Deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a medical issue where patients have differences in brain activity and development which affect their self-control, attention, and capacity of sitting still. In this case of a three-year-old boy whose mother claims he has ADHD and demands for medication, diagnosis of the ADHD disorder can have similarities to that of autism. This is because both diseases display the same characteristics in children; hence when diagnosing for ADHD in this boy, it is easy to mistake it with autism. The boy has hyperactivity which is a similar symptom for both ADHD and autism; hence he can have similarities when being diagnosed. When the doctor interacts with the boy during foreplay, he notices that the boy is playing well with his toys without signs of hyperactivity and this is a symptom of autism hence the diagnosis of ADHD in the boy can have a difference. However, symptoms of ADHD is the boy are manifested because when he returns to his mother, he displays aggressiveness, hyperactivity, and argumentative beaver when he returns to his mother. This is because the boy has problems with social interaction with people especially with people they often interact like his mother.
Children react differently to the medication of ADHD and doctors have to choose medicines which have fewer effects on a child. Depending on whether the ADHD condition is severe or not, the doctor should start medication on the boy by first giving him a low dose of stimulant. The stimulants which can be prescribed to the boy include amphetamine or methylphenidate. These stimulants will reduce the problem of still sitting behavior of the boy and his on-whim behavior (Greenhill et al., 2008). The stimulants will also help in improving the boy’s ability to learn and concentrate and reduce his argumentative behavior. If the stimulants do not react well on the boy, the doctor can prescribe different medications on the boy. The doctor can prescribe clonidine and atomoxetine which will help in making connections in the boy’s brain. They will also help in reducing restlessness of the boy and help the boy pay attention. The therapists can help the boy develop emotional, social and interaction skills to help reduce his argumentative behavior.
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ADHD medications on the boy can have short and long term effects. When stimulants are prescribed on the boy, they can make the boy lose his appetite and weight. Stimulants can also trigger sleeping problems on the boy and social withdrawal from other people (Greenhill et al., 2008). Medication of ADHD using non-stimulant drugs has side effects of drowsiness, nausea, and tiredness. When children take ADHD drugs for long, they cause long term effects on children. ADHD medication affects a child’s physical development where children under ADH drugs are an inch below the appropriate height as their age mates and six pounds less in weight.
The therapist needs to educate the family of the boy on ADHD disorder through training the boy’s parents either in a group or individually to facilitate his meeting with this family to carry out treatment therapy on the boy. According to Sonuga-Barke et al. (2001), training will offer education on ADHD to the parents which will help in improving their understanding of this disorder, the problem of their child’s behavior and development hence their argumentative behavior of the boy will reduce, and they will learn on how to handle the boy. They will also allow the therapist to carry out therapy sessions for their child. The parent training will help the parents in displaying parenting strategies towards the treatment of their child and lower disruptive behaviors by ignoring the kid’s behavior. The parents would support the treatment therapy either financially and socially and help the therapist carry out the entire session for twelve weeks. The therapist can use incredible years plan which helps in addressing the parents’ attitude towards the boy's disorder making them support therapist meetings with the boy for therapy sessions. This program helps in improving parents’ empathy on their child and educate them on the importance of health development in their child.
The therapist needs to ask questions on their child’s condition and listen more to acquire adequate information on the child’s health. Giving the family enough time to explain themselves provides them confidence and makes them comfortable to talk about their child’s problem. The therapist should emphasize on activities which teach a lesson to the family concerning ADHD condition. These lessons can include emotions and understanding of the state to help the family understand ADHD as a common disorder. When carrying out treatment therapy of a child, a therapist should develop a harmonious relationship to make the family of the child comfortable and supportive of the therapy session. The therapist should develop a positive situation by using the availability of a balanced understanding of the disorder as a particular tool for creating harmonious relationship during the therapy session. This will require the therapist to introduce energy in ADHD therapy as this will help the therapist to elevate the therapy situation at a time by avoiding achieving much at once. The therapist should not try to impose harmony to the family, but he should focus on evaluating the importance of carrying out a therapy session to help in improving their son’s condition.
References
Greenhill, L. L., Posner, K., Vaughan, B. S., & Kratochvil, C. J. (2008). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in preschool children . Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America, 17(2), 347-366.
Sonuga-Barke, E. J., Daley, D., Thompson, M., Laver-Bradbury, C., & Weeks, A. (2001). Parent-based therapies for preschool attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a randomized, controlled trial with a community sample . Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry , 40(4), 402-408.
