Canberra-resident Zunera Fatima, a mother of a three-and-a-half year old and pregnant with another, keeps calling her son’s name while he is up in the slides. She can hear him scream and yell from up above, but he refuses to come down the stairs or the slide. It is clearly getting hard for her to control him and after several failed attempts to calm him down or convince him to play with other kids, she can be seen leaving the playground; the child clearly unimpressed.
“This happens every time I bring him out to play,” she says, “He just gets hyperactive and it feels like he just simply refuses to listen to me,” says Fatima.
“If a child demonstrates such behaviour continuously for at least six months, that is when parents need to seek professional help for ADHD."
Hyperactive: A term that while Fatima made a passing reference to is not to be ignored. According to a new global survey published in The Lancet Psychiatry many Australians, especially children, living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may be missing out on proper diagnosis and treatment. Experts in early childhood education and mental health continue to urge parents to keep an eye for behavioural symptoms of ADHD among toddlers and pre-schoolers.
Types of ADHD
New Castle-based Seep Saleem has been associated with early childhood education and has observed and handled difficult behaviours among children for years. She says behavioural symptoms of ADHD fall into three groups: ADHD combined type, ADHD inattentive type and ADHD hyperactive/impulsive type.
In ADHD a child doesn't pay close attention to details, makes 'careless' mistakes, has difficulty following instructions, and finishing tasks like homework or small chores, is often distracted by little things, has difficulty remembering things, and can show signs of aggression.
This means that a child can demonstrate inattention and hyperactivity both together or separately. It is possible for a child to be inattentive without being hyperactive/impulsive or vice versa.
“If a child demonstrates such behaviour continuously for at least six months, that is when parents need to seek professional help for ADHD,” she suggests.
Behavioural symptoms of ADHD
According to Saleem, major symptoms of ADHD are that:
- a child doesn't pay close attention to details and makes 'careless' mistakes
- has difficulty following instructions and finishing tasks like homework or small chores
- is often distracted by little things
- has difficulty remembering things
- doesn’t seem to listen when spoken to
- shows signs of aggression especially around other children
- often loses things such as books, toys and pencils and cannot find them
- cannot stand or sit still.
ADHD and migrant communities
A research published in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health suggests that Asian children are at a higher risk of developing mental illnesses than children from other migrant communities. Reasons can be high acculturation stress, low English language competence, language brokering, discrepancies in children’s and parent’s cultural orientation and the non-Western cultural orientation.
Saleem thinks culture plays a significant role not only in ADHD but also in diagnoses and treatment and stops most parents from getting help. She urges parents of migrant communities, especially from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, to not let society stigmatise their child’s mental health if intervention is needed.
Source: Health & Medicine/ Saudi ADHD Society
“Nothing is more important than your child’s health,” she says.
“It is frustrating to be helpless when it concerns your children.”
For Fatima it was hard to accept that her child needed counselling. It took her son’s carer four months to convince Fatima that he demonstrated signs of hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour.
“It is frustrating to be helpless when it concerns your children.”
Fatima says she is scheduled to see a child psychologist for her son next week and she hopes the best for him.
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