Assignment 1: Pediatric ADHD Education

Overview

You are meeting with the parents of a child being evaluated for ADHD. For this assignment briefly address the following questions.

• What information would you provide to educate parents/caretakers regarding etiology and symptoms of ADHD?
• What treatment options would you discuss with the parents/caretakers?
• What information/resources would you use to discuss this diagnosis?

Your assignment should be in APA format with evidence-based references to support your statements.

NOTE: Attached, you will find a copy of a classmate assignment example, and you may use its content and data as a reference to complete my assignment. TURNITIN Assignment (No plagiarism)

Background: I live in South Florida, I am currently enrolled in the Psych Mental Health Practitioner Program, I am a Registered Nurse, I work in a Psychiatric Hospital. 

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643 – WEEK 9 ASSIGNMENT 1: PEDIATRIC ADHD EDUCATION 4

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643 – Week 9 Assignment 1: Pediatric ADHD Education

Information that I would provide to the Parents/ Caretakers regarding Etiology and Symptoms of ADHD

I would like to provide useful information that would enlighten the parents/caretakers of children with ADHD disorder, thereby helping them to understand the situation altogether. First, I would start by informing them about the etiology of the condition. It is essential to let them know that various factors cause ADHD. I would inform them that the child may have inherited the disease from one of the family members since it is a genetic-linked disorder. Other information that I would like the parent/caregivers of the children with ADHD is that the child’s brain damage could have caused the condition. Also, environmental factors such as lead toxin exposure during pregnancy, and that probably the parent might have been using substances such as alcohol and tobacco while pregnant (Wimberley et al., 2020). Second, I would provide them with information about the symptoms that the children be likely to present due to the disorder. The first symptom involves decreased concentration in the child that could affect his classwork and activities at home. The child would also be experiencing difficulties settling in one place. Additionally, the child would make reckless mistakes that affect his classroom performances. Moreover, the child would have problems in organizing him/herself. This information is relevant as they prepare parents/caretakers on what to anticipate from their children’s behavior.

Treatment Options to Discuss with Parents/Caretakers

Several medications exist in the treatment for the ADHD disorder. The first option of treatment would involve the prescription of Adderall XR, an Amphetamine that acts as a psychostimulant to help in boosting and balancing the neurotransmitters in children’s brain; thus, helping them improve their focusing level in class. More so, the drug would help the children to start having a focus on their activities and avoid making careless mistakes. It would also allow him to start being organized at his home and school activities. Consequently, I would consider discussing with the parents other remedies, such as behavioral therapy, counselling, and education services. Parents need to understand and learn behavior-changing strategies such as rewards and timeouts when dealing with difficult situations due to children’s disorder. I would also advise parents or the caretakers to train their children on social skills to enhance their social behavior. Psychotherapy is also another remedy for older children with ADHD condition; it enables them to talk about issues that bother them, explore their negative behavior patterns and learn various ways to deal with the symptoms. Finally, I would encourage them to enrol in family therapy sessions (Destiyanti, 2020); to help parents and siblings understand ways they should use to handle the child with the disorder.

Information/Resources Used to Discuss the Diagnosis

I will use various resources to provide information on the diagnosing ADHD in children. These resources include standardized clinical ratings and self-report checklist, behavior questionnaire and rating scales. Rating scales and checklist would help me to obtain information from parents about the symptoms and functioning of the children in various settings (Won et al., 2020). The responses would not be sufficient for the diagnosis of the disorder but would help in providing necessary information that aids in the comprehensive evaluation process. The checklist would also consist of child behavior checklist, Vanderbilt parent rating scales and teachers rating scales to assess the behavior of the children both at home or at school.

References

Destiyanti, I. C. (2020, July). Family Resilience in ADHD Child Parenting. In 1st International Conference on Science, Health, Economics, Education and Technology (ICoSHEET 2019) (pp. 73-75). Atlantis Press.

Won, G. H., Choi, T. Y., & Kim, J. W. (2020). Application of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnostic Tools: Strengths and Weaknesses of the Korean ADHD Rating Scale and Continuous Performance Test. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 16, 2397- 2406.

Wimberley, T., Agerbo, E., Horsdal, H. T., Ottosen, C., Brikell, I., Als, T. D., … & Werge, T. (2020). Genetic liability to ADHD and substance use disorders in individuals with ADHD. Addiction, 115(7), 1368-1377.