and persistent difficulties with a child's attention span, impulse control, and sometimes hyperactivity.

Many children have grown up to become successful adults by developing their strengths, creativity, and survival skills. Some have not done so well in the community.

Many of the symptoms are present in all children at some time. It is only when these symptoms are excessive or cause disruptive behavioural problems that a concern arises. It is important to identify these children early in order to implement intervention measures. The purpose is to prevent the cycle of failure, frustration, and plummeting self esteem experienced by adolescents and adults who did not have their problems adequately addressed.

ADD stands for Attention Deficit Disorder. A child with ADD is often not hyperactive. They are not usually disruptive in the classroom and their behaviours may not be annoying or even noticeable. However, the child may underachieve in school and have low self esteem. These children may exhibit the following behavioural characteristics: Easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli.

Difficulty in listening and following directions.

Difficulty in focusing and maintain attention.

Difficulty in concentrating and paying attention to a task.

Inconsistent performance in school work (sometimes can do the task).

Tunes out.

Disorganised (loses or can't find things/desk or room may be a disaster area) Poor study skills.

Difficulty in working independently.

Some children exhibit some of these characteristic as well as hyperactivity.

This is referred to as ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder which is characterised by: High activity level (appears to be in constant motion/often fidgets with hands or feet, squirms, falls from chair/finds nearby objects to play with/roams around the class or great difficulty in remaining seated).

Impulsive and lack of self control (burst out verbally/can't wait turn/often interrupts or intrudes on others/often talks excessively/responds first and thinks later/often participates in physically dangerous activities without considering the consequence which can result in injury.

Difficulty in changing activities.

Aggressive behaviour because they are easily overstimulated.

Socially immature.

Low self esteem and high frustration.

Each child is unique and can display a different combination of behaviours, strengths, weaknesses, interests, talents, and skills. The child who exhibits a significantly high number of developmentally inappropriate behaviours is in need of intervention.

DIAGNOSIS The child will need to be assessed by a qualified physician, psychologist, and educator who perform an evaluation which include medical examination, psychological and educational testing, speech and language assessment, neurological evaluation, and behavioural scales that are completed by the child's parents and teachers.

It must be noted that not all of the characteristics mentioned are present in every child. A diagnosis will be based on the severity of the problems, the persistence of the problem, and the pattern of characteristics that are present. These include inattentiveness and distractibility, impulsiveness, hyperactivity, attention demanding behaviour, learning difficulties, coordination difficulties, unacceptable social behaviour, and immaturity.

TREATMENT Once a child has been identified and diagnosed, the management of these children requires the collaboration and the cooperation of parents, teachers, physicians and many other resources. A multifaceted approach is most effective. Treatment methods include behaviour modification and management, counselling to help the child to learn coping techniques, problem solving strategies, and dealing with stress and self esteem, social skills training, numerous school intervention strategies, providing physical outlet (swimming, martial arts, running, gymnastics), and drug therapy.

SUMMARY It is important that parents learn as much as they can about attention deficit disorder in order that they can support an become a competent advocate for their child. Children with attention deficit cannot manage their lives, cope with frustrations, and compensate for their weakness along. With patient, positive understanding and appropriate intervention measures, these children can learn to value themselves as unique, gifted individuals who will have much to contribute to the community.