TIIK HRUNSWICK BEACON, Thursday, January 29, 1987—Page 5-A
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Hyperactive Kids Exhaust Parents, Baffle Doctors
BY MARJOIUE MEGIVKRN
Tcn-ycur-old Teddy Edison geU off
Uie Brunswick County school bus
every afternoon tnlking and running,
ami keeps it up until bedtime.
MainUiining a constant cluittcr
through supper, he then watches
television while repeatedly asking
questions about what he sees.
Iloincwurk doesn't get done, because
he can’t concentrate on it.
'llie Edisons arc exiiausted by the
time they get Teddy into bed. Elliott
has been with the youngster since he
got home from school, while Helen
began supervising him immediately
on her arrival from work at 5:30 p.m.
Tliey seldom get any rest, because
they can’t leave Teddy with anyone
except grandparents, and his ex
cessive activity puts a strain on the
whole family.
Teddy was diagnosed a hyperac
tive child at age four by a physician
who observed hi-, behavior and sug
gested testing. The family, including
older brothers who are “normal,"
have lived with it ever since.
His name and that of his parents
arc fictitious, but the situation is
real, a Brunswick County case
history. The story is typical of three
percent of the childhood population
afflicted with this mysterious condi
tion.
Trish Brown, a staff psychologist
with the Brunswick County Mental
Health Center, said “hyperactivity"
is a layman’s term meaning
physically overactive.
“Mental health professionals call it
attention deficit disorder. (ADD)
with hyperactivity," she said.
Brown is presently conducting an
eight-week course at the mental
health center for parents of hypcrac-
Uve children that she calls educa
tional rather than therapeutic.
To begin with, diagnosis of this
malady, which occurs six times more
often in boys than girls, is hard to
distinguish from normal childhood
behavior.
An article in Drug Therapy by Dr.
Michael Jellinek, assistant professor
of pediatric psychiatry at Harvard
Medical says. “The truly hyperac
tive child has little or no control over
his actions and is not deliberately an
tagonizing his parents.”
However. JcIUnck went on, every
child who has problems with concen
tration at home or school is
not
necessarily hyperactive. They may
suffer emotional problems or learn
ing disabilities.
Finding the truth involves parents,
teachers and a mental health profe.s-
sionai. Brown said.
“i look at the child's motor activity
and his ability to focus attention on
teachers and parents," Brown said.
"Then I do a complete evaluation of
his development and history. Was he
colicky as a baby, was he in and out
of the crib, falling down a lot, needing
20,000 reminders to do something?"
The onset of symptoms is another
ciue, she said. * if a child
demonstrated hyperactive behavior
before the age of two. that’s a good
Indication of ADD." she explained.
“Sixty to seventy percent of hyperac
tive children displayed ADD symp-
tonvs that early."
The kinds of behavior she listed In
clude: irritability, social immaturi
ty, easily angered, clumsiness, im-
publvcncss, increased activity, un
predictability, restlessness and
distractibility.
“There have been many theories
about the cause of this condition,”
Brown said, “but wc juet don’t know.
Some believe it’s genetic, others say
It neurological, and still others say
that it’s caused by environmental
trauma, such as the family stress of
divorce."
If an evaluation points to an abnor
mality in the child’s developing ner
vous system, medication is a likely
treatment.
The drug most erfteh used is an am
phetamine. a stimulant that has the
opposite effect on hyperactive
children. “This medication cairns
them down enough to teach them
other ways to cope,” Brown said.
Teddy has taken the amphetamine
Ritalin off and on for the past six
years. His mother says, "It helps
some, but tlie effects just last four
hours. He takes it when he gets up in
the morning, and again at school
about noon. He can’t take any after
he comes home, because it keeps him
awake at night.”
The boy doesn’t like taking tlie
medicine, she said, and sometimes at
school tries to throw it away. “We
have to watch him carefully. I think
he enjoys the attention he gets with
his behavior."
Both the Edisons took Brown's
course for parents last year and said
other treatment methods suggested
there were good.
“But they were so time-
Events Aimed
At Home Owners
Two upcoming events sponsored by
the Bnirbswick County Extension Ser
vice should interest homeowners.
Jan. 13 is the agency's annual tree
day, in which seedlings nf .seven
species of trees will be offered at no
charge beginning at 9 a.m. These in
clude dogwoods, red maples, sugar
maples, bald cypress, red cedar, im
proved loblolly pine and willow oak.
Some species will be available only
in limited quantities.
Then, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 1
p.m., landscaping tips and techni
ques will be discussed in a workshop
at the public assembly buUdbtg at Uie
county complex.
The session is geared to
newcomers and others who are
building a new home as well as so
meone revamping an existing land
scape.
More information is available from
the extension office.
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consuming!" Helen said. “For In
stance, we were supposed to give our
child at Iea.>t thirty tmautss ot
special time every day. Since we
work, that’s hard to do, because we’d
have to give our other children that
much time, loo."
Brown said she tries in her
workshops to show parents how to
cope wiUi the child’s strengths and
weaknesses, and at the end of each
class she gives them some
“lUMUHwurk” to try for tha frJJjnring
week.
Jellinek’s article pointed out that
nonmedical treatment is a team ef
fort of parents, teacher and doctor.
Parents arc to help the child’s self
esteem by selling realL«»tic goals for
him; outlining clear, consistent rules
of behavior; and enforcing tliem.
What is the outcome for ADD
have children with ADD should get
an evaluation. This, as well as
Jellinek, some outgrow the problem
as their ability to concentrate and
control their behavior catches up
with what is appropriate at their age.
Meanwhile, Brown offers her free
eight-hour course three times a year,
and says parents who believe they
ccunselifig and therapy, is avai!a^*“
to them at the mental health center,
she said.
Brown has been employed in the
county two years. A graduate of East
Carolina University, she has a
master’s degree in clinical
psychology, awarded in 1983.
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