What Is ADHD?
February 24, 2017 l Adriana Mercuri
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ADHD is a common disorder in many young children.on average it affects 5% of school-aged children or about one in every 20 children.
Adhd is about three times more common in toys than girls.
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adhd interferes with a child's ability to:
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regulate activity level (hyperactivity)
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inhibit behaviour (impulsivity)
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attend to the task at hand (inattention)
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Adhd affects many areas of a child's functioning, including:
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self-control of behaviour
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school achievement
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development of social skills and positive relationships
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unless adhd is identified and properly treated, children with adhd are at higher risk for:
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school failure
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depression & anxiety
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problems with relationships
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substance abuse
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delinquency
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risk for accidental injuries
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job failure
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Importance of ADHD in Early Childhood Education
ADHD is very common in early childhood. It is evident in many classrooms and educators get very frustrated when they have a child with ADHD in their classroom. Children with this disorder are very energetic and may get into many arguments with their peers because they tend to understand the world around them differently.
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These are some ideas that educators can implement to help children with ADHD to focus in the classroom:
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Pause & create suspense by looking around before asking questions
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Randomly pick reciters so the children cannot time their attention
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Single that someone is going to have to answer a question about what is being said
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Use the child's name in a question or in the material being covered
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Ask a simple question to a child whose attention is beginning to wander
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Develop a private running joke between you and the child to re-involve you with the child
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These are all simple things an educator can do to grant the attention of a child with ADHD. It is very simple, but involves more effort than most educators want to put into the classroom.
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