What is ADHD
ADHD can be very complicated but all it is, “is a different way of thinking” according to Mike Willer, an employee at Qorvo whose son has ADHD. To be more specific, ADHD has 3 parts: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. There are also 3 types of ADHD. Those are inattention, hyperactive/impulsive, or both. Along with that, the kid’s symptoms may change over time. You would normally get it by genetics but there are other rare ways you can get it. ADHD can affect friendships, school work, and how ADHD kids interact in their society.
Many people have ADHD and they have to learn to cope and some use medication to do so. Males mostly get ADHD but that is not always the case. Females can get ADHD also. In females, ADHD can have more chaty, hyper, and disorganized behaviors. In males, ADHD makes them hyper, unfocused, and as some would say, “lost in space”. ADHD never goes away so that means that you have to learn how to cope.
One thing that some people want to know about ADHD is how a non-ADHD sibling can help an ADHD sibling? According to Mike Isaacson (Coach Mike), “The best way to help an ADHD sibling is to know ADHD.” What he means by this, is that if you know what a sibling is going through, then you can have empathy for the ADHD sibling. There are more ways that non-ADHD siblings can help their ADHD siblings. For example, “having clear house rules” and “giving the non-ADHD sibling tips to help the ADHD sibling.” A great idea to help an ADHD child snap out of a hyperactive occurrence without public embarrassment is to have a trigger word so that when that word is said, the child immediately knows to settle down.
Adaptation and Use of Medication
ADHD can be helped so don’t be afraid to help someone with ADHD. That could be a family member, it could be a relative, it could be a friend, or it could be someone who looks like they need help with ADHD. This all applies because ADHD requires everyone and a little help goes a long way. Some new tips would be to “do one assignment at a time” and to “find a quiet area to work” according to The ADD Book for Kids. You could also “find new ways to interact with others” according to the book, Putting on the Breaks.
ADHD in kids is completely different than in adults. Adults have learned to cope and use medication for certain situations. Kids, on the other hand, have not yet learned to cope and they lose track of things more often than adults and they get distracted very quickly. Also in kids with ADHD, they can be impulsive. In other words, they tend to make decisions without thinking through the details of what that decision entails. Medication can help the ADHD child focus on such circumstances. There are other ways to help ADHD children. For example, they could get tutors to help them with their work. Another idea is to give good feedback with daily activities so that they don’t get discouraged. Another good idea is to make a chart or calendar to do things.
Medication does help, so don’t be afraid to use it. It helps because it corrects the synapses in the ADHD brain. In other words, it adjusts the connections between two parts of the brain that give signals to the body. Without it, the ADHD child cannot think thoroughly. Another cool thing about ADHD medicine is that it is not addictive so that ADHD kids don’t get hooked. ADHD medicine also helps making tough decisions especially with stuff like drugs, smoking, and drinking. ADHD medicine is not always helpful because the military requires personnel to be drug free including ADHD medication. Based on the situation, medication is highly recommended.
With ADHD growing rapidly we need to learn more about it and how to cope with the changes in structure and support. We need to educate ourselves so that we may help others and how we can help ourselves. We should educate ourselves so that we will cope with the changes even when researchers say that it is complicated. Like Coach Mike said, “It can be a hurdle or it can be a gift”.
