Assoc. Prof., Faculty Member, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Gülhane Faculty of Medicine, University of Health Sciences. Dr. İbrahim Durukan said that the most important cause of hyperactivity is genetic predisposition.
Durukan explained that hyperactivity is a disease that occurs in the brain as a result of the interaction of environmental and biological factors such as the mother's smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy, difficult and problematic birth, and premature birth.
Occurs in preschool ages
According to Durukan, hyperactivity begins at preschool ages. Compared to their peers with healthy development, children have symptoms such as difficulty sustaining attention and hyperactivity.
The prevalence of hyperactivity disorder in school-age children is 5 percent. One in every 20 children is diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Durukan stated that children are usually diagnosed after the age of 6 due to increasing complaints during the primary school period, and said:
“Teachers say that children cannot pay attention to the lesson, their attention span is shorter than their peers, that they read the questions incorrectly in exams and are active during the lesson, that they persistently talk without speaking, while parents say that they cannot take care of school belongings, cannot sit at the beginning of the lesson for a long time, their academic success is low, they do not include games.” They say that they get bored of everything very quickly, that they often have problems in their relationships with friends, and that they often have to go to hospital emergency clinics due to clumsiness. In order to make a diagnosis, the problems must occur in at least two different environments such as school, home or friends, and must continue for at least 6 months. “The complaints should not appear after situations that cause psychosocial stress, such as divorce, death, or chronic diseases.”
The diagnosis must be made by a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. During the diagnosis process, after the psychiatric examination of the child, the specialist must send forms and scales regarding the current problems to the teacher and family. Afterwards, the family and teacher make observations and evaluations. Durukan continued as follows:
“Based on the data and observations obtained as a result of all these evaluation methods, a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is made. It is common for families not to accept the situation after diagnosis. “To prevent this, it is very useful for the attending physician to inform the family about the causes and nature of the disease, the treatment process and the course.”
School-family-physician collaboration
Assoc. Dr. İbrahim Durukan says that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can be improved with medication.
"In addition to drug treatment, informing the family about the disease and school-family-physician cooperation are also very important," Durukan said:
“Parents should be determined and consistent with their children. Clear boundaries must be set for their children. The child should know that studying is the responsibility of all students, and this should be clearly expressed to the child, and the child should not be rewarded for studying. A workable study program, including lessons and other activities at home, should be prepared together and written down. These children's rooms should be simple and quiet, without the sound of television, telephone or music. "There should be only study materials on the study table, preparations should be completed before starting to study, and there should be no pictures or toys that will distract attention."
What happens if the diagnosis is made late?
Durukan listed the problems that may occur when attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is not diagnosed or diagnosed late as follows:
They have difficulty adapting to the school environment. Academic success always lags behind the child's mental capacity. They have problems establishing and maintaining friendship relationships. They tend to be friends with problem children in adolescence and adulthood. They cannot maintain continuity in their business and marriage lives. They tend to change jobs frequently and divorce. They are more likely to encounter legal problems. They tend to start using alcohol and substances more frequently and at an earlier age than their peers.
Some parents think that medication may cause some problems. Durukan says that drug treatment does not cause developmental delay or infertility.
Source: AA
