments with a planner that can serve as a calendar and to-do list. You can add homework reminders, doctor’s appointments, important family get-togethers, and other stuff.
   3. Time-based tasks – this can improve the time sensitivity of people with ADHD and complete their tasks on time. Assigning a time limit for every task needed to be done will teach them to be punctual in submitting on or before the deadline.

• Listening Therapy – Another form of behavioural therapy is listening therapy (also known as music therapy) incorporated in the Tomatis® Method. The Tomatis® Method is a non-invasive, humanistic approach to addressing  ADHD patients with the help of music, movement, and language stimulation. It uses music because it is part of human nature to appreciate music, focusing on a rhythm that can calm emotions and focus thinking. Music can be used for treating people with learning disabilities, mental and physical illnesses. Music or listening therapy can help develop a person’s brain because it aims for neuroplasticity, rewiring the brains of ADHD patients from low levels of dopamine and high levels of motor activity to normalised ones. In listening therapy, the cerebral cortex of the brain enhances its plasticity. It is applicable to children, teens, and adults.