Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Syndrome, Fidgety Phil Syndrome, Psychoorganic Syndrome (POS), Hyperactivity Syndrome, Hyperkinetic Syndrome (HKS), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, Attention – Deficit – Hyperactivity – Disorder (ADHD), minimal brain syndrome, behavioral disorder with attention and concentration disorder, Fidgety Phil, ADHD.
Definition
There are three different forms of attention deficit syndrome. These are:
- Attention deficit syndrome without hyperactivity: ADD
- The attention deficit syndrome with hyperactivity: ADHD
- A mixture of the first two forms of attention deficit disorder
The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Syndrome comprises a distinctly inattentive, impulsive behaviour, which manifests itself over a longer period of time (about six months) in several areas of life (kindergarten/school, at home, leisure time). Due to the very variable and at times below average ability to build up attention, other areas (German and/or mathematics) are often affected by problems at school.
Many ADHD children develop a reading, spelling, LRS and / or arithmetic weakness. In addition, ADHD children can also be highly gifted. As individual as the symptoms of ADHD can be, the therapy has to be adjusted.
There are different therapeutic approaches that can be used in the case of a clearly diagnosed attention deficit syndrome with hyperactivity. There are different forms of therapy that can be applied with regard to ADHD. As already mentioned several times, it is individually different, which therapy is to be aimed at in each case.
Multimodal therapy, i.e. a therapy that is composed of many different factors and relates to the individual case, has proven itself in many respects. In principle, a distinction is made between three different forms of therapy:
- The drug therapy
- Psychotherapeutic and curative education therapy with its various possibilities
- Nutritional therapy with its various possibilities. A therapy can never be just a matter of “twice an hour therapy per week” or similar.
The therapy sessions, which are organised and carried out by specialists, are merely “supports”. The newly “learned” and discussed must be continued and developed at home. Therefore, in all three mentioned forms of therapy, the support of the ADHD child in the home environment must be added.
Only in the community and cooperation between the ADHD child, his parents (family), the therapist can a therapy succeed. It is also important to inform the school environment (class teacher, teacher) of the individual therapy steps, so that a holistic approach is possible. The description of possible ADHD therapies should on the one hand give an insight into the variety of therapies and on the other hand also inform about the individual possibilities so that the appropriate therapeutic approach can be found in the interest of your child.
The list makes no claim to completeness. Probably the most controversial form of therapy with regard to ADHD is drug therapy, even though many ADHD patients have achieved good results with the help of certain drugs. This critical attitude is often based on the fact that ADHD medication is a psychotropic drug, usually a stimulant that influences the psychological functions.
They therefore have an effect on mood, affectivity and emotionality and thus also on the ability to pay attention, impulsiveness and the (inner) drive. Ritalin is one of the most common drugs in ADHD therapy. Its active ingredient is the so-called methylphenidate, an amphetamine-like substance that belongs to the group of stimulants.
It is therefore a substance that stimulates, i.e. stimulates, the nerve cells in the brain in order to increase mental performance. In the majority of patients, Ritalin can improve the symptoms. As with any drug, side effects occur occasionally.
With Ritalin these are very diverse and unfortunately quite common. However, in most cases they are mild psychological complaints that disappear after some time. Typical are loss of appetite, sleep disorders, depressive mood, anxiety, restlessness, nervousness, etc.
It is not always easy to distinguish these side effects from the actual ADHD symptoms. The doctor must therefore draw the patient’s attention to these undesirable effects at the start of medication so that the patient can recognise them as such and observe whether they disappear again. If Ritalin is not tolerated, there are many other drugs with similar mechanisms of action and different side effect profiles.
Antidepressants are drugs that improve mood. As they work regardless of the cause of the mood, they are used not only for depression but also for many psychiatric disorders. They are also occasionally used in ADHD because these drugs also improve signal transmission in the brain via other mechanisms of action.
However, due to the numerous side effects and the more tolerable and effective alternatives such as methylphenidate, the antidepressants are not the drug of choice in ADHD therapy. However, if the patients also suffer from depression, which occurs more often than average in ADHD, antidepressants may still be indicated. Due to the problematic properties of the drugs, however, strict monitoring of the therapy by a doctor is necessary. Not only do side effects occur frequently, but the effect also occurs at different rates and to different degrees in each patient. Permanent medication with these drugs must therefore be well considered.
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