Useful Tips To Treat ‘Hyperactivity’ In Children
If you notice your kid getting more squirmy, fussy, fidgety or restless lately; and if it is becoming increasingly difficult for you to control him/her, chances are that he/she may be suffering from hyperactivity.
Hyperactivity and its symptoms
Contrast to the popular notion that hyperactivity is a disorder that can be cured only by medical treatment, it is known that the issue can also be dealt with natural remedies. In either case, the parents of the kid suffering from the issue play an important role, and need to take active participation in the treatment in order to achieve fruitful results.
There is no standard/established meaning for the disorder called Hyperactivity. In general terms, a kid who is said to be suffering from the issue is known to move around constantly without any specific purpose.
Hyperactive kids find it very difficult to concentrate on one particular thing and get very irritable when they are forced to do just that. Apart from this well known sign, hyperactive children exhibit several other symptoms.
These include constantly moving about, not being able to sit still in one place, fidgeting all the time, talking incessantly (too much for their age), not being able to play with others, not being able to follow directions and not being able to concentrate on simple tasks like doing homework, eating etc.
Certain Facts to be concerned about
It is an established fact that hyperactivity affects about 3-5% children and that boys are more likely (almost 5 times higher risk) to contract the issue than girls. Hyperactivity in children also stems from hereditary problems wherein a member of the family (anyone in the family tree) might have passed it down to your sibling.
Some hyperactive children are also diagnosed with another ailment called ADHD. Short for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, this ailment is an aggravated form of hyperactivity. And although the symptoms are the same for both ailments, it needs to be noted that not all kids suffering from hyperactivity contract ADHD.
For example, common problems like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, behavior issues, allergies, low blood sugar, nutritional deficiencies, tourette’s syndrome, family problems, learning disabilities and lack of sleep etc. can be easily confused with ADHD; and need to be reviewed thoroughly before commencing treatment.
Some children tend to suffer from hyperactivity owing to certain allergies that aggravate the issue. Foods like sugar substitutes, oranges, food additives, or wheat can cause allergies in children which in turn lead to hyperactivity. Checking for possible allergies upon noticing signs of hyperactivity in a child can help his/her parents curb the issue before it is too late.
Diagnosis Tools
In almost all the cases of hyperactivity in kids, it has been found out that parents do not know about their kids’ issue until they enroll him/her in a school. His/her behavior at home may have gone unnoticed or ignored as being normal for a kid his/her age.
However in school, the kid mixes with a group of other children. And most often than not, his/her teacher would be able to find out pretty soon as to whether he/she is suffering from hyperactivity or not.
As soon as a teacher points out a kid’s behavior problems at school and indicates the possible effect of hyperactivity, the next step taken by his/her respective parents would be to seek professional help.
A qualified professional or expert would be able to ascertain the reason for the child’s behavior and try to correlate the findings with hyperactivity and its symptoms. Once the issue is found out, appropriate treatment can be started for the child.
Ways to treat hyperactivity in children
Most if not all parents out there who have hyperactive children ask for treatments or procedures that would enable them to completely control their kid and stop his/her erratic behavior immediately. However, this is not the case, for hyperactivity, although common, is tough to cure and can take a long time (even several months in certain cases).
There are three standard treatment protocols that can be followed for hyperactive children. They include prescription drugs, natural remedies or behavior therapy. It is highly recommended that parents opt for the last two options and check for positive results from the same before deciding on choosing the first option for further treatment.
Natural Remedies:
Aromatherapy is one of the most common methods employed to treat hyperactive children. The use of essential oils like lavendar, lemon balm, chamomile and valerian etc. or combinations of the same can have a calming effect on children who find it difficult to concentrate.
Hyperactivity in children can also be cured by a number of natural medications. Most of these medications come in the form of natural calming herbs which manage to achieve the same purpose as mentioned above. These herbs however need to be completely digested in order to start working. And so, the best option in this case would be to visit a herbalist who would be able to prescribe the medications (or supplements) depending on the severity of the issue.
Behavior Therapy:
Behavior therapy plays an important part in curing children who suffer from hyperactivity. And even though the professional touch of a qualified individual would be of immense help, as mentioned above, it is up to the parents to take some time off and help their children through the process.
Since hyperactivity is characterized by constant restlessness and fidgeting, parents need to understand that their kid would not be able to follow simple instructions like sitting still in class or at home, or doing some activity.
In these cases, the best way to help their kid concentrate on the task at hand is to give him/her another secondary activity to do while concentrating on the first task. For example, listening to music, scribbling on a notepad, playing with a ball or other similar physical tasks would enable him/her to increase his/her concentration and finish the work alloted to him/her quickly.
Prescribed Medications:
This should most probably be the last option for parents who find all the other well known treatment regimes fruitless. Accordingly, there are certain psychostimulants that can calm down hyperactive children and enable them to concentrate better.
However, most if not all of these medications come with side effects which can have adverse afffects on the child’s health if not administered properly. In the worst case scenario, some of these drugs have caused sudden deaths in children who suffer from hyperactivity.
Always make sure to check with a qualified professional about these medications before starting them on your kid. Make it a point to point out any allergies that might directly or indirectly cause an unwanted reaction after the prescribed medicines are consumed.
