ADHD And The Role Of The Occupational Therapist丨职能治疗师如何帮助多动症的孩子

Telling a child with ADHD to concentrate hard or to stop daydreaming is like asking a child who is nearsighted to try to see farther when he's not wearing glasses.

Nelson J. Dorta

Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, control impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active. 

The main symptoms of inattentiveness include:

a short attention span

making careless mistakes

being forgetful or losing things

being unable to stick to boring tasks

difficulty listening or carrying out instructions

constantly changing activity

difficulty organising tasks

The main symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsiveness include:

fidgeting or being unable to sit still

lots of physical movement or talking

being unable to wait your turn

acting impulsively or recklessly

interrupting conversations

Occupational therapist and sensory integration specialist

As a German occupational therapist who has a B.A. in Occupational Therapy from Academy for Occupational Therapy in Germany, Anne Gerber approaches problems by examining the physical performances of a child.

Did you know that OT helps people participate in their desired occupations with the therapeutic use of everyday activities?

Occupational therapists (OTs) are healthcare professionals specializing in occupational therapy and occupational science. OTs use scientific bases and holistic perspectives to promote a person's ability to fulfill their daily routines and roles. OTs have immense training in the physical, psychological, and social aspects of human functioning deriving from an education grounded in anatomical and physiological concepts, and psychological perspectives. They enable individuals across their lifespan by optimizing their abilities to perform activities that are meaningful to them. Human occupations include activities of daily living, work/vocation, play, education, leisure, rest and sleep, and social participation.

I usually meet the family and child at the office or in the student's school.  I often recommend a comprehensive assessment of the child to understand the existing obstacles. Based on the outcome I create an individualized intervention program targeting specific goals and objectives.  Poor motor coordination (or motor performance) is a common coexisting difficulty in children with ADHD, though it has received less attention in research the problem can be a basic one in a day-to-day living situation. For example, children with ADHD who experience motor difficulties often display deficits in tasks requiring coordination of complex movements, such as handwriting or navigating the computer with a mouse.

A simple task Anne gives a child to develop fine motor skill is to have the child practice using a pencil, and draw different shapes by dot-to-dot connection. Practice doesn't make perfect here, but it helps a child improve his/her fine motor skill. For parents to help the child improve at home, Anne's advice starts with simple task completions such as having the child clean up his/her room. A child with ADHD will normally not be able to complete this task in one attempt, the child might clean up a corner of the room and get distracted with other things. Instead of getting angry at the child, what a parent can do in this situation is compliment the child on his/her achievement of cleaning up the corner of the room. In addition, remind the child by saying something like: "Do you remember what you were supposed to be doing?" to have the child go back to finish cleaning up the room. This process of task completion might take several practices before the child can complete the task in one attempt. Anne advises parents to be patient and to be the cheerleader to their children as having support at home builds a foundation of love and confidence to an ADHD child.

Over the past 17 years of ELG's training, the best results are seen with a combination of school program training and at home improvements. Here's how it can work: the occupational therapist would supervise the progress of the child, maintain regular communication and update with parents to track the growth of the child, furthermore, the occupational therapist would advise the child's parents on how to better assist the intervention in the living environment at home.

Languages：German, English

Anne provides services including handedness and handwriting, visual-motor skills, visual-perception training to improve attention, sensory integration treatment, and fine/gross motor skills development. She has particular expertise with children with visual problems and strabismus. Prior to joining ELG in 2006, Anne completed internships in children's hospitals all over the world, using her skills in a variety of cultures. She has also been trained in numerous programs including Psychomotor Certification; Marburger Training for Attention; Training for Understanding Children with Auditory Processing Disorder; Treatment and Counselling for Children with ADHD. Anne is passionate about supporting children and giving them opportunities for self-expression.

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