Attention deficit disorder (ADD)

Attention deficit disorder or ADD,  is a situation that happens in almost every school in the country, the scenarios might be different but many Salvadorian children suffer from this disorder. We as teachers need to know how to act when we face these situations.

To begin i would like to explain that  attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) is characterized primarily by the symptoms   of inattention, easy distractibility, disorganization, procrastination and forgetfulness. When any of these symptoms are present in any children in our class, we have to take some measures to deal with the situation  without making the child feel bad or ashamed about himself. 

An interesting fact is that the symptoms of ADD are more present in children than in adults, this because, as adults is possible to make some cognitive correction by themselves. Now that we know these facts, we have to focus our attention not only in the children but also in the parents, because only working together with them we can create the best strategies to help the children to correct this dis

order. Although we can establish some strategies along side with the parents we should consult a specialist to give an opinion about the situation, and we should act based on that opinion.

There are different sub types of the ADHD which are characterized for having few or none hyperactivity symptoms, these are some of the symptoms that children, with ADHD, usually suffer from; Trouble keeping attention focused during play or tasks, excessive distractibility, procrastination, inability to begin an activity, and many others. Across the world there are five times more boys diagnosed with ADHD than girls, this may be due to boys being the stereotypical ADHD case, the situation is that both boys and girls have attention disorders, however, boys are more likely to be overactive and difficult to manage.

In most of the cases pf ADHD teachers and parents make wrong assumptions of their behavior and provide negative feedback, this might lead to school failures or withdrawal from the school. This also could lead to the children creating a bad self-image based on the feedback he receives, on some cases the children notices that he acts and behaves differently from his classmates, from those situations the children could face problems in society in the future. When people internalizes bad things that are say to them, they create a low self esteem. This situations could lead to more dangerous situations in which the children suffers from other psychological problems.

If well is truth the there are some drugs treatment available for the problem in the market, it would not be possible for most of Salvadorian children who suffer from this problem to afford the medication. Nevertheless, strategies that both parents and teachers can execute to help the children to overcome the difficult problem that faces.

"The energy to do anything, the focus to accomplish nothing."

Today we had an interesting experience in the class, an expert gave us a class about the ADHD, since almost everything from above was mentioned by her I will not repeat it, what I found most interesting about the class were the ways in which the ADHD can be treated, also what were the symptoms and the way they were usually misunderstood, by the parents, with a bad attitude from the children toward the study or a bad behavior in class, when these things happen the children are usually scolded by their behavior and this lead to mental scars that can last for a lifetime. 

Resources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder_predominantly_inattentive