Guidelines for living with a child having a short attention span and hyperactivity
ENFORCE rules with nonphysical punishment. Physical punishment suggests to your child that physical behavior is acceptable. We want to teach hyperactive children to be less aggressive. Your child needs adult models of control and calmness.
Use a friendly, matter-of-fact tone of voice to discipline your child. If you yell, your child will be quick to imitate you. Punish your child for misbehavior immediately. When your child breaks a rule, isolate him in a chair or time-out should last about 1 minute per year of your child's age. Without a time-out system, success is unlikely.
Stretch your child's attention span. Encouraging attentive (nonhyperactive) behavior is the key to preparing your child for school. Increased attention span and persistence with tasks can be taught at home. Don't wait until your child is of school age and expect the teacher to change him.
By five years of age he needs at least a 15-minute attention span to perform adequately. Set aside several brief periods each day to teach your child listening skills by reading to him. Start with picture books, and gradually progress to reading stories. Coloring pictures to encourage and praised.
Teach games to your child, gradually increasing the difficulty by starting with building blocks and processing to puzzles, dominoes, card games, and dice games. Matching pictures is an excellent way to build your child's memory and concentration span.
Later, consequence games, such as checkers or tic-tac-toe, can be introduced.
When your child becomes restless, stop and return to him later. Praise your child for attentive behavior. This process invaluable in preparing your child for school.
Buffer your child against any overreaction by neighbors. Ask neighbors with whom your child has contact to be helpers. If your child is labeled buy some adults as a "bad" kid, it is important that this image doesn't carry over into your home life. At home the attitude that must prevail is that your child is a good child with excess energy.
It is extremely important that you not give up on him. Your child must always feel loved and acceptance, his self-esteem will survive.
From time to time, get away from it all. Periodic breaks help parents to tolerate hyperactive behavior. If just the father works outside the home, he should try to look after the child when he comes home, not only to give his wife a deserved break but also to understand better what she must contend with during the day.
A babysitter one afternoon each week and an occasional evening out can provide much-needed breaks for an exhausted mother. Preschool is another helpful option. Parents need time to rejuvenate themselves so they can continue to meet their child's extra needs.
Use special programs at school. Try to start your child in preschool by three years of age to help him learn to organized his thoughts and develop his ability to focus. However, consider enrolling your child in kindergarten a year late (i.e., at 6 years old rather than 5) because the added maturity may help him fit in better with his classmate.
Once your child enters grade school, the school is responsible for providing appropriate programs for your child's ADD and any learning disability he might have. Some standard approaches use to help children with ADD are smaller class size, isolated study space, spaced learning techniques, and inclusion of the child in tasks such as erasing the blackboard (as outlets for excessive energy).
Many of these children spend part of their day with a teacher specializing in learning disabilities who helps to improve their skills and confidence. If you think your child has ADD and he has not been tested by the school's special education team, you can an evaluation. Usually you can obtain the help your child needs with schoolwork by working with the school through parent teacher conferences. Your main job is to continue to help your child improve his attention span and self-discipline, at home.
Medications are sometimes helpful. Stimulant drugs can improve a child's ability to concentrate. Discuss the drugs with your child's physician. In general, medications are not prescribed before school age. Medications without special education and home management programs have no long-term benefit. They need to be part of a broader program. (MTM)
