Fearfully and
Wonderfully Made: The Effect of AD/HD on
Preschool Children
The early childhood setting is one in which a preschool or
daycare environment is focusing on early educational experiences that involve
social skills, early reading, academic skills, and physical abilities involving
small and gross motor skills. This is a crucial time in a child’s learning
process and can affect the rest of the educational process throughout their entire
school career. With this in mind, we need to look at ways to help these
children in the early childhood environment to learn how to better interact
with peers. We also must understand their learning style and how to give them a
positive learning experience so they succeed in their academic life.
The social skills developed in the early childhood stage is
crucial and children who have AD/HD have poor social skills according to Susan
Ashley:
“The majority of children with AD/HD do have
poor social skills. Researchers estimate that at least sixty percent of
children with AD/HD have significant trouble interacting with others.
Psychologists working with AD/HD would put that estimate far higher. Poor
social skills are so apparent that children with AD/HD are often rejected by
other children after only a single day of contact.”[1]
Ashley
also states: “In studies examining the friendship patterns of children, those
with AD/HD are consistently rated as the least-liked child in their class.”[2]
Children with AD/HD differ socially from the children with ADD in that the
hyperactive children are more obvious with social deficiencies. Early signs of
children who have poor social expertise are only detected by parental
relationships that involve parents listening to their child and looking for
signs such as the child telling things such as, “no one likes me or no one
wants to play with me.” Ashley suggests that most parents do not want to
believe that their child is disliked, so the symptoms go untreated. This is the
first mistake parents and teachers can make in the academic career of a
preschooler. If one of the main functions of an early childhood facility is
social skills this is a crucial stage for the AD/HD child.
The problem is the need for early
detection and diagnosis. Many children are labeled AD/HD and they are
misdiagnosed. According to Julian Stuart Haber, “The symptoms of AD/HD may be
present in more than thirty other disorders, ranging from problems with the
sensory systems, to mental illness, to scholastic, psychosocial, and medical problems.”[3]
Haber even suggests that the medications for one disorder might make a
different disorder worse. We as preschool educators need to be careful not to
label or misdirect a parent in any way when dealing with their precious and
unique preschool child. We need to educate ourselves on the various disorders
with the same symptoms to give the preschool child with these indicators
adequate care, love, and education in social abilities as well as teaching them
proper early academics.
According to Katie Blenk:
“Of the greatest concern to a new program
considering inclusion is how a teacher manages to give special education
services to the children with special needs while giving regular education to
the rest of the group. In an integrated school program there really is no such
thing as regular education and special education. In every area of educational
activities, projects and lessons are appropriate for all children. What is
sometimes needed is modification of an activity.”[4]
With this in mind, we need to consider not excluding both
types of children in the preschool environment, but rather modification to
adapt regular playtime, or educational time to adapt for all learning
abilities. The AD/HD disorder can be diagnosed as early as one or two years of
age.[5]
Young mothers fail to recognize these symptoms of AD/HD in their children due
to no exposure to children in general, and the assumption that this is normal
behavior for preschoolers. Children mainly play
learn and do not have tasks that require long attention spans until they reach
elementary school age. Some of these children have exceptional intelligence and
may not have to pay attention or study as much in early elementary school, and
do not suffer from adverse effects until older grades.[6]
According to Mary Fowler, “Some
signs and symptoms during the preschool stage are: the child becomes highly
visible, with difficulties arising at home, in school, and with peers. Parents
and preschool teachers commonly report the following difficulties: the child’s
ability to following directions, stay on task, social immaturities, easily
frustrated, temper tantrums, aggressive and destructive behavior, and noncompliance.”[7]
These symptoms, moreover, can easily be discarded as the terrible twos or
horrible threes by the parents, and can go unnoticed.
William
Sears states that:
“A.D.D. is not a deficit in attention. A
deficit means a ‘lack of something,’ implying less of something. But children
with A.D.D. sometimes pay more attention to certain topics. What they really
show is the two extremes of focus: they are not good at paying attention to
things they find boring, but they focus intensely on things that catch their
interest.”[8]
Sears also suggests
having a reward system and giving some rewards that have historical positive
results with children such as: tickets and tokens, connecting the dots (to form
a picture), happy and sad faces, happy hands, a behavior bus that has a task in
each bus window and when the task is accomplished the child receives a happy
face sticker in the windows that accomplishes the goal, give-and-take system
which rewards for good behaviors and take-away rewards for bad behaviors.[9]
These are just some practical suggestions that could really help a child with
AD/HD.
According to Laura Stevens:
“MRI
helps researchers view the brain. In some studies, researchers have determined
that the right side of the brain is generally smaller in children with AD/HD
than in those who do not have AD/HD. This may be important because certain
neurotransmitters that affect mental and emotional functioning are located in
this portion of the brain.”[10]
Stevens also states:
“There is a strong genetic component to AD/HD.” Stevens gives data that proves
if a parent has AD/HD a child has a fifty-seven percent chance of having it,
and a thirty-two percent chance if a sibling has it. Identical twins with AD/HD
are more likely to have it than fraternal twins. But she also states that not
every identical twin with AD/HD has a twin with it, therefore genes are not
everything.[11]
1. Improve
the child’s diet.
2. Carefully
choose sweeteners.
3. Trace
food allergies.
4. Add
essential fatty acids to the child’s diet.
5. Choose vitamins, minerals, and other
supplements carefully.
6. Solve the yeast connection (a breakdown of
bacteria due to taking antibiotics).
7. Identify inhalant allergies.
8. Identify chemical sensitivities (insecticides,
etc.).
9. Investigate lead and aluminum poisoning.
10. Enhance perception (check child’s reading comprehension).
11. Consider crawling lessons (for children who hurried
through the crawling stage).
12. Try biofeedback (an electronic device that
monitors brain waves).[12]
These are drug-free suggestions that
may help the AD/HD child, however this takes studying the child in great length
which unfortunately, parents may not take the time to do.
According
to Sandra F. Rief, children with AD/HD have trouble with organization, time
management, and study skills. The teacher can help the child by organizing the
child’s workspace and materials.[13]
Organizational methods will hold the child on task and teaches lifelong administrative
talents that will enhance their capability to stay on task. Reif also suggests
encouraging good social skills by pairing the AD/HD child with positive
friendships instead of negative ones.[14]
Since social skills are the primary goal of most preschool children, then it
would be prudent for the preschool teacher to expose the child to non-stressful
social encounters as much as possible. The pairing with children and adults who
give the AD/HD child a positive relationship will most likely produce a constructive
outcome ending in affirmation instead of frustration.
In
conclusion, as educators and parents, the AD/HD child is worthy of our
attention in providing an educational plan for them in the preschool
environment. For that reason it is prudent to meet these kids where they are
and to better enhance their preschool experience, impact later educational
success, and present the gospel to them in a positive non-frustrating
environment. As a parent, we would be wise to seek counsel, try to keep an open
mind with doctors, teachers, and other family members, to do our best to
provide close attention to details in childhood behaviors, attention spans,
food intake, and the cause and effect of these factors in behavioral issues in
our children. We need to remember that God has made children perfectly and
wonderfully just the way they are (Psalm 139:14), ever instilling this God-ordained
purpose in the child. Our goal being the impartation of confidence in the fact
that God has designed them as a special design for his glorification, just as He
has ordained other persons and their giftedness for the same purpose. Yes, the
AD/HD child is a gift from the God who is perfect and accomplishes His will in
and through His crown creation of humanity. God has designed AD/HD
intentionally, just as He created each human being uniquely. We, as His
creation, cannot complain, or show displeasure with what He deems as a
masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10).
[2]
Ibid., 172.
[3] Julian
Stuart Haber, ADHD The Great Misdiagnosis
(Lanham , New York :
First Taylor
[4] Katie
Blenk, Making School
[5] Mary
Fowler, Maybe You Know My Kids A Parent’s
Guide to Identifying, Understand and Helping Your Child with AD/HD (New
York, New York: Carol Publishing Group, 1996), 36.
[6]
Ibid., 37.
[7]
Ibid., 75-76.
[8] William
Sears, The A.D.D. Book New
Understandings, New Approaches to Parenting Your Child (Canada: Little,
Brown and Company, 1998), 4.
[9]
Ibid., 100-101.
[10] Laura
J. Stevens, Twelve Effective Ways New York , New
York
[11]
Ibid., 25.
[12]
Ibid., 37-163.
[13] Sandra
F. Rief, The ADHD Book of Lists A Practical
Guide for Helping Children with AD/HD (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass,
2003), 209-211.
[14]
Ibid., 155.
Thank you for taking the time to read my contemplations.
Blessings,
©Darla J. Smith
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Djconnersmitty
Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.smith.735
Find me on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=254577743&trk=hb_tab_pro_top
My Church: www.fbcjustin.org
Thank you for taking the time to read my contemplations.
Blessings,
©Darla J. Smith
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Djconnersmitty
Find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.smith.735
Find me on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=254577743&trk=hb_tab_pro_top
My Church: www.fbcjustin.org
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