|
Page 1 of 2 Dr. Billy Levin discusses the importance of an early and correct diagnosis of ADHD in children and using medication, especially Ritalin, if necessary, as part of the ADHD treatment program.
ABSTRACT
Children with a neurological dysfunction are clinically diagnosable, medically treatable and if managed correctly can be given the opportunity to function at a normal level. Without recognition and treatment, they appear to be disruptive and disobedient through no fault of their own, and cannot respond to the usual disciplinary means. Safe medication and effective management are vital issues.
Behaviour Problems and the Need for ADHD Medication
Discipline is vital for children, and children need discipline. Every average parent with good intentions is able to provide adequate discipline to a greater or lesser degree, and equally, the average child is able to benefit from that discipline making the exercise, both for the parents and for the child, worthwhile. There are, however, some children who appear to need more discipline than others, and there are some parents whose method of disciplining is not always ideal. As long as both the parents and the child fall into the average acceptable range, there will be ultimate success for both the parents and the child.
What concerns and interest me most is a small group of children, who because they happen to be different from other children, will not benefit from the usual form of disciplining through no fault of there own. They have what we call a cerebral disjunction. In itself, the disjunction is not an abnormality, but it does make these children unique. In fact, they appear to have a brain that functions differently from other children and require different approaches to achieve success in the domain of discipline. For example, what would happen if a very enthusiastic music teacher tried to teach a child, who was totally tone deaf to sing, and the teacher was unaware that the child had no ear for music. The teacher would enthusiastically attempt to teach, eventually become frustrated, and probably become antagonistic to the child who would not learn. She would blame the child, not knowing that he had an inability to appreciate musical sounds. The child in turn would attempt to try, fail, feel upset, make more effort, still fail, ultimately give up and become antagonistic and resentful to any further tutoring. Picture the scene now - an aggressive teacher demanding, and a resentful antagonistic student - hardly an ideal setting for learning. If the teacher was unaware of the tone deafness and the child never received adequate help, there would be no success.
There is a small group of children, unfortunately, who do have a learning disability related to brain function. They would fit into this category where the ordinary disciplining would not be successful. The child, through no fault of its own, would not achieve what its parents would want. The situation would be identical to the music teacher and her despondent pupil. If left unresolved, the child would not learn, the child would stop bothering, and would eventually drop out, and the parents would ultimately give up. This need not be the case if the condition is diagnosed and treated.
Before it is recognised, there has to be knowledge that the condition exists. It needs to be understood, and thereafter to be treated correctly to bring a situation into focus where the child is able to learn. At that point only can the parents start applying average disciplining methods and the child will start to benefit from those approaches.
I would like to define the condition as a Neurological Inadequacy due to mainly genetically inherited maturational variations. These are mainly immaturities of the left hemisphere of the brain, but occasionally excessive development of the right hemisphere. When the left hemisphere is immature, we have an "attentional deficit" disability without hyperactivity (Learning Problem). With right hemispheric dominance, due to excessive development, we have an "attentional deficit" with hyperactivity (Behavior Problem).
The right hemisphere is a doing, practical and temperamental brain which is also musical and artistic. The left brain has to do with language, concentrates on verbal input, sequences things and is organised. This would imply that to learn adequately you have to have a left brain that matures so that it can listen, put things into a sequence, first think before it acts, and focus attention on the spoken word. Without these facilities learning is difficult. Couple that to the fact that if the right brain dominates, the child is hasty, tends to do without thinking, is very much more visual, and invariably, temperamental.
This genetic pattern might, in time, improve as maturity takes place, but by the time the child acquires the talents that he needs he has already lost out. He now has to recoup and catch up in a hostile world. Almost impossible! Learning, in fact then involves not only learning in the strict sense of academic learning, but also learning to behave, learning to socialise, learning to comply.
This genetically inherited pattern can be recognised from a very early age, if seen by somebody who understands the condition. The biggest problem at the moment is too little is generally known about a condition that very definitely exists and can be recognised, provided that the investigator has the knowledge. Equally, it can be very successfully treated by a team using two main areas of involvement, namely medication and management.
On the one hand, we would see that to understand, accept and know how to help the condition would be labeled management. The other is medical treatment that can be used most successfully to rectify the cerebral dysfunction. Management on its own will have some value, but where the medication is correctly used, the combination is devastatingly successful. Where medication is not used, when it is urgently needed, then the outcome for the child, his parents, family and the teacher is devastatingly disastrous.
|
