Rehabilitation Strategies for Persons With ADHD

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting a significant number of people. It is characterized by inattention and/or hyperactivity and/or impulsivity. It impacts various aspects of an individual's life. Rehabilitation is a holistic process, aiming at restoring and training an individual to improve their quality of life, increase independence, increase social participation and social inclusion. A combination of various rehabilitation strategies are used depending on the individual's needs, severity of the disorder, and developmental phase. Apart from the client, involving parents, caregivers, teachers, schools, and employers and co-workers ensure a consistent and effective rehabilitation process. This chapter focuses on the rehabilitation strategies like medication, behavioral training, psychoeducation, psychotherapy, social skills training, remediation methods, classroom management, parent training, coaching, support groups, lifestyle changes, and career and vocational guidance. Using timely intervention strategies and training enhances the rehabilitation process.

Yoga as a Complementary Therapy for ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that commonly occurs among children between the age ranges of 3-10 years. Though pharmacotherapy in combination of play therapy and behavior therapy has been proved to be effective for the treatment of ADHD, but the results derived from them does not seem to sustain for a longer period of time. There are other alternative therapies too, which can help in management of the symptoms of ADHD. This chapter talks about the different aspects of yoga and effect of different asanas, pranayama, and meditation on ADHD. As medication has its own negative side effects, practitioners have started to research other techniques to be helpful for managing ADHD, and Yoga is proved to be one of the effective ways to reduce the symptoms of ADHD. Yoga is not only limited to the physical exercise; it also includes breathing exercises, meditation, and relaxation exercises, which help to have a balance between mind and body. Through regular practice of yoga, one can attain peace of mind and can lead a happy and healthy life.

Executive Function Deficits Among ADHD Students in Classroom Learning

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the widely prevalent externalizing disorders from the category of neurodevelopmental disorders. With the constant rise in the diagnosis of a number of cases presenting ADHD or ADHD-like symptoms, the need to understand issues as experienced by the student requires the right interventions for effective management. The core challenges in the area of academics and overall presentation lie with the executive function deficits that the child has. Hence, addressing those and working on skills like attention, working memory, response inhibition, goal setting, planning, problem solving, and organization has to be considered as part of the management plan. The current chapter explores evidence-based issues and strategies to be targeted in the classroom set up for students with ADHD. It also highlights some classroom-specific strategies, which can be focused by the teachers and remedial therapists.

Social Functioning, Interpersonal Difficulties, Social Deficits, and Social Skills Training in ADHD

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common behavioral disorders of childhood. Children with ADHD exhibit developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, impulsivity, and/or motor activity. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most frequent mental disorders affecting children. ADHD also affects many adults. Symptoms of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. ADHD may also negatively affect the learning environment in children's homes. This chapter talks about social functioning, social deficits, interpersonal difficulties, and social skills training in ADHD. Individuals with ADHD have problems in the areas of peer interaction, emotional regulation, and pro-social behaviours. These social problems are associated with a greater risk for developing problems later in life.

Parenting Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The prevalence of ADHD is estimated at 5–7% worldwide, which makes it one of the most common psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents. Children with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can become difficult if the child is not monitored using correct strategies and techniques. Parents play an integral role in shaping a child. Parenting involves biological as well as the legal aspects and other equally if not more important dimensions of care, protection, nurturance, understanding, guidance, mutual interaction, and partnership occurring within the protective environment of a family. Parenting a differently abled child is very demanding and challenging and the role of family and parents in caring for a child is very crucial, especially development, socializing, and protecting the child.

Pharmacological Treatment of ADHD

The pharmacological treatment for ADHD has been researched well and we have efficacious drugs. Drugs are the mainstay of treatment particularly for over 6 years of age. There are two broad classes of drugs that are used in the treatment, psychostimulants and non-stimulants. Transcranial current stimulation and neurofeedback are other mechanisms that have been tried. There are various formulations and doses available for each and only certain drugs are available in India. The various guidelines broadly put stimulant Methylphenidate as the first choice and recommend early shift to a longer acting formulation. Treatment, various comorbidities, and side-effects of these drugs have to be kept in mind and dealt accordingly. Further psychosocial treatments should be used concurrently to improve the outcome.

Adolescents and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

This chapter attempts to individually understand the concept of adolescence and ADHD before it combines to the understanding of the progression of ADHD as a neurodevelopmental and behavioural disorder moving through the lifespan in different formats/symptoms. This understanding would provide the clinicians and academicians clarity to follow the golden rule of ‘early diagnosis early intervention' by identifying the progressive nature in terms of genetic, biochemistry, psycho-social, and personality aspects maintaining the disorder. Finally, this chapter would also provide an overview about the possible interventions and treatment plans available and briefly discusses the recent issues and trends throughout the chapter.

ADHD in Children

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most common neurobehavioral disorders presenting for treatment in children and adolescents. ADHD is often chronic with prominent symptoms and impairment spanning into adulthood. During the past decade, epidemiological studies have documented high rates of comorbid conditions among individuals with ADHD. In the absence of adequate identification of its comorbidities and secondary symptoms, it has an impact on the behavioural and academic outcomes in the long run. Research highlights the psycho educational effectiveness that focused on the relative/caregivers of ADHD as better understanding and knowledge of the disorder improves treatment adherence, quality of life, and decreased symptoms of ADHD. Therefore, the chapter intends to throw light on the classification of ADHD, its assessment, and psychological management for better outcomes in children.

Pre-, Peri-, and Post-Natal Risk Factors in ADHD

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder most commonly found in childhood with its core symptoms manifesting as inattention, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity. As ADHD generates a substantial rate of burden to the society in terms of economic and medical resources used, priority is given to explore the risk factors that contributes towards the multifactorial origin of this disorder to offer possible preventive and therapeutic interventions. With heritability accounting for 75% to 80% of the variability seen in ADHD, the remaining are explained through environmental risk factors that are exposed during critical period of pre-, peri-, and postnatal development. Though literature on the risk factors have been mostly controversial, certain associations have been made with regards to ADHD pathophysiology.

ADHD, Parental Stress, Stigma, and Mindfulness Training

Many studies have proven that parental stress was associated with childhood mental disorders and disabilities, and in recent years, studies have shown that parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) experience more parenting stress than parents of typically developing children. Parents living with a child with ADHD experienced stress as they struggled to cope with the child's symptoms amidst the stigmatizing attitudes from family and community members. The chapter tried to explore various factors related with parental stress and ADHD such as quality of life, parental rating of ADHD symptoms and related issues, treatment outcome, marital life, and mental health. One of the important factors contributing to stress is stigma, and the chapter also attempted to explore the link between parental stress and stigma, especially related to ADHD and its interventions. The chapter emphasized the role of mindfulness training for treating ADHD and parental stress while pointing out the methodological limitations.