How Pediatrician Can Help Your Family with Management of ADHD

While ADHD is often considered to be a learning disorder, children who are diagnosed with the condition often have physical symptoms as well. A pediatrician in Littleton can help you to manage the physical effects of ADHD and to work with the other professionals and educators who also care for your child. Some of the ways these professionals can help include:

How Pediatrician Can Help Your Family with Management of ADHD

Medication Management

Medication management is an essential part of how a pediatrician cares for a child with ADHD. If you choose to use medication to help with your child’s symptoms, your pediatrician will meet with you about every three to four weeks to determine whether your child’s attention or hyperactivity symptoms are improving with a specific drug or dose. The pediatrician will also discuss changes with your child’s personality, moods or behavior. He or she may ask if your child has had improvements with focus at school or in his or her activities.

Physical ADHD Symptoms

Children with the hyperactive type of ADHD often experience a great deal of physical symptoms related to their condition. A pediatrician can help your child to gain more control over these symptoms so that they become less distracting to your child and to others. For example, if your child has restless legs and often gets up and walks around, your pediatrician might redirect your child’s desire for movement to the use of a stress ball. Rather than walking around the classroom, your child could squeeze the ball quietly with one hand. This simple action could release your child’s energy and lower his or her stress level.

Helping Your Child Understand ADHD

Another important part of how providers at a respected pediatrics practice, such as Focus on Kids Pediatrics, are able to help your child is by explaining what ADHD is. When your child hears that he or she has a diagnosis of ADHD, he or she might feel scared or embarrassed. Your child’s pediatrician can explain what ADHD is and why it is important to manage the conditionin terms that a child would understand. The pediatrician can also answer your child’s question about ADHD medications and how they work.

Sources:

Diagnosis and Management of ADHD in Children, aafp.org
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, umm.edu