Its been a challenging day. Nothing out of the ordinary though. The usual tussle in getting my son to brush his teeth, sitting on his throne, having breakfast, doing his homework, eating lunch and dinner. In between, the temper tantrums, kicking his baby brother, experimenting on his baby brother i.e putting little things into his mouth, placing his cup of milk on the floor and giving it a kick, kicking anyone he sees and shouting.
Although there was nothing out of the ordinary here, I felt a little different this time. The challenge of handling him became tougher after knowing he has ADHD. While the discipline is consistent, I had to constantly remind myself that whatever he did was unintentional and he had no idea why he was doing it.
So do I punish him or do I just talk to him? Do I ignore him? I did all of it, as I believe my son is very intelligent and he has no problem understanding clear instructions. He simply chooses to ignore them. Depending on the severity of the issue at hand, I will either punish him or simply talk to him. Others that are not too urgent, i ignore them for the sake of both us.
I believe when a child is constantly given clear directions and is reminded why its important to behave and follow certain rules, it will eventually sink deep inside their subconscious mind. With strong foundations and values, even the most difficult child will be able to remember the guidance drummed into them during their childhood days.
Of course the key is to be consistent.
Friday 18 March 2011
Thursday 17 March 2011
Surviving ADHD
The day my son was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), I was sad, confused and even a little angry but I wasn't surprised. I needed a confirmation but I suppose deep down I didn't want to be right. I realized he isn't exactly an ordinary Joe, which prompted me to see a child psychologist in the first place.
He is 4 1/2 years old and he has all this while been hyperactive, aggressive, unable to sit still, impulsive, destructive and very sensitive. We also see him as a boisterous little fellow who is full of life, love and amazing vision and intelligence. He understands everything he listens to and watches.
So it was only normal for us to think, he demonstrated what any child, at his age would do and that it only gets better as he grows older. Denial? Perhaps. But in all fairness, I did take him to a clinical psychologist at a hospital in Subang when he was 3. She told me it was too early to diagnose him with ADHD or anything and that I had to wait at least another year to be sure. Well, that's that and we are sure now. But he's going to be 5 soon and therapy becomes much more difficult.
If there is one lesson I learnt from here, it's to always listen to your intuition. When you think something is not quite right or normal, seek help immediately. Even as a baby, he hardly slept. He woke up almost every hour at night and needed to be rocked to fall asleep. During the day, he slept only for 10 minutes at the most for every 5 hours he was awake. Stressful? You bet! Normal? Certainly not!
But despite consulting pediatricians, nothing helped. It was just brushed off as something that I had to live with- a child who had trouble sleeping. After 2 years old, he was better at sleeping. But his terrible two started at 18 months and its an on-going affair till today.
Now, after speaking to the psychologist, I find out, its not normal and babies who do not get enough sleep would eventually have problems.Things could have been different if therapy had begun when he was at least 3 years old. However on a more positive note, its not too late! I am determined to make life easier for him and for all of us.
I will be consulting another doctor to double confirm if its ADHD on Thursday. Hope that goes well. Meantime, I am literally at the computer researching on ADHD and alternative methods to help my son. Top of the list is his diet and Dr Bach's flower remedies.
I will be posting his progress and how we are 'surviving ADHD'. So here's to my new regime and programme-willing to try anything and giving an update on his well-being.
He is 4 1/2 years old and he has all this while been hyperactive, aggressive, unable to sit still, impulsive, destructive and very sensitive. We also see him as a boisterous little fellow who is full of life, love and amazing vision and intelligence. He understands everything he listens to and watches.
So it was only normal for us to think, he demonstrated what any child, at his age would do and that it only gets better as he grows older. Denial? Perhaps. But in all fairness, I did take him to a clinical psychologist at a hospital in Subang when he was 3. She told me it was too early to diagnose him with ADHD or anything and that I had to wait at least another year to be sure. Well, that's that and we are sure now. But he's going to be 5 soon and therapy becomes much more difficult.
If there is one lesson I learnt from here, it's to always listen to your intuition. When you think something is not quite right or normal, seek help immediately. Even as a baby, he hardly slept. He woke up almost every hour at night and needed to be rocked to fall asleep. During the day, he slept only for 10 minutes at the most for every 5 hours he was awake. Stressful? You bet! Normal? Certainly not!
But despite consulting pediatricians, nothing helped. It was just brushed off as something that I had to live with- a child who had trouble sleeping. After 2 years old, he was better at sleeping. But his terrible two started at 18 months and its an on-going affair till today.
Now, after speaking to the psychologist, I find out, its not normal and babies who do not get enough sleep would eventually have problems.Things could have been different if therapy had begun when he was at least 3 years old. However on a more positive note, its not too late! I am determined to make life easier for him and for all of us.
I will be consulting another doctor to double confirm if its ADHD on Thursday. Hope that goes well. Meantime, I am literally at the computer researching on ADHD and alternative methods to help my son. Top of the list is his diet and Dr Bach's flower remedies.
I will be posting his progress and how we are 'surviving ADHD'. So here's to my new regime and programme-willing to try anything and giving an update on his well-being.
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