Hyperactivity
Children who are hyperactive often have learning difficulties and problems relating to others. Experts may differ in their approach to treatment, but most affected children will calm down as they grow older.
As every parent knows, all children can be highly active and boisterous at times. But hyperactive children have problems which go well beyond this. Both physically and mentally restless, they're often unable to concentrate and are easily distracted. They have little need for sleep and can be so unruly that their behaviour exhausts everyone around them.
BETTER UNDERSTANDING
Sometimes referred to as attention deficit disorder or hyperkinetic syndrome, hyperactivity is not a physical illness but a behavioural disorder. Constant physical activity may be the most obvious symptom, but the child's lack of concentration and disorganized approach to life will often be the biggest handicap, impairing both intellectual and social development. This, in turn, will lead to learning difficulties.
For reasons unknown, a higher percentage of hyperactive children are blond and blue-eyed. Boys outnumber girls three to one. Some children seem overactive from birth, while others may develop behavioural problems from about school age onwards.
The causes of hyperactivity are thought to vary from child to child, and they are a subject of much disagreement among experts.
Some believe there may be a genetic link, because hyperactive children are more likely to have fathers who were hyperactive. Children with mental handicap, cerebral palsy, autism or some forms of epilepsy may also be prone to hyperactivity.
Others believe hyperactivity is largely triggered by the family environment. They see it as a problem which needs to be dealt with by the family as a whole.
And some specialists claim that hyperactivity is a result of birth trauma, with a brief loss of oxygen during delivery causing brain damage that is so slight it cannot be detected in diagnostic tests. Another controversial theory holds certain food allergies responsible.
HOW IT'S DIAGNOSED
No laboratory test can diagnose hyperactivity, so identification is usually based on close observation of the child's behaviour by the parents, teachers and doctors, along with detailed interviews.
Treatment depends very much on the individual child and the point of view of the experts involved. Once any physical problems, such as hearing defects or other illnesses, have been dealt with and ruled out as the cause, treatment options may be considered.
CHOICE OF TREATMENTS
The more complex the problem is, the more likely it is that several different professionals will be involved in treatment. There are several main approaches:
• Behaviour modification therapy aims to change bad habits and improve the child's concentration. It rewards good behaviour and ignores bad behaviour.
• Psychotherapy helps children to understand their behavioural and emotional problems. Though useful, it's rarely enough on its own to treat hyperactivity.
• Family counselling can help a family see themselves as working together against a common problem, rather than against each other. It may also teach parents how to deal more effectively with their child's behaviour.
Medication can be a powerful remedy, but drugs are usually prescribed only in select cases. Surprisingly, amphetamines, which normally act as stimulants, seem to relax hyperactive children. Tranquillizers, such as diazepam, are rarely prescribed as they can make children even more unstable. Major tranquillizers, known as neuroleptics, may sometimes be prescribed in very low doses. The length of drug treatment will vary but all children will be able to come off medication eventually.
• Complementary therapies have had a mixed degree of success. The most popular include cranial osteopathy, acupuncture, art therapy and holding therapy.
• Diet modification therapy still remains a controversial treatment. Numerous experiments have failed to produce convincing evidence that it works, except in the few children whose symptoms are caused by food allergies.
POSITIVE OUTLOOK
Most hyperactive children grow calmer as they get older, and become easier to live with.
Often the child has been unable to make friends, so his social problems may remain and need to be dealt with as adolescence approaches. Learning difficulties may continue and remedial lessons may therefore be necessary.
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