Joanna Smith (ADHD In Children)
Joanna Smith, a Specialist Occupational Therapist and ADHD Practitioner at Healios, provides expert insight into raising and supporting children with ADHD. In this conversation, sh...
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Who are you?
Hi, my name is Joe. Ask me anything about A-D-H-D-A-D-H-D assessments and how best to get support.
What early signs of ADHD should parents look for in their children?
So there can be signs of A DHD from a really, really early age. So you can see that A DHD behaviours can present themselves in when kids are really, really little. So we're thinking about preschool age, where maybe you're seeing them flitting between things more often than their pals, or maybe they're kind, oh, you know what? Can't plunk 'em in front of the tally while I gave me a cup of tea just for 10 minutes, because they're on the go and they're crawling around trying to get in and out of everything. But what's also important to recognise, a lot of that is just typical childhood development as well. But it's something that will probably come into play that little bit more. Reflecting back as your child gets a little bit older. So often children will come into A DHD assessment services around the age of seven or eight, where you're seeing the challenges in school arise, where there's a little bit less play base. There is in things like preschool reception year one, when you're getting into year two and year three, then you're starting to see, oh, there's a little bit more sitting down, concentrating and having to engage that way. So that's when you may notice the challenges more. Oh, they're daydreaming a lot, or they're really, really on the go and they really struggle to stay seated. Or they may be wandering around the classroom when they're not supposed to. You may find at home that it's difficult to get 'em to sit down for their dinner. Oh, you know what? They need some sauce. They need to go to the loo. They need a drink. Oh, I'll go get the forks. Don't worry. Everyone else sit down. You may see them finding those excuses to move. Or also things like struggling to sleep. You may find it gets to bedtime and suddenly your little has got the most amazing questions in the world, but they've got a million of them and they need to go to sleep. You may find that they're trying to postpone that sleep more than you'd expect a kid to, because they know that they find it really tricky. So those are lots of different things that you can keep an eye out for if you do have any concerns about A DHD. And I would also always recommend, as well as chatting to someone like your child's teacher to see, oh, have you noticed any of these things as well? Just to make sure you're all on the same page.
How can parents/caregivers support a child who is struggling at home or school?
So different ways that you can support your child, and that can really vary depending on what they're finding. Tricky. It could be making sure that you're accessing the right support that's available to you. So sometimes having something like a sat down meeting with your child's teacher or just with someone that you can really trust in that school environment to say, actually, my child's saying they're finding A, B and C really difficult. Do you notice that? And is there anything we can do to make school a little bit easier or a little bit better for them? Schools will have packs of resources for children who have probably struggled with similar things throughout their time being in that school. So they'll be able to give you a first line of support in ways to help with attention or help with restlessness within the classroom and moving forward from that, you can also access support from your GP if you've got any concerns regarding your child's mental health or concerns regarding potential A DHD, and they'll be able to signpost you in the right direction to be able to support your child from early on when they're showing these challenges rather than waiting till later.