Month: May 2018


May
2018

Assistive Technology for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

categories: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

What is ADHD?

How many types are there?Boy leaning on a stack of books

What are challenges people with ADHD may have?

What can families and teachers do to help a child with ADHD?
Overview

In ADHD, children have a hard time making and keeping friends. They also may not do well in school. Some children with ADHD have low self-esteem. ADHD affects millions of kids around the world. Adults have it too. Treatment can help people with ADHD feel better. But, it does not cure ADHD. Treatment is either medicine, behavioral interventions, or both. It happens more in boys than in girls.

There are three main types of ADHD (according to the Mayo Clinic).

  1. Hyperactive (Over-active). This happens more in boys.
  • Talking too much.
  • Difficulty waiting for their turn.
  • Difficulty staying seated in the classroom.
  1. This happens more in girls.
  • Short attention span.
  • Difficulty staying on task.
  • Making careless mistakes.
  • Difficulty staying focused.
  • Appearing not to listen, even when spoken to directly.
  • Difficulty with organizing tasks.
  • Easily distracted.
  1. (both overactive and inattentive). This is the most common type in the United States.

Other challenges in children with ADHD

  1. Learning disabilities.
  2. Understanding difficulty.
  3. More car accidents and injuries.
  4. More poisoning and choking.

 What can teachers do to help CHILDREN with ADHD?

 Teachers can help children with ADHD to stay focused by putting them in a quiet space. By doing this, there are fewer noises and other distractions.  Also, white noise helps kids concentrate and pay better attention while learning.

Other helpful ways to help kids focus is to use a timer. There are different kinds, such as kitchen timers and dual timers. They help kids with ADHD manage time wisely. They help improve concentration. Some people prefer kitchen timers or timer apps. Many therapists think a timer app works for only a short time before a kid with ADHD tunes it out. (See Timer Visual Productivity / Android version.)

Routines and rules in the classroom can make a big difference.

Audiobooks, talking books and text to speech (TTS) will enable kids with ADHD to listen carefully to text. TTS helps kids with ADHD understand what they are reading. It also helps them recognize words.teacher helping student

Children and adults with ADHD can use a smart-pen, such as LIVESCRIBE, to take notes in class and record the classroom. After school, people with ADHD can read notes they took and listen to a recording at the same time. (See the YouTube video, “5 Students Share smartpen Lecture Techniques”.)

Other useful resources for people with ADHD:

Explore Simple Math, Basic Math, and more!

Three Components of Successful Programs for Children With ADHD.


May
2018

Tremor and smart phones

categories: Health

In this blog, I would like to discuss briefly three main issues.typing on a smartphone

  1. Define tremor, types of tremor, and diseases that may cause it.
  2. What is the importance of smartphones in the lives of people with tremor?
  3. How software helps people overcome shaky hands.

The smart phone has become an important tool for people. They help us talk to our families and have fun. The following are some ways smart phones can improve the health and lives of people with disabilities.

Tremor is an uncontrolled movement of the body. Some people call it “shaky hands”. Here are two types.

  1. Resting Tremor (RT) is part of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). In 2004, there were about 5 million people with PD in the world. There will be 40 million in 2020. There tends to be less Resting Tremor when the body is moving. Resting Tremor is worse when the body is at rest.
  2. Essential tremor (ET) is another uncontrolled movement of the hands. ET is the most common tremor. The World Health Organization says 4% of people are affected by ET. Essential Tremor is worse when the body is moving, and better when the body is at rest.

Other causes of tremor:

  • brain tumors;
  • side effects of some medicines;
  • caffeine; and
  • stress

Smart phones have become a tool to transmit and store data from people with tremor. They are also used to learn about tremor and to see how good a treatment is.

Below are some free apps with brief explanations:

  1. Lift Pulse App is available for Android and IOS. It can identify your tremor and measure its degree. You can set your baseline readings (on a normal day) and compare them with results from other days. You can find this app at:
    1. Lift Pulse App download link / Android version
    2. Lift Pulse App download link / IOS Version.
  2. Parkinson’s Central App is available for Android and IOS. It is a great free app for people with Parkinson’s Disease. It answers general questions to improve the lives of people with shaky hands. It gives information on health insurance and local resources near you. You can find this app at:
    1. Parkinson’s Central App download link / Android Version
    2. Parkinson’s Central App download link / IOS Version.
  3. Essential Tremor App is available for Android and IOS. It is a great free app for people with Essential Tremor. It gives you general information about symptoms and treatments. It lets you know about ET events near you. You can find this app at:
    1. Essential Tremor App download link / Android Version
    2. Essential Tremor App download link / IOS version.

Touch screens on smart phones could be a challenge for people with tremor.

Below are some helpful solutions.

Change the sensitivity of the touchscreen. Find Accessibility Options in Settings. Now you can adjust such options as:

  • Assistive Touch
  • Touch Accommodations
  • Switch Control
  • Keyboard Size
  • Shake to Undo

Review the options and play around with them to find what is best for your needs.

There are other free apps that would be useful as well. Also, many users with tremor prefer to use voice to text to overcome the challenges of tremor.

I encourage you to enjoy your smart phone, and not to let tremor hold you back.

 


May
2018

Mindfulness and Children with ADHD – Tools for Parents

categories: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Parenting

children doing yoga

I am a pediatrician.  I often work with children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).  Medication often can help. But there are other ways to help too.  One is mindfulness.

What is Mindfulness?

The idea of mindfulness is to focus on what is going on in the moment, on purpose, with no judgement (Kabat-Zinn, 1994).

Research shows that these activities can help children with ADHD. This includes the following.

  • Focusing on important thoughts while ignoring others.
  • Help with the behaviors that get children into trouble.
  • Help with control over their emotions

How Can Parents Teach This To Their Children

There are lots of ways to learn to be more mindful.  One activity may work well for your child and others may not.  You might have to try more than one thing with your child.

Some schools teach mindfulness activities. But not every school does.  There are classes, such as children’s yoga, that can teach these skills.  However, classes can be costly and hard to find.  Below are some tools for parents.  Many can be done at home.

 Yoga

Yoga is a good way to help an active child focus.  For young children, I like books that show simple poses.

Older children and teens should start with a live class.  This is to make sure:

  • their form is correct;
  • they learn how to change a hard pose to make it work for their body; and
  • they know which poses should not be tried alone at home.

This helps lower the chance of injury.  You should always talk to your child’s doctor before starting a new exercise program.

There are low-cost options for yoga. These include non-profit studios and community classes.  These options will be different based on where you live.

Once children know how to do yoga safely, they can use online videos.  There are free classes on YouTube.  Do Yoga with Me is a free website.

Mindfulness Apps

Breathing exercises can also aid a child.  These can help calm and focus the mind.  Many only take a few minutes.

Common Sense Media has a list of apps for children.  You can sort them by age.

Other Ideas

These are some ideas that can be done without technology.

More info on the research behind mindfulness and ADHD is discussed in the article Exercising the Mind to Treat Attention Deficits. 

Works Cited

Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York, NY: Hyperion.