ADHD and other neuropsychiatric disorders
The term ‘neuropsychiatric disorder’ is used for any psychiatric problem whose cause is unknown but believed by many professionals to be the result of some kind of disturbance in brain functioning. Put simply, when “neuro” is attached to the words “psychiatric” or “psychological”, the suggestion being made is that the problem is neurological (i.e. nervous-system-related) rather than psychological.
ADHD, Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) and Tourette’s Syndrome are popular neuropsychiatric diagnoses. ADHD, an acronym for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is used for children who are hyperactive and find it difficult to concentrate. Asperger’s Syndrome is a diagnosis used for children who are of normal intelligence but whose social behaviour is abnormal and resembles in some ways the kinds of problem frequently encountered in individuals who are autistic. A diagnosis of Tourette’s Syndrome is used for children who suffer from a variety of involuntary movements such as tics or vocalisations and often also exhibit obsessive or compulsive behaviours.
The effects of neuropsychiatric diagnosis
For children, a neuropsychiatric diagnosis is double-edged, with both positive and negative consequences. The positive consequences include
- parents and teachers finally having an explanation as to why a child is different
- parents and teachers can avoid feeling blame or being blamed
- the diagnosed child is handled with extra understanding by both parents and teachers
- the diagnosed child receives additional help at school
Negative consequences include
- children with neuropsychiatric diagnoses often being prescribed psychiatric drugs. While these may reduce symptoms in the short run, they may cause many problems in the longer term.
- diagnosed children often beginning to think they are handicapped in some way and therefore unable to influence their own behaviour
- a diagnosed child’s parents starting to regard their child as permanently handicapped and consequently losing motivation to help them improve by learning new behaviours
The best way of preventing children from bullying each other is to help them develop skills that promote friendship, collaboration and caring for others. Two such skills – apologising and defending – are particularly relevant when bullying is occurring.
Kids’Skills and neuropsychiatric diagnoses
The diagnosis a child may have received is not important when you use the Kids’Skills steps. What does matter is the skills they need to learn in order for them to be happier and get along better with family members and friends. The possible neurological or psychological causes of a child’s problems are also unimportant. In all cases, your task is to work out the skills your child should learn in order to be happier and improve their functioning.
How to proceed
If your child has received a neuropsychiatric diagnosis, use the Kids’Skills steps to help them in exactly the same way you would if the diagnosis didn’t exist. List their problems, or the different symptoms that the neuropsychiatric disturbance is responsible for. Continue by working out, problem-by-problem or symptom-by-symptom, which skills they need to learn to overcome or reduce the problems or symptoms you have listed.
For example, children diagnosed with ADHD often have a number of different problems that are all related, in one way or another, to motor skills, concentration ability or impulse control. Whatever problems or symptoms have been identified, they can be converted into skills your child can learn with the help of the Kids’Skills steps. For example, if one of the problems is difficulty in coping with feeling of disappointment, a skill your child should learn is how to develop more mature ways of coping with disappointment.
Synopsis
Neuropsychiatric diagnoses are nothing but medical names for syndromes, or cocktails of symptoms. To help children with neuropsychiatric diagnosis, forget about the diagnosis and focus on the problems of the child. Convert all the child’s problems into skills the child needs to become better at. Let the child participate in deciding where to start and ensure that learning the skill is fun and rewarding for the child by taking advantage of the steps of Kids’ Skills. When a child has succeeded in becoming better at one skill, he or she will be motivated to improve other skills as well.
This article is owned by: Kids’Skillshttps://www.kidsskills.org/WP-fin/
