Yes, a child diagnosed with ADHD need some kind of behavior modification and is done through a Psychologist. That's why the medication itself is not going to solve the problem, doctors always recommend the medication along with Psychology treatment that will help the child deal with his/her frustrations and anxieties. When both things work together, you may be able to see an improvement in the child's behavior but not a complete cure since it is something the kid will have to deal with probably his/her whole life. It's not about curing but about to cope with it.
My Daughter has just been started on a behavior modification programme through school, although I have been given limited information on what it fully involves, I get the impression that it reverts the behavior back through 'channelling' the childs energy into something more positive, and moves the child away from them feeling that they are in control, to realizing that there are rules to be followed, and instructions must be carried out as required by the teacher. My Daughter has special needs, so has limited understanding of all involved, but by all the teachers taking the same stance, she does seem to be making progress.
The modification programme involves all teachers and headmaster, being continual and persistent in seeing tasks completed. So far, so good at least.
Well, I don't know fully what they are doing at school, but we have been told at home, that if she starts to have a build up of temper, she is to be warned that unless she calms down, she has got to leave the room. If the temper continues, we are to get hold of her hand, and walk her out of the room, where we are to ignore her protestations, even if she trys to lead us into conversation, we are to ignore it until she has calmed down and is ready to say 'sorry', then she is allowed back into the room. If she starts to build up her temper again, we are to repeat the process, and keep repeating.
If we ask her to do something, then we have to make sure that she fulfils the task, and cannot be let off.
Both us and the school have to work a sticker system, where she is rewarded for good behavior with a smiley face in her school book from us, followed by a sticker home from school.
We have an arrangement with school, that she does not receive any 'treats' at home, unless the teacher says that her behavior has been acceptable that day at school.
Sounds harsh? probably, but before Christmas, she was hanging on to her school place 'by a thread', since going back to school, after the New Year, and starting the behavior modification programme, she has 3 times won a headmaster's sticker award, and has had a sticker from school 3 times also.
She also is a lot happier about going to school, and although it's still early days, we are feeling a bit more optimistic.
One point also that I should mention, is that just before Christmas, her behavior had deteriorated so badly, that we had to attend school 3 times a week with her, since her behavior has improved in the New year, we haven't had to attend, as they only want her to recognize and associate us being there with her bad behavior. Whilst she is behaving acceptably, we are not required, if her behavior deteriorates, then once again we will have to attend, so she understands that we are only there when her behavior is totally unacceptable.
I'll be honest and say that I'm prepared to give anything that will help her a go, and feel that as it doesn't involve any 'corporal punishment' it's worth trying!
(I'll update after a few more weeks to let you know if it's working!)
I found the following information very useful, I'll work on it tonight and implement some tomorrow:
Excerpts from chapter 9
Fourteen Guiding Principles of Raising a Child with ADHD - 4/14
QUOTE |
1. Give Your Child More Immediate Feedback and Consequences ...children with ADHD seem much more under the control of the moment then normal children do. Either you become part of that moment or you will have little influence over your child with ADHD....when confronted by a job that they find tedious...children with ADHD will feel the urge to find something else to do. If you want them to stay at a task, you"ll have arrange for positive feedback that will make the task more rewarding, as well as mild negative consequences for a shift off task...whatever type of feedback you give, however, the more immediately it can be provided, the more effective it will be. 2. Give your child more frequent feedback Children with ADHD need feedback and consequences that are not just swift but also frequent...especially when you"re trying to change some form of significant misbehaviour. 3. Use larger and More Powerful Consequences Your child with ADHD will require more salient...consequences than other children to encourage him to perform work, follow rules, or behave well. This may seem to violate the common wisdom that children should not be materially rewarded too often because such rewards may replace intrinsic rewards such as the pleasure of reading, the desire to please parents and friends, the pride of mastering a job or new activity, or the esteem of peers for playing a game well. But these forms of reinforcement or reward are much less likely to influence children with ADHD to behave well.... 4. Use Incentives before punishment It is common for parents to resort to punishment when a child misbehaves or disobeys. This may be all right for a child without ADHD, who misbehaves only occasionally and thus receives a small amount of punishment. It is not all right for a child with ADHD, who is likely to misbehave much more often and could receive a great deal of negative consequences. Punishment, when used alone...is not very effective at changing behaviour. It usually leads to resentment and hostility in your child, and eventually to the child's avoidance of you. Sometimes it can even lead to efforts at countercontrol: Your child tries to find ways to strike back...Frequently remind yourself of this rule: positives before negatives...The rule of using positives before negatives is simple: When you want to change an undesirable behaviour, first decide what positive behaviour you want to replace it with.... 5. Externalize time and Bridge Time when Necessary Children with ADHD...do not have the same sense of time as normal children, they cannot respond to demands that involve timelines and preparation for the future as well as other can. They need some external reference to the time period allowed for an assigned task. ...Use any means you can to externalize the time interval and to give the child a more accurate way of marking time during the work period. For tasks that involve much longer time intervals....you will need to bridge time-that is, break the assignment into small daily steps so that a little piece of the task is done every day. By bridging time, you are building little steps across the gap in time between when the work was assigned and when it may be due. 6. Externalize the Important Information at the Point of Performance Because working memory, or the ability to keep in mind information necessary to complete a task, is impaired significantly in children with ADHD...place important information in a physical form at the point where the work has to be done...point of performance-a phrase Dr. Sam Goldstein invented to refer to a critical place and time for performing a task...place on the table a card listing important rules and reminders such..."as ask for help if you need it". These reminders should be tailored to address the problems that each child has at the point of performance. 7. Externalize the Source of Motivation at the Point of Performance ...children with ADHD have trouble internalizing not only time and rules but also motivation. They are not able to muster the internal motivation frequently needed to stay with the work that is otherwise boring...This deficit in intrinsic motivation can be overcome to a large extent by giving the child external motivation boost such as incentive... 8. Make Thinking and Problem Solving More Physical Children with ADHD do not seem to be able ot play around with mental information as well as others when they must stop and think about a situation or problem...it may be more helpful..to find ways ot represent a problem and its alternative solutions in a more physical way. (typing and cutting out sections to move around, instead of printing) 9. Strive for Consistency You must use the same strategies for managing your child's behaviour every time. Applying consistency means four things: (1) being consistent over time, (2) not giving up too soon when you are just starting a behaviour change program, (3) responding in the same fashion even when the setting changes, and (4) making sure that both parents are using the same methods. ..Try a behaviour program for at least two weeks before deciding it isn't working. 10. Act, don't yak! Gr. Goldstein said it beautifully when he advised parents to stop talking and use consequences. Your child does not lack intelligence, skill, or reasoning, so simply talking to the child won't change the underlying neurological problem that makes her so unihibitied. Your child is much more sensitive to the consequences and feedback you use and much less sensitive to your reasoning, than is a child without ADHD. 11. Plan ahead for problem situations I am often struck by parents' ability, when pressed, to predict where there children are likely to misbehave. So I am surprised by how often few seem ot put this information to good use. Try these 5 steps before entering a problem area. I)Stop before entering the site of a potential problem area. ii)Review 2 or 3 rules that child often has problems following in that situation. iii)Set up the reward or incentive. iv)Explain the punishment v)Follow your plan. Give your child immediate and frequent feedback. 12. Keep a Disability Perspective When faced with a difficult ot manage child, parents may lose all perspective of the immediate problem. You must remember that at all times you are the adult; you are his disabled teacher and coach. 13. Don't personalize your Child's problems or disorder Don't conclude that you are a bad parent when a situation goes wrong or does not turn out as you wanted. 14. Practice forgiveness First, at the end of each day, take just a moment to review and forgive your child's transgressions. Let go of personally destructive emotions that have arisen. The child can not always control what he does and deserves to be forgiven. Second, concentrate on forgiving others who may have misunderstood your child's innappropriate behaviour that day. You know better: don't buy into what others think about your child. Finally, you must learn to practive forging yourself for your own mistakes in the management of your child that day. Children with ADHD have the capacity to bring out the worst in parents... |
Video-led feedback program reduces behavior problems in children as young as 12 months. A home-based parenting program to prevent childhood behavior problems, which very unusually focuses on children when they are still toddlers and, in some cases, just 12 months old, has proven highly successful during its first public health trial. Source 5w.