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PERSPECTIVE REFLECTION ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
ADHA- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a disability that was diagnosed by the
doctor, last year. With medication, there has not been much change in the behaviors at
school and home. This year we started seeing a behavioral psychologist once a week.
They are in the process of diagnosing DMDD- Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder.
With ADHD many characteristics are associated with the condition. ADHD
stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. “Attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder is marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity
that interferes with functioning or development”. (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder) Many of the characteristics include inattention, Hyperactivity and even being
impulsive. Sometimes this is hard to diagnose due to people using the expression “kids
will be kids”. The condition DMDD is also known as Disruptive mood dysregulation
disorder. This is very close to the adult diagnosis of bipolar. Doctors did not like putting
that label on small children. Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder “includes severe
temper outbursts and irritable or angry mood. These outbursts must be consistent and
persistent, occurring at least three times per week, and for at least 12 months”.
Several accommodations can be used for both ADHD and DMDD. With ADHA
he works better if there is always something to do. Downtimes are always hard, he
constantly likes to stay busy and be doing something. Although with the possible
diagnosis of DMDD make things a little more difficult. There are fits of anger and
violence but then he will be completely happy. Some accommodation could be sitting in
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the general education class with him to have extra support. Mom suggested that when he
is having a hard time to sit next him. Sometimes just having a one-on-one helps him calm
down. He knows that someone is right there with him.
There are some practical modes of instruction that will help with the behavior problems.
“One way to address this problem is to provide self-management instruction. Instruction
in self-management skills involves teaching children to pay attention to, monitor, and
record their performance”. By teaching him how to move the clips down and
understanding his consequences. Some days are better than others.
Some creative reinforcers used at school are a good way to show how he is
behaving. At school, we use a daily contract that shows him how he is doing for each
hour. If that is not enough, we have a point chart in the behavior room. We worked with
mom to find treats that he will earn when he gets home that day. Some days are worse
than others. The mom is amazing at supporting the teachers at school. If he is tearing up
the room and being physically aggressive, she will be up at the school to talk to him and
discipline him at the school. Most of the time if we implement the self-management skills
with his clip chart. It works out well. Some days we have a rough time, and we walk into
the behavior room and look at how his day has gone. We sit and have a break and talk
about ways we can be better and make it a happy face hour.
We, in the behavior department, have had this child since he entered school. People often think
that it’s the parents doing if they don’t behave in school. This child has an actual condition that
interferes with the way that he behaves. Mom has tried several different options. At the same
time, she does not want to make him into a zombie at school. Several children are so
overmedicated that they cannot function in class. Until doing this research I was wondering why
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they have not diagnosed him with the DMDD. Now I know it takes 12 months to diagnose. Mom
just started taking him to the behavioral psychologist at the beginning of this school year.
“Children can have bipolar disorder at rates approaching 1-3% of the population, and those
antipsychotics are the treatment of choice—led to some of the most heated debates in medicine
in the early 20th century.” Before it was a thing that you would not think of to say that a child
had bipolar. Over the past school year, the mom has tried multiple types of medication in hopes
to find which one works better. With the DMDD, Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder it is
hard to get a medication that works with how fast children metabolize medication. Having
DMDD and ADHD, he is always on the go and always moving. Makes finding a medication
hard. The medication might work for two to three weeks and then it adjusts to his body, and it
feels like we are back at square one for a bit. Medicine is ever-evolving and will always be
changing.
There are many different diagnoses and sometimes parents refuse to see them. When
parents pretend that their child is fine, it is only hurting the child. I have known several parents
with autistic children and they believe they are fine. The mom I interviewed in my eyes is an
amazing person, She has other kids and she is trying anything and everything for the child. She
understands that there is something not right. She has sone everything from medication to
weekly therapist visits. Also, she is very willing to try different things at school to try and help
with whatever will make him stay calm and happy. “What do you think? If a man has a hundred
sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and
go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it
more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in
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References-
Bible Society of Papua New Guinea. (1990). Good news: Stories of Jesus.
DMDD VS bipolar disorder. MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds. (2016, May 19).
Retrieved April 25, 2022, from
https://www.mghclaycenter.org/parenting-concerns/families/when-you-have-an-explosive-
child/attachment/dmdd-vs-bipolar-disorder-2/
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved April 27, 2022, from
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd
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