ADD has no quick-fix treatment. But you don’t need to lose heart as the symptoms of ADD can be managed. There are a few important things that the child’s teachers and family should do:

Learn how to help the child manage his/her behavior

Find out more about ADD

Provide medication if the parents and the doctor feel this would help the child

Create an educational program, which fits the child’s individual needs

Students with ADD can receive help from school in many ways. Quite a number of students will be eligible for receiving special education services under the IDEA (individuals with disabilities education act).

The school and the child’s parents need to sit down and talk over about the kind of special help the child needs. Supports or changes in the classroom called adaptations also come to the aid of most students with ADD.

A number of treatments have been developed to help the child’s integration into normal daily life, which includes educational and psychosocial programs as well as medication, (in specific instances). It is essential for you to inform and talk over about your child’s problem with your family physician and the schoolteachers. The mainstays of treatment continue to be stimulant medications, but there are other helpful adjuvant to therapy like antidepressants and alpha-blockers. Contemporary treatment recommendations include an individualized, multimodal approach involving teachers, parents, the school system and counselors. Follow-up to treatment involves monitoring response to medications in numerous settings and side effects, as well.

In 80% cases, the symptoms improve on stimulants and medicines ought to be changed, if it isn’t working. Ritalin is an easy-fix drug prescribed by doctors and teachers, though the long-term effects are uncertain. Treatment should begin only after a diagnosis is certain and that too, in consultation with parents and teachers. Along with drugs, behavioral techniques, together with time-outs needed for hitting, should also be used. Children should be rewarded, if they complete works, like homework and assignments.

Parents should learn about strategies to manage the child’s behavior:

Ignoring behaviors, charting natural and logical consequences. Set reward programs for good behavior and obedience.

Teachers should identify the areas where the child is weak and needs help. Set down clear rules, assignments, time specific tasks and schedules. Give him directions and help him when required. Encourage him to do work on the computer. Maximize his chances of succeeding in life.