Common neurodevelopmental disorder in children

Attention deficit hypertensive disorder is a very commonly found neurodevelopmental disorder found during childhood. If not treated and managed well it may progress to adulthood affecting the quality of life of the child as an adult. As the term signifies ADHD is a behavioural disorder wherein the child’s behaviour is different from other children of the same age. Why a child develops ADHD is still a topic of research for scientists. Several contributing factors are suggested to form a flourishing ground for their development. It is important to know the causes, signs & symptoms and be well acquainted with them because the management and treatment of ADHD include the number of therapies and choosing a side effect-free mode of integrative treatment. Homeopathy has a promising impact on correcting the behavioural and developmental aspects of a child, which makes the child more confident and independent to deal with the stressors of adulthood. The most important thing to be kept in mind is to “start early to cut short the damages”. Continue reading till the end as I would be recommending few steps to know if your child has behaviour that needs medical supervision and help. Every parent wants their child to be healthy and happy, and homeopathy can help you to build a healthy childhood for your loved ones.

A keen observer can spot the abnormality before it does them harm.

We often as a parent miss the sign & symptoms of behavioural disorders particularly ADHD because the symptoms and signs are quite common to the mischievousness and basic temperament of a child. The children tend to be not focused or extra naughty with loads of energy which outnumbers our normal bar and we feel it’s normal as a child and one will learn with growing age. But for an ADHD child, only the age grows in years and the symptoms keep worsening. ADHD is usually diagnosed in children between 6-12 years of age. To keep in mind the warning symptoms are as follows:

The symptoms can be classified into three groups based on behaviour problems.

1. Inattentiveness
2. Hyperactivity
3. A combination of hyperactivity and inattentiveness
4. Impulsiveness

Hyperactivity & impulsiveness:

The main signs of hyperactivity & impulsiveness are:

1. Unable to focus on one task
2. Unable to sit at a spot calmly.
3. Gestures suggestive of constant fidgety
4. Excessive talking
5. Wants things instantaneously
6. Continuous movements of hands and feet without cause or reason.
7. Not aware of surroundings and approaching danger towards them e.g. running on the road unconsciously.
8. Impatient

These symptoms are commonly found in children but in hypertensive children, they exceed the normal limit and fall into the category of abnormal behaviour.

If such behavior is not tackled at a time it will start affecting the well-being and social image of the child such as poor social interaction skills, disciplinary problems, unable to obey orders, temperament issues, underachievement at school and studies, weak foundation.

Causes of ADHD:

Genetics has the most important role to play in causing ADHD, other possible causes are birth injury affecting brain or brain injury anytime later in life, mother’s exposure to factors affecting her mentally or physically during pregnancy, Low birth weight, premature birth, and faulty lifestyle or addiction found in mother during pregnancy.

Diagnosis of ADHD:
For the diagnosis of ADHD, the trained medical professional will carry out several steps this makes it a complete process. There are no tests but yes, when a trained professional runs a questionnaire and gets into the detailed case history of the child from conceiving to delivery till now and rules out the differential diagnosis, he can confirm the child to be an ADHD child. Also, ADHD diagnosis must meet the DSM IV criteria. So, only a medical professional aware of these can guide you properly with integrative management.
Let’s look for some general questions that you too can ask your child, or observe which can give you an idea about ADHD.

Screening questionnaire:

1. How is your child doing in school?
2. Are there any learning or memory problems noticeable by you or your teachers?
3. Is your child moody all the time or happy?
4. Are you concerned about your child’s abrupt behavior all the time at school, at home, when plays with friends?
5. Is your child having a problem keeping up with everyday school work ( classwork/homework )?
Once you get the answers to these questions you can make out how abrupt your child’s behaviour is and as early diagnosed earlier it can be managed with the right therapy and homeopathy.

Homeopathy as a scope for ADHD:

Homeopathy, holistic science of well-being has been helping people with their sufferings and bringing on track their deranged lifestyle with its “Treating the man as a whole concept”, for more than 200 years now. Homeopathy was established as a complete mode of treatment in 1796 by Master Hahnemann. In this holistic mode of well-being mental generals are paid a lot of importance as the mind, body & spirit are considered to be the channels through which the autocratic, automatic, and dynamic vital force (homeostasis) functions. In the management of ADHD, homeopathy plays a great role as it acts through sentient nerves quickly, has a thorough in-depth case taking an integral part of its treatment process which also acts as counseling therapy for the child and the attendants who are mostly the parents.

In a pilot study of 35 children and teens, 63% were improved with no side effects when treated with individualized homeopathic medicine for their symptoms of Attention Deficit Hypertensive Disorder. The conventional mode of treatment may use stimulants or non-stimulants which have some side effects in varying degrees due to the stimulants. Whereas, with a natural mode of treatment with homeopathy combined easily with therapies the result can be achieved significantly. There is a certain group of medicine that have immense action on child’s physiology and psychology, they find great importance in pediatric cases and are found in every pediatric homeopath’s chest box always. to mention few of them are as follows:

• Chamomilla for sudden anger outbursts and irritable behaviour.
• Tarentula hispanica for the children with an extreme level of hyperactivity, fidgety, constantly moving with restlessness.
• Hyoscyamus for children with a high level of impulsivity associated with violent behaviour.
• Stramonium for children with hyperactivity & who indulge in the behaviour of spitting, kicking, biting, etc to get their demands fulfilled.
• Some other helpful remedies can be coffea, tuberculinum, China, etc
Note: Always consult a qualified homeopathic pediatrician for the confirmation of diagnosis and moving forward with the treatment. Only the similimum (individualized remedy ) along with proper dosage, and regular follow-ups can help your child and improve the ADHD symptoms.

Other therapy:
Some therapies that help to manage ADHD are

A. Cognitive behaviour therapy
B. Anger management therapy
C. Counseling
D. Disciplinary therapies
E. Family therapy

Living with ADHD can create a deep impact on child psychology and cause a lot of trauma during adulthood. Let’s be more cautious as mothers while pregnant and mindful while nurturing their childhood. ADHD and other behavioural disorders can be treated with homeopathy, behaviour therapies, and a holistic integrated approach. Make a healthy foundation for our little heroes of tomorrow.