Last updated 15:38, Thursday, 23 October 2008

NEW guidelines on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder suggest that parents nee lessons on how to cope with their children's unruly behaviour - rather than resporting to drugs.
The Naitonal Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said drugs such as Ritalin should be avoided - and must not be given at all to children under five years old. FRASER ROBERTSON reports

POSITIVE: Barrow mum Yvonne Forresterbelieves parenting classes were useful to help her son SHEENAH ALCOCK REF: 0290066

ATTENTION deficit hyperactivity disorder, more commonly know as ADHD, is typically characterised by impulsiveness, hyperactivity and inattention.

It is believed that any primary school class is likely to have a child with ADHD.

However, most of the 365,000 children in Britain with ADHD receive no treatment at all.

Of those who do, most – around 37,000 – are prescribed stimulants like Ritalin (methylphenidate), which is said to reduce impulsive behaviour and help concentration.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Ritalin works for some children but not others.

Barrow mum Yvonne Forrester’s son, David, was diagnosed with ADHD when he was eight years old and he was on Ritalin for almost two years.

But Mrs Forrester said the drug made little difference and it was parenting classes that finally reconnected her and her husband to David.

She explained: “David was diagnosed when he was eight and we didn’t let him go on Ritalin until he was about 12 but it got to the stage that nothing else was working. It took two or three years before we let him go on it – it is a class A drug.

“It didn’t work for him. If it does work for children, it can be very good for them but there are side effects.”

David is now 18 and applying to join the army and Mrs Forrester added: “A lot of children do grow out of it or can contain it. He’s not as bad now and has changed an awful lot.” There is help at hand locally for parents or guardians who feel uncomfortable with giving their children such a drug or for whom it hasn’t helped.

Courses and advice are available in Barrow for people with children suffering from ADHD.

One place to go is the NCH Furness Family Centre on Abbey Road, which runs 10-week parenting workshops aimed at people whose children have, or might have, ADHD.

Glenn Wright, from the centre, said: “It’s not restricted – if people think there is something wrong with their child they can come along and find out about using behaviour techniques, as well as working with the children. It’s about getting parents to feel that they have a place they can talk about difficulties so they feel part of a group and then we can give advice on the characteristics of ADHD and what they can do.”

The Positive Parenting Programme looks at the characteristics of ADHD and how parents can develop their relationship with their child, taking these characteristics into account, as well as positive ways of looking at the child’s behaviour and ways to change it – rather than just labelling them naughty or disruptive.

Children with ADHD don’t necessarily display all the symptoms and Ms Wright added: “A child might be more impulsive or more hyperactive, for example, while some show the full range. We look at what strategies we can use and what kind of things are available. There are different techniques that can be used so people get a varied range of different things that can help with their children’s behaviour.”

She added: “Some of it is about understanding where it (the behaviour) is coming from. If a child is impulsive, for example, it could be a case of trying to keep them calm before that takes off and trying to remember that they don’t mean it.

“Self-esteem building is very important – even if a child does something wrong a parent can say ‘I don’t like what you did, it’s not that I don’t like you’.”

Giving clear, calm and consistent instructions, only giving one or two instructions at a time and talking face-to-face can also help, while techniques like diet control can also be used.

It can be beneficial for parents to share experiences and Ms Wright said: “Quite often, the child will be seen as naughty, either by the parents or other people, and we look at how to deal with that – people in the street saying ‘that child needs smack’. Parents have to deal with these issues too.”

l Anybody looking after a child with ADHD who would like help or advice can call NCH Furness Family Centre at Dallington House in Abbey Road on 01229 822109.