Like any long-term medical diagnosis, it can be difficult to find out that your child has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). When dealing with mental illnesses, there is extra stigma to deal with that can make this diagnosis particularly difficult to tackle. ADD is a medical diagnosis, but people will try to tell you that it is not genuine. This is simply not true, you are not a bad parent and your child is not a bad child. There are some ways that you can support your child, which leads to more successful treatment of the ailment.
Medication
It is common to get a prescription to help treat your child’s ADD. These medications are not the same as the over-prescribed Ritalin from the 80’s and 90’s. Ritalin has an extremely short half-life, meaning that its effects are short lived. To try to get the children to see all day relieve, they used very large doses. These large doses were the cause of the zombie-like side effects reported by parents at the time. The proper dosage of new, slow release medication is going to allow your child to function like most children normally do. The side-effects of today’s ADD medications are typically quite mild, and the right dosage should not impact their personality at all.
Therapy
There are many techniques that can help your child cope with their ADD, and they work well alongside medication. Psychological services in Mobile, AL, can help your child find successful methods to manage their ADD. Several of the symptoms of ADD can be dealt with through cognitive behavior therapy, and talking to a professional can alleviate some of the anxiety they may be facing in their diagnosis. Giving your child these strategies is going to help support them throughout their childhood and well into adulthood as well. Therapy for yourself may be worthwhile as well; many of the symptoms of ADD make for challenging parenting, and taking care of yourself is important.
