In every little child,
Both the boy and the girl,
There are two hundred grams of explosives
Or even half a kilo!
He must run and jump
Grab everything, kick your legs,
Otherwise it will explode:
Fuck-bang! And he’s gone!
Every new child
Gets out of diapers
And gets lost everywhere
And it is everywhere!
He's always rushing somewhere
He will be terribly upset
If anything in the world
What if it happens without him!

Song from the film “Monkeys, Go!”

There are children who were born to immediately jump out of the cradle and rush off. They cannot sit still for even five minutes, they scream the loudest and rip their pants more often than anyone else. They always forget their notebooks and write “ Homework"with new errors. They interrupt adults, they sit under desks, they don’t walk by the hand. These are children with ADHD. Inattentive, restless and impulsive,” these words can be read on the main page of the website of the interregional organization of parents of children with ADHD “Impulse”.

Raising a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not easy. Parents of such children hear almost every day: “I’ve been working for so many years, but I’ve never seen such disgrace,” “Yes, he has bad manners syndrome!”, “We need to hit him more!” The child has been completely spoiled!≫.
Unfortunately, even today, many specialists working with children know nothing about ADHD (or know only by hearsay and therefore are skeptical about this information). In fact, sometimes it is easier to refer to pedagogical neglect, bad manners and spoiling than to try to find an approach to a non-standard child.
There is also the other side of the coin: sometimes the word “hyperactivity” is understood as impressionability, normal curiosity and mobility, protest behavior, or a child’s reaction to a chronic traumatic situation. The question is acute differential diagnosis, because most of the children's neurological diseases may be accompanied by impaired attention and disinhibition. However, the presence of these symptoms does not always indicate that a child has ADHD.
So what is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? What is an ADHD child like? And how can you tell a healthy “butt” from a hyperactive child? Let's try to figure it out.

What is ADHD

Definition and Statistics
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a developmental behavioral disorder that begins in childhood.
Symptoms include difficulty concentrating, hyperactivity, and poorly controlled impulsivity.
Synonyms: hyperdynamic syndrome, hyperkinetic disorder. Also in Russia, in the medical record, a neurologist can write for such a child: PEP CNS (perinatal damage to the central nervous system), MMD (minimal cerebral dysfunction), ICP (increased intracranial pressure).
First The description of the disease, characterized by motor disinhibition, attention deficit and impulsivity, appeared about 150 years ago, since then the terminology of the syndrome has been changed many times.
According to statistics, ADHD is more common in boys than in girls (almost 5 times). Some foreign studies indicate that this syndrome is more common among Europeans, fair-haired and blue-eyed children. American and Canadian experts use the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) classification when diagnosing ADHD; in Europe, the International Classification of Diseases ICD (International Classification of Diseases) has been adopted ) with more stringent criteria. In Russia, diagnosis is based on the criteria of the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), also based on the DSM-IV classification (WHO, 1994, recommendations for practical application as criteria for the diagnosis of ADHD).

ADHD controversy
Disputes among scientists about what ADHD is, how to diagnose it, what kind of therapy to carry out - medicinal or using measures of a pedagogical and psychological nature - have been going on for decades. The very fact of the presence of this syndrome is also called into question: so far no one can say for sure to what extent ADHD is the result of brain dysfunction, and to what extent - the result of improper upbringing and the incorrect psychological climate prevailing in the family.
The so-called ADHD controversy has been going on since at least 1970. In the West (in particular, in the USA), where it is customary drug treatment ADHD with help potent drugs containing psychotropic substances (methylphenidate, dextroamphetamine), the public is alarmed that a large number of “difficult” children are diagnosed with ADHD and drugs containing a large amount of drugs are unjustifiably often prescribed side effects. In Russia and most countries of the former CIS, another problem is more common - many teachers and parents are not aware that some children have characteristics that lead to impaired concentration and control. Lack of tolerance for the individual characteristics of children with ADHD leads to the fact that all the child’s problems are attributed to lack of upbringing, pedagogical neglect and parental laziness. The need to regularly make excuses for the actions of your child ("yes, we explain to him all the time" - "that means you explain poorly, since he does not understand") often leads to the fact that mothers and fathers experience helplessness and a sense of guilt, beginning to consider themselves worthless parents.

Sometimes it happens the other way around - motor disinhibition and talkativeness, impulsiveness and inability to comply with discipline and group rules are considered by adults (usually parents) to be a sign of the child’s outstanding abilities, and sometimes they are even encouraged in every possible way. ≪We have a wonderful child! He is not hyperactive at all, but simply lively and active. He’s not interested in these classes of yours, so he’s rebelling! At home, when he gets carried away, he can do the same thing for a long time. And having a quick temper is a character thing, what can you do about it,” some parents say, not without pride. On the one hand, these mothers and fathers are not so wrong - a child with ADHD, carried away by an interesting activity (assembling puzzles, role-playing games, watching an interesting cartoon - to each his own), can really do this for a long time. However, you should know that with ADHD, voluntary attention is primarily affected - this is a more complex function that is unique to humans and is formed during the learning process. Most seven-year-olds understand that during a lesson they need to sit quietly and listen to the teacher (even if they are not very interested). A child with ADHD understands all this too, but, unable to control himself, can get up and walk around the class, pull a neighbor’s pigtail, or interrupt the teacher.

It is important to know that ADHD children are not “spoiled,” “ill-mannered,” or “pedagogically neglected” (although such children, of course, also exist). This is worth remembering for those teachers and parents who recommend treating such children with vitamin P (or simply a belt). ADHD children disrupt classes, act out during breaks, are insolent and disobey adults, even if they know how to behave, due to objective personality traits inherent in ADHD. This needs to be understood by those adults who object to “diagnosing a child,” arguing that these children “just have that kind of character.”

How ADHD manifests itself
Main manifestations of ADHD
G.R. Lomakina in her book ≪ Hyperactive child. How to find mutual language with fidgety≫ describes the main symptoms of ADHD: hyperactivity, impaired attention, impulsivity.
HYPERACTIVITY manifests itself in excessive and, most importantly, stupid motor activity, anxiety, fussiness, numerous movements that the child often does not notice. As a rule, such children speak a lot and often confusedly, without finishing sentences and jumping from thought to thought. Lack of sleep often aggravates the manifestations of hyperactivity - the child’s already vulnerable nervous system, without having time to rest, cannot cope with the flow of information coming from the outside world and defends itself in a very peculiar way. In addition, such children often have problems with praxis—the ability to coordinate and control their actions.
ATTENTION DISORDERS manifest themselves in the fact that it is difficult for the child to concentrate on the same thing for a long time. His ability to selectively concentrate attention is not sufficiently developed - he cannot distinguish the main thing from the secondary. A child with ADHD constantly “jumps” from one thing to another: “loses” lines in the text, solves all examples at the same time, drawing the tail of a rooster, paints all the feathers at once and all colors at once. Such children are forgetful, do not know how to listen and concentrate. Instinctively, they try to avoid tasks that require prolonged mental effort (it is typical for any person to subconsciously shy away from activities, the failure of which he foresees in advance). However, the above does not mean that children with ADHD are unable to maintain attention on anything. They cannot focus only on what is not interesting to them. If they are fascinated by something, they can do it for hours. The trouble is that our lives are full of activities that we still have to do, despite the fact that they are not always exciting.
IMPULSIVITY is expressed in the fact that the child’s action often precedes thought. Before the teacher has time to ask the question, the ADHD student is already raising his hand, the task has not yet been fully formulated, and he is already completing it, and then, without permission, he gets up and runs to the window - simply because he became interested in watching how the wind blows from birch trees last leaves. Such children do not know how to regulate their actions, obey rules, or wait. Their mood changes faster than the direction of the wind in autumn.
It is known that no two people are exactly alike, so the symptoms of ADHD manifest differently in different children. Sometimes the main complaint of parents and teachers will be impulsivity and hyperactivity; in another child, attention deficit is most pronounced. Depending on the severity of symptoms, ADHD is divided into three main types: mixed, with severe attention deficit, or with a predominance of hyperactivity and impulsivity. At the same time, G.R. Lomakina notes that each of the above criteria can, at different times and in varying degrees be expressed in the same child: “That is, to put it in Russian, the same child today can be absent-minded and inattentive, tomorrow - resemble an electric broom with an Energizer battery, the day after tomorrow - move all day from laughing to crying and vice versa, and in a couple more days - to fit inattention, mood swings, and irrepressible and confused energy into one day.”

Additional symptoms common in children with ADHD
Coordination problems detected in approximately half of ADHD cases. These may include problems with fine movements (tying shoelaces, using scissors, coloring, writing), balance (children have difficulty riding a skateboard and a two-wheeled bicycle), or visual-spatial coordination (inability to play sports, especially with a ball).
Emotional disturbances often observed in ADHD. The emotional development of a child, as a rule, is delayed, which is manifested by imbalance, hot temper, and intolerance to failure. Sometimes they say that the emotional-volitional sphere of a child with ADHD is in a ratio of 0.3 with his biological age (for example, a 12-year-old child behaves like an eight-year-old).
Disorders of social relations. A child with ADHD often experiences difficulties in relationships not only with peers, but also with adults. The behavior of such children is often characterized by impulsiveness, intrusiveness, excessiveness, disorganization, aggressiveness, impressionability and emotionality. Thus, a child with ADHD is often a disruptor to the smooth flow of social relationships, interaction and cooperation.
Partial developmental delays, including school skills, are known to be the discrepancy between actual academic performance and what would be expected based on a child's IQ. In particular, difficulties with reading, writing, and counting (dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia) are common. Many children with ADHD before school age have specific difficulties in understanding certain sounds or words and/or difficulties in expressing their opinions in words.

Myths about ADHD
ADHD is not a perceptual disorder! Children with ADHD hear, see, and perceive reality just like everyone else. This distinguishes ADHD from autism, in which motor disinhibition is also common. However, in autism, these phenomena are caused by impaired perception of information. Therefore, the same child cannot be diagnosed with ADHD and autism at the same time. One excludes the other.
ADHD is based on a violation of the ability to perform a given task, an inability to plan, carry out, and complete a task begun. Children with ADHD feel, understand, and perceive the world in the same way as everyone else, but they react to it differently.
ADHD is not a disorder of understanding and processing received information! A child with ADHD is, in most cases, able to analyze and draw the same conclusions as anyone else. These children know very well, understand and can even easily repeat all those rules that they are constantly reminded, day after day: “don’t run”, “sit still”, “don’t turn around”, “keep quiet during the lesson”, “drive” behave just like everyone else,” “clean up your toys.” However, children with ADHD cannot follow these rules.
It is worth remembering that ADHD is a syndrome, that is, a stable, single combination of certain symptoms. From this we can conclude that at the root of ADHD lies one unique feature, which always forms slightly different, but essentially similar behavior. Broadly speaking, ADHD is a disorder of motor function and planning and control, rather than perceptual and comprehension function.

Portrait of a hyperactive child
At what age can ADHD be suspected?
“Hurricane”, “tough in the butt”, “perpetual motion machine” - what definitions do parents of children with ADHD give their children! When teachers and educators talk about such a child, the main thing in their description will be the adverb “too”. The author of a book about hyperactive children, G.R. Lomakina, notes with humor that “there are too many such children everywhere and always, he is too active, he can be heard too well and far away, he is too often visible absolutely everywhere.” For some reason, such children not only always end up in some kind of story, but such children also always end up in all the stories that happen within ten blocks of the school.”
Although today there is no clear understanding of when and at what age we can say with confidence that a child has ADHD, most experts agree that that this diagnosis cannot be made before five years. Many researchers argue that signs of ADHD are most pronounced between 5 and 12 years of age and during puberty (from about 14 years of age).
Although ADHD is rarely diagnosed in early childhood, some experts believe that There are a number of signs that suggest the likelihood of a baby having this syndrome. According to some researchers, the first manifestations of ADHD coincide with the peaks of a child’s psycho-speech development, that is, they most clearly manifest themselves at 1-2 years, 3 years and 6-7 years.
Children prone to ADHD often have increased muscle tone in infancy, experience problems with sleep, especially falling asleep, and are extremely sensitive to any stimuli (light, noise, presence of large quantity unfamiliar people, a new, unusual situation or environment), during wakefulness they are often excessively mobile and excited.

What is important to know about a child with ADHD
1) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is considered to be one of the so-called borderline mental states. That is, in the usual calm state this is one of the extreme variants of the norm, but the slightest catalyst is enough to bring the psyche out of normal condition and the extreme version of the norm has already turned into some kind of deviation. The catalyst for ADHD is any activity that requires increased attention from the child, concentration on the same type of work, as well as any hormonal changes that occur in the body.
2) Diagnosis of ADHD does not imply a delay in the child’s intellectual development. On the contrary, as a rule, children with ADHD are very smart and have fairly high intellectual abilities (sometimes above average).
3) The mental activity of a hyperactive child is characterized by cyclicity.. Children can work productively for 5-10 minutes, then the brain rests for 3-7 minutes, accumulating energy for the next cycle. At this moment, the student is distracted and does not respond to the teacher. Mental activity is then restored and the child is ready to work within the next 5-15 minutes. Psychologists say that children with ADHD have the so-called. flickering consciousness: that is, they can periodically “fall out” during activity, especially in the absence of motor activity.
4) Scientists have found that motor stimulation corpus callosum, cerebellum and vestibular apparatus of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder leads to the development of the function of consciousness, self-control and self-regulation.
When a hyperactive child thinks, he needs to make some movements - for example, swing on a chair, tap a pencil on the table, mutter something under his breath. If he stops moving, he seems to “fall into a stupor” and loses the ability to think. 5) It is typical for hyperactive children superficiality of feelings and emotions . They
They cannot hold a grudge for long and are not vindictive. 6) A hyperactive child is characterized by frequent mood changes
- from stormy delight to unbridled anger. 7) The consequence of impulsiveness in ADHD children is hot temper
. In a fit of anger, such a child can tear up the notebook of a neighbor who offended him, throw all his things onto the floor, and shake out the contents of his briefcase onto the floor. 8) Children with ADHD often develop- the child begins to think that he is bad, not like everyone else. Therefore, it is very important that adults treat him kindly, understanding that his behavior is caused by objective difficulties of control (that he does not want, but cannot behave well).
9) Often in ADHD children reduced pain threshold . They are also practically devoid of any sense of fear. This can be dangerous for the health and life of the child, as it can lead to unpredictable fun.

How to recognize ADHD
Basic diagnostic methods
So, what to do if parents or teachers suspect that their child has ADHD? How to understand what determines a child’s behavior: pedagogical neglect, shortcomings in upbringing or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? Or maybe just character? In order to answer these questions, you need to contact a specialist.
It’s worth saying right away that, unlike other neurological disorders, for which there are clear methods of laboratory or instrumental confirmation, There is no objective diagnostic method for ADHD. According to modern recommendations experts and diagnostic protocols, carrying out mandatory instrumental examinations children with ADHD (in particular, electroencephalograms, computed tomography etc.) not shown. There is a lot of work that describes certain changes in the EEG (or the use of other functional diagnostic methods) in children with ADHD, but these changes are nonspecific - that is, they can be observed both in children with ADHD and in children without this disorder. On the other hand, it often happens that functional diagnostics do not reveal any deviations from the norm, but the child has ADHD. Therefore, with clinical point vision The basic method for diagnosing ADHD is an interview with parents and the child and the use of diagnostic questionnaires.
Due to the fact that with this violation the boundary between normal behavior and disorder is very arbitrary, the specialist has to establish it in each case at his own discretion(unlike other disorders where guidelines still exist). Thus, due to the need to make a subjective decision, the risk of error is quite high: both failure to identify ADHD (this especially applies to milder, “borderline” forms) and identification of the syndrome where it actually does not exist. Moreover, subjectivity doubles: after all, the specialist is guided by anamnesis data, which reflects the subjective opinion of the parents. Meanwhile, parental ideas about what behavior is considered normal and what is not can be very different and are determined by many factors. Nevertheless, the timeliness of diagnosis depends on how attentive and, if possible, objective people from the child’s immediate environment (teachers, parents or pediatricians) will be. After all, the sooner you understand the child’s characteristics, the more time it takes to correct ADHD.

Stages of diagnosing ADHD
1) Clinical interview with a specialist (child neurologist, pathopsychologist, psychiatrist).
2) Use of diagnostic questionnaires. It is advisable to obtain information about the child “from different sources”: from parents, teachers, a psychologist at the educational institution that the child attends. The golden rule in diagnosing ADHD is confirmation of the disorder from at least two independent sources.
3) In doubtful, “borderline” cases, when the opinions of parents and specialists regarding the presence of a child with ADHD differ, it makes sense video recording and its analysis ( recording of the child’s behavior in class, etc.). However, help is also important in cases of behavioral problems without a diagnosis of ADHD - the point, after all, is not the label.
4) If possible - neuropsychological examination child whose goal is to establish the level intellectual development, as well as identifying frequently associated impairments in school skills (reading, writing, arithmetic). Identification of these disorders is also important in terms of differential diagnosis, because in the presence of reduced intellectual capabilities or specific learning difficulties, attention problems in the classroom may be caused by the program not matching the child’s level of abilities, and not by ADHD.
5) Additional examinations (if necessary)): consultation with a pediatrician, neurologist, other specialists, instrumental and laboratory research for the purpose of differential diagnosis and identification concomitant diseases. A basic pediatric and neurological examination is advisable due to the need to exclude “ADHD-like” syndrome caused by somatic and neurological disorders.
It is important to remember that behavioral and attention disorders in children can be caused by any common somatic diseases(such as anemia, hyperthyroidism), as well as all disorders that cause chronic pain, itching, and physical discomfort. The cause of “pseudo-ADHD” may also be side effects certain medications(for example, biphenyl, phenobarbital), as well as a number of neurological disorders(epilepsy with absence seizures, chorea, tics and many others). The child's problems may also be due to the presence sensory disorders , and here a basic pediatric examination is important to identify visual or hearing impairments that, when expressed in minor degree, may be inadequately diagnosed. Pediatric examination is also advisable due to the need to assess the general somatic condition of the child, identify possible contraindications regarding the use of certain groups of medications that can be prescribed to children with ADHD.

Diagnostic questionnaires
ADHD criteria according to DSM-IV classification
Attention disorder
a) is often unable to concentrate on details or makes careless mistakes when completing school assignments or other activities;
b) often have problems maintaining attention on a task or game;
c) problems often arise with organizing activities and completing tasks;
d) is often reluctant to engage in or avoid activities that require sustained attention (such as class assignments or homework);
e) often loses or forgets things needed to complete tasks or other activities (for example, a diary, books, pens, tools, toys);
f) is easily distracted by extraneous stimuli;
g) often does not listen when spoken to;
h) often does not adhere to instructions, does not complete assignments, homework or other work completely or to the proper extent (but not out of protest, stubbornness or inability to understand instructions/tasks);
i) forgetful in daily activities.

Hyperactivity - impulsiveness(at least six of the following symptoms must be present):
Hyperactivity:
a) cannot sit still, constantly moves;
b) often leaves his seat in situations where he must sit (for example, in class);
c) runs around a lot and “turns things over” where this should not be done (in adolescents and adults, the equivalent may be a feeling of internal tension and a constant need to move);
d) is unable to play quietly, calmly, or rest;
e) acts “as if wound up” - like a toy with the motor turned on;
f) talks too much.

Impulsiveness:
g) often speaks prematurely, without hearing the question to the end;
h) impatient, often cannot wait for his turn;
i) frequently interrupts others and interferes with their activities/conversations. The above symptoms must have been present for at least six months and occur in at least two different environments (school, home, playground etc.) and not be conditioned by another violation.

Diagnostic criteria used by Russian specialists

Attention disorder(diagnosed when 4 of 7 signs are present):
1) needs a calm, quiet environment, otherwise he is not able to work and concentrate;
2) often asks again;
3) easily distracted by external stimuli;
4) confuses details;
5) does not finish what he starts;
6) listens, but seems not to hear;
7) has difficulty concentrating unless a one-on-one situation is created.

Impulsiveness
1) shouts in class, makes noise during the lesson;
2) extremely excitable;
3) it is difficult for him to wait his turn;
4) excessively talkative;
5) hurts other children.

Hyperactivity(diagnosed when 3 out of 5 signs are present):
1) climbs on cabinets and furniture;
2) always ready to go; runs more often than walks;
3) fussy, squirms and writhes;
4) if he does something, he does it with noise;
5) must always do something.

Characteristic behavior problems must be characterized by early onset (before six years) and persistence over time (manifest for at least six months). However, before entering school, hyperactivity is difficult to recognize due to the wide range of normal variants.

And what will grow from it?
What will grow from it? This is a question that worries all parents, and if fate has decreed that you become a mom or dad with ADHD, then you are especially worried. What is the prognosis for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? Scientists answer this question in different ways. Today they talk about the three most possible options ADHD development.
1. Over time symptoms disappear, and children become teenagers and adults without deviations from the norm. Analysis of the results of most studies indicates that from 25 to 50 percent of children “outgrow” this syndrome.
2. Symptoms to varying degrees continue to be present, but without signs of developing psychopathology. These are the majority of people (50% or more). They have some problems in Everyday life. According to surveys, they are constantly accompanied by a feeling of “impatience and restlessness,” impulsiveness, social inadequacy, and low self-esteem throughout their lives. There are reports of a higher frequency of accidents, divorces, and job changes among this group of people.
3. Developing severe complications in adults in the form of personality or antisocial changes, alcoholism and even psychotic states.

What path is prepared for these children? In many ways, this depends on us, adults. Psychologist Margarita Zhamkochyan characterizes hyperactive children as follows: “Everyone knows that restless children grow up to be explorers, adventurers, travelers and company founders. And this is not just a frequent coincidence. There are quite extensive observations: children who are junior school They tormented teachers with their hyperactivity; as they got older, they became interested in something specific - and by the age of fifteen they became real experts in this matter. They gain attention, concentration, and perseverance. Such a child can learn everything else without much diligence, and the subject of his hobby - thoroughly. Therefore, when they claim that the syndrome usually disappears by high school age, this is not true. It is not compensated for, but results in some kind of talent, a unique skill.”
The creator of the famous airline JetBlue, David Neelyman, is happy to say that in his childhood he was not only diagnosed with such a syndrome, but also described it as “flamboyant”. And the presentation of his work biography and management methods suggests that this syndrome did not leave him in his adult years, moreover, that it was to him that he owed his dizzying career.
And this is not the only example. If you analyze the biographies of some famous people, it will become clear that in childhood they had all the symptoms characteristic of hyperactive children: explosive temperament, problems with learning at school, a penchant for risky and adventurous undertakings. It is enough to take a closer look around, remember two or three good acquaintances who have succeeded in life, their childhood years, in order to conclude: a gold medal and a red diploma very rarely turn out to be successful career and well paid work.
Of course, a hyperactive child is difficult in everyday life. But understanding the reasons for his behavior can make it easier for adults to accept a “difficult child.” Psychologists say that children are especially in dire need of love and understanding when they least deserve it. This is especially true for a child with ADHD, who exhausts parents and teachers with his constant “antics.” The love and attention of parents, the patience and professionalism of teachers, and timely help from specialists can become a springboard for a child with ADHD into a successful adult life.

Oksana BERKOVSKAYA | editor of the magazine "Seventh Petal"

Portrait of a hyperdynamic child
The first thing that catches your eye when meeting a hyperdynamic child is his excessive mobility in relation to his calendar age and some kind of “stupid” mobility.
As a baby, such a child gets out of diapers in the most incredible way. ...It is impossible to leave such a baby on the changing table or on the sofa even for a minute from the very first days and weeks of his life. If you just gape a little, he will definitely twist somehow and fall to the floor with a dull thud. However, as a rule, all consequences will be limited to a loud but short scream.
Not always, but quite often, hyperdynamic children experience certain sleep disturbances. ...Sometimes the presence of hyperdynamic syndrome can be assumed in an infant by observing his activity in relation to toys and other objects (however, this can only be done by a specialist who knows well how ordinary children of this age manipulate objects). The exploration of objects in a hyperdynamic infant is intense, but extremely undirected. That is, the child throws away the toy before exploring its properties, immediately grabs another (or several at once) only to throw that one away a few seconds later.
...As a rule, motor skills in hyperdynamic children develop in accordance with age, often even ahead of age indicators. Hyperdynamic children, earlier than others, begin to hold their heads up, roll over onto their stomachs, sit, stand up, walk, etc. ... It is these children who stick their heads between the bars of the crib, get stuck in the playpen net, get tangled in duvet covers, and quickly and dexterously learn to remove everything that caring parents put on them.
As soon as a hyperdynamic child ends up on the floor, a new, extremely important stage begins in the life of the family, the purpose and meaning of which is to protect the life and health of the child, as well as family property from possible damage. The activity of a hyperdynamic baby is unstoppable and overwhelming. Sometimes relatives get the impression that it operates around the clock, almost without a break. Hyperdynamic children do not walk from the very beginning, but run.
...It is these children aged from one to two - two and a half years old who pull tablecloths and tableware onto the floor, drop televisions and Christmas trees, fall asleep on the shelves of empty wardrobes, endlessly, despite the prohibitions, turn on the gas and water, and also overturn pots with contents of different temperatures and consistencies.
As a rule, no attempts to reason with hyperdynamic children have any effect. They are fine with memory and speech understanding. They just can't help themselves. Having committed another trick or destructive act, the hyperdynamic child himself is sincerely upset and does not understand at all how it happened: “She fell on her own!”, “I walked, walked, climbed in, and then I don’t know,” “I didn’t touch it at all.” !
...Quite often, hyperdynamic children experience various disorders speech development. Some begin to speak later than their peers, some - on time or even earlier, but the problem is that no one understands them, because they do not pronounce two-thirds of the sounds of the Russian language. ...When they speak, they wave their arms a lot and confusedly, shift from foot to foot or jump on the spot.
Another feature of hyperdynamic children is that they do not learn not only from other people’s mistakes, but even from their own mistakes. Yesterday, a child was walking with his grandmother on the playground, climbed onto a high ladder, and could not get down. I had to ask the teenage boys to take it down from there. The child was clearly frightened when asked: “Well, are you going to climb this ladder now?” — he answers earnestly: “I won’t!” The next day, on the same playground, the first thing he does is run to that same ladder...

Hyperdynamic children are the ones who get lost. And there is absolutely no strength left to scold the child who is found, and he himself does not really understand what happened. “You left!”, “I just went to look!”, “Were you looking for me?!” - all this discourages, angers, makes you doubt the mental and emotional capabilities of the child.
...Hyperdynamic children, as a rule, are not evil. They are not able to harbor grudges or plans for revenge for a long time, and are not prone to targeted aggression. They quickly forget all insults; yesterday’s offender or the one offended today is their best friend. But in the heat of a fight, when the already weak braking mechanisms fail, these children can be aggressive.

The real problems of a hyperdynamic child (and his family) begin with schooling. “Yes, he can do anything if he wants! All he has to do is concentrate - and all these tasks will be a breeze for him!” - nine out of ten parents say this or approximately this. The trouble is that a hyperdynamic child absolutely cannot concentrate. Sitting down for homework, within five minutes he is drawing in a notebook, rolling a typewriter on the table, or simply looking out the window behind which the older kids are playing football or preening the feathers of a raven. Another ten minutes later he will really want to drink, then eat, then, of course, go to the toilet.
The same thing happens in the classroom. A hyperdynamic child is like a speck in the teacher’s eye. He endlessly spins in place, gets distracted and chats with his desk neighbor. ...He is either absent from work in class and then, when asked, answers inappropriately, or takes an active part, jumps on his desk with his hand raised to the sky, runs out into the aisle, shouting: “Me! I! Ask me!” - or simply, unable to resist, shouts out the answer from his seat.
Notebooks of a hyperdynamic child (especially in primary school) are a pitiful sight. The number of errors in them competes with the amount of dirt and corrections. The notebooks themselves are almost always wrinkled, with bent and dirty corners, with torn covers, with stains of some kind of unintelligible dirt, as if someone had recently eaten pies on them. The lines in the notebooks are uneven, letters creep up and down, letters are missing or replaced in words, words are missing in sentences. The punctuation marks seem to appear in a completely arbitrary order - author's punctuation in the worst sense of the word. It is the hyperdynamic child who can make four mistakes in the word “more.”
Reading problems also occur. Some hyperdynamic children read very slowly, stumbling over every word, but they read the words themselves correctly. Others read quickly, but change endings and “swallow” words and entire sentences. In the third case, the child reads normally in terms of pace and quality of pronunciation, but does not understand what he read at all and cannot remember or retell anything.
Problems with mathematics are even less common and are usually associated with the child’s total inattention. He can solve a difficult problem correctly and then write down the wrong answer. He easily confuses meters with kilograms, apples with boxes, and the resulting answer of two diggers and two-thirds does not bother him at all. If there is a “+” sign in the example, the hyperdynamic child will easily and correctly perform subtraction, if there is a division sign, he will perform multiplication, etc. and so on.

A hyperdynamic child constantly loses everything. He forgets his hat and mittens in the locker room, his briefcase in the park near the school, his sneakers in the gym, his pen and textbook in the classroom, and his grade book somewhere in the trash heap. In his knapsack, books, notebooks, shoes, apple cores and half-eaten sweets coexist calmly and closely.
At recess, a hyperdynamic child is a “hostile whirlwind.” The accumulated energy urgently requires an outlet and finds it. There is no fight that our child will not get involved in, there is no prank that he will refuse. Stupid, crazy running around during recess or after-school activities, ending somewhere in the solar plexus of one of the members of the teaching staff, and appropriate indoctrination and repression is the inevitable ending of almost every school day of our child.

Ekaterina Murashova | From the book: “Children are “mattresses” and children are “catastrophes””

This deviation (which is primarily of a neurological nature) is characterized by high impulsiveness, mobility, restlessness, distractibility, and decreased self-control. A hyperactive child cannot sit still and constantly twirls something in his hands. At the same time, in contrast to productive activity, focus is low. The child does not accept the task set by an adult well, jumps from one activity to another, although he can do something he loves for a long time, without stopping or being distracted. With hyperactivity, tics and obsessive movements. Hyperactivity may be caused by increased intracranial pressure(hydrocephalus), organic brain damage. In many cases, install physiological reason hyperactivity fails. If hyperactivity is suspected, consultation with a neurologist is recommended.

G. Asthenia

This is a state of nervous exhaustion, weakness. In this state, both physical and mental fatigue sharply increases in the child, and performance decreases. With asthenia, memory and attention deteriorate. Tearfulness, moodiness, and irritability appear. Asthenia occurs as a result past diseases(both nervous and general), with overwork, lack of vitamins, disturbances in lifestyle (lack of sleep, nutrition, walks). Long-term stress also leads to asthenia. Some children are predisposed to easy occurrence asthenia – the so-called asthenic type, characterized by a general weakening of the nervous system and high sensitivity (sensitivity). For most schoolchildren, by the end school year More or less pronounced asthenic conditions arise due to fatigue accumulated over the year. When strongly pronounced signs Asthenia, consultation with a neurologist is recommended.

D. Decreased motivation

This is one of the common causes of school difficulties. It can be local (that is, relate only to some - That a certain type activity) or general (relating to any activity). A local decrease in motivation is most significant when it relates to educational activities. Decline educational motivation, as a rule, is reflected in the child’s behavior during a psychological examination, especially when tasks similar to educational ones are offered. A general decrease in motivation is most characteristic of depression. It is also possible with deep asthenia and with some other mental disorders.

III.4. Correlating complaints with features mental development

In this subsection we will focus on the question of what the psychological reasons some of the most common complaints that junior schoolchildren lead to a psychologist-consultant. Knowing this will help to analyze survey materials in a more targeted manner.

A. The child does not study well

This is perhaps the most common complaint in primary school age. Often, in the initial complaint, parents and teachers do not note any other difficulties: poor performance overshadows everything else for them. Only in the final conversation, when the consultant describes psychological characteristics child, other problems also emerge (communication disorders, emotional distress, etc.). One of the following reasons (or a combination of several of them) may be behind this complaint:

Impaired mental function(learning disabilities). In our experience, when there is a complaint about academic failure, in approximately half of the cases one or another degree of developmental deviation is detected cognitive processes. It should be borne in mind that even in a normal sample, learning disabilities are quite common (occurring in approximately 20-25% of primary schoolchildren). In relatively rare cases, academic failure is explained by deeper impairments in intellectual development ( mental retardation).

Chronic failure . If parents or a teacher report that a child is failing in almost all subjects, then the examination almost always reveals signs of chronic failure. Rare exceptions are cases mental retardation, especially profound mental retardation, infantilism or a sharp decrease in motivation, leading to negative assessments being of little significance for the child. Sometimes psychological syndrome chronic failure is the only cause of academic failure, but more often it appears in combination with other deviations: learning disabilities, asthenia, and a mild decrease in educational motivation. A more localized disorder that causes symptoms similar to chronic failure is school anxiety .

Retirement from activities rarely leads to particularly profound underachievement, however, this psychological syndrome also reduces educational achievements. Sometimes this syndrome can be suspected by the very nature of the complaint, when it is not so much low academic performance that is emphasized as the child’s passivity.

Verbalism– one of the common reasons for the pronounced unevenness of a child’s achievements. As a rule, children with verbalism read well and are able to answer questions comprehensively and “smoothly,” but they have problems with subjects that require a higher level of intellectual development. Most often they relate to mathematics, and primarily to problem solving, while examples aimed at formally performing arithmetic operations do not cause difficulties.

Lack of educational and cognitive motives . This reason for academic failure is rare at the beginning of schooling. However, by the second year of study, motivation decreases in many children. Of course, it is not the children who are to blame for this, but the adults who create an atmosphere of coercion and joylessness around studying. A general decrease in motivation is much less common than a local decrease in educational motives.

Asthenia . With asthenia, parents and teachers usually note a relatively recent decline in academic performance, which was previously good. Teachers also report that in the first (morning) lessons the child works better than in the last ones, and at the beginning of the lesson - better than at the end. As a rule, there are direct indications of increased fatigue.

B. The child is lazy

This is one of the very common complaints, and it can be the most different reasons. Let's look at some of them.

Excessive requirements . Often, parents and teachers consider a child lazy who studies quite normally, but, in fact, does not make any special efforts and therefore does not fully realize his potential at school. However, he may have some - then his hobby - for example, he likes to play football. It is then quite natural that he devotes only as much time to his studies as is necessary to remain at an average level, even if his abilities allow him to achieve much more. Any claims against such a child are inappropriate. He, like any person, has the right to choose his hobbies.

Decreased educational and cognitive motives . This problem was discussed in the previous subsection. It is often behind both complaints about poor performance and complaints about laziness.

Slow pace of activity . In these cases, the child works completely conscientiously and purposefully, but so slowly that it seems to others that he is too lazy to move or make any effort. In fact, the slowness of the pace of activity is of a physiological nature (the slow flow of nervous processes) and in no case can be considered “laziness.”

Asthenicity, decreased energy gives the most classic picture of “laziness”: a child likes to lie in bed for a long time, does nothing for hours (since he has no strength to do anything), lifts a finger and is already tired... It seems to adults that he could not get tired of such a trifling effort, but it turns out that he could.

Self-doubt, anxiety can also manifest itself as “laziness”: the child does not write a phrase because he is completely unsure of what and how to write. He begins to shirk any action if he is not sure that he will perform it well, and an anxious person almost never has such confidence.

Violation of relationship with teacher- another common reason for shirking schoolwork, perceived by adults as “laziness.” The child does not want to go to school, do homework, and is not interested in anything even remotely reminiscent of school.

Laziness in the truest sense of the word, that is, hedonism, when a child does only what pleases him and avoids everything else, is quite rare. When it is observed, we can assume with a high degree of confidence that its root cause is simple spoiling.

B. The child is distracted

Complaints about inattention and childhood absent-mindedness are very common in advisory practice. Naturally, with such a complaint, it is necessary, first of all, to check the attention function using some special technique (in particular, the “Coding” test is convenient for this; see II.3. IN). Taking into account other data, this makes it possible to distinguish the main types of behavior, commonly referred to in everyday life as “inattention.”

Immaturity of the attention function- not only not the only one, but also by no means the most common reason complaints of inattention. If it really does occur, then it is necessary to find out whether the child has signs of organic brain damage, which serves as the most common basis for primary attention disorders. If such signs are present, consultation with a neurologist is advisable.

Lack of organization of actions– one of the most common problems hidden behind a complaint of inattention. Its essence is that the child does not know effective methods of self-organization, to put it simply, he does not know how to work. This inability is most clearly manifested in the “Complex Figure” technique (see II.3. A), it is also reflected in the “Pictogram” technique (II.2. B). In this case, the actual function of attention can be completely preserved, and in tasks that do not require complex organization and planning of one’s actions, the child’s “inattention” will not manifest itself.

Retirement from activities, in which the child is immersed in himself, in his fantasies and dreams, also creates the impression of inattention. At the same time, the child becomes distracted and absent-minded when the activity is boring for him, but he concentrates perfectly and becomes especially attentive when faced with an interesting task. The tasks proposed by the consultant during the examination are, as a rule, new, entertaining and attractive for younger students. And often the teacher or parents, who complained about the child’s absent-mindedness and lack of concentration, note that “now with you he was surprisingly collected and attentive; This doesn’t usually happen.” Such selectivity of attention indicates the motivational reasons for its disconnection in certain areas of life.

Decreased learning motivation . In this case, “switching off” attention occurs by the same mechanism as when leaving an activity, with the only difference that it usually switches not to fantasies, but to some external factor.

Anxiety, which destroys any activity, is especially harmful to attention. TO pronounced violations attention can be caused by both anxiety “in its pure form” (acting as a monosymptom), and anxiety that is part of a more complex symptom complex (for example, with chronic failure).

Hyperactivity(motor disinhibition) inevitably disrupts the function of attention. These violations are very persistent and extend to a wide variety of activities.

Intellectualism often leads to everyday absent-mindedness: a child forgets his briefcase at school, loses the key to the apartment on the way home, etc. In reality, these are not violations of attention, but manifestations of high selectivity of memory (akin to “professor absent-mindedness”): the child is focused on solving intellectual problems and sincerely forgets about the “little things in life.”

D. The child is uncontrollable

Uncontrollability and disobedience of a child are the most common behavioral complaints. There may be people behind her following reasons:

Adult mistake who do not know how to assess the age characteristics of children and take what they want as the norm, and the reality as a deviation. We are talking about cases when a child is obedient and controllable to exactly the same extent as most of his peers, but this seems insufficient to parents. For example, a father is concerned about the “uncontrollability” of his seven-year-old son: “It is impossible to teach him to brush his teeth every day, without reminders, to make his own bed, or to keep his shoes clean. I have to remind you every time. He is completely uncontrollable!” This kind of error is almost never found among teachers, since they have sufficient experience in observing children, but they are quite common among parents. They are typical for parents with an epileptoid personality type, who themselves are highly punctual and expect the same from their child.

Increased energy child. This is an option normal development, which does not require correction, although the complaint of the parents (or teacher) is completely adequate: the child is really difficult to control. When a child sets goals for himself and, knowing firmly what he wants, knows how to achieve his own, then adults really have a hard time with him. However, in terms of prognosis, powerful activity during high level goal-directed behavior is a favorable development option (however, if the child is not “shut down” for being excessively independent and prone to risky experiments).

Hyperactivity(motor disinhibition) also often causes complaints about the child’s uncontrollability. This diagnosis should be clearly distinguished from the diagnosis of “increased energy”. A child with hyperactivity is characterized by insufficient goal-directed behavior, while with increased energy, goal-directedness, on the contrary, is increased compared to the usual level. Unlike increased energy, hyperactivity is, of course, a developmental deviation that requires correction to the extent possible (unfortunately, the possibilities in this regard are quite limited).

Negative self-presentation– a psychological syndrome, the main manifestation of which is precisely uncontrollability, and deliberately. It serves as a means for the child to attract the attention of adults, which he is not able to achieve in other ways.

Social disorientation– another psychological syndrome, the central manifestation of which is uncontrollability. However, social disorientation leads to uncontrollability not due to the child’s conscious desire to break the rules, but due to their misunderstanding.

Spoiled, not being psychological deviation, also often leads to uncontrollability. It is common for children who are constantly surrounded by many overly caring adults (grandparents, etc.). Spoilage often occurs in a child from a single-parent family, on whom a single mother is overly withdrawn.

SDD, movement disorder syndrome, syndrome movement disorders, motor retardation syndrome in children

What is SDR?

Motor disinhibition syndrome (MDS) is a form of neuropsychic disorders in children, characterized by increased motor activity and excitability. They say about such children: “Hyper active children.” Synonyms for Sdr are movement disorder syndrome , movement disorder syndrome , motor activity syndrome , motor disinhibition syndrome, newborn SDS, children SDS .Motor disinhibition syndrome occurs in 20-35% of children. In most cases HAPPY BIRTHDAY is a consequence of light brain, especially in the prenatal period and during childbirth.

Movement disorder syndrome, SDR, symptoms, signs, manifestations

What are the main symptoms, signs and manifestations of the syndrome of movement disorders, disorders, disinhibition? Manifests motor disinhibition syndrome (MDS) clumsiness, motor disinhibition, absent-mindedness, aggressiveness, distractibility, impulsiveness. Weakly expressed irregular and uncoordinated choreiform patterns are often detected, especially during emotional stress and physical exertion. Hyperkinesis is predominantly localized in the distal parts of the extremities, less pronounced in proximal parts limbs and usually do not lead to impairment of self-care. Children are restless, too mobile, emotionally labile, and often change activities. They are constantly on the move, everyone wants to look and touch. They react to parents' comments by crying, screaming, and refusing to comply with their demands. Their development in the first year is often accelerated; they begin to walk early, are very active, mobile, and give the impression of being well developed mentally.

Poor studies, poor performance? Is your child doing poorly at school? Restlessness? Violation of discipline?

However, in the first years of schooling, average or low level their mental development, sometimes a child does poorly in school, gymnasium, lyceum, and gets bad grades at school (the child is a bad student, a bad student, a C student). Frequent learning difficulties and conflict situations. Parents often ask the question: “How to improve school performance?” Lack of concentration, restlessness, and frequent distractions give them a reputation as violators of discipline. At the same time, children may have increased abilities for a certain type of activity; some love physical education (physical education). SDR is especially pronounced in preschool and early school age; with treatment at Sarclinic, the symptoms go away. Motor disinhibition and usually occur at home. In a new environment, such children are often shy and timid at first with their peers.

SDD, movement disorder syndrome diagnostics

Movement disorder syndrome, movement disorder syndrome, motor disinhibition syndrome, SDR characterized by a number of signs: neurological microorganisms are noted in the form of asymmetry of cranial innervation, tendon-periosteal reflexes, i. Neurologist, pediatric neurologist reveals pathological pyramidal or extrapyramidal reflexes. According to the private medical practice Sarclinic, electroencephalography (EEG) in 39.7% shows various changes, usually of a diffuse nature, characterized by a certain constancy. Sometimes interhemispheric asymmetry and local predominance of pathological activity are detected.

SDR, movement disorder syndrome - treatment in Saratov

Sarklinik provides treatment for SDD, treatment of movement disorder syndrome in children, treatment of movement disorder syndrome in Saratov. Sarklinik successfully uses complex methods of treating motor disinhibition syndrome. Efficiency complex treatment SDR, which can include a variety of reflexology, acupuncture, microacupuncture, moxibustion, non-traditional and other techniques, reaches 95% and depends on the severity of the pathology. Treatment of movement disorder syndrome is carried out on an outpatient basis and individually. All treatment methods are safe. The Sarclinic has been operating for many years, during which time hundreds of patients aged from 1 to 18 years have been cured of motor disinhibition syndrome. If you have a disinhibited, very active child, or an overly active child, contact Sarklinik; at the first consultation, the doctor will examine the child and, if necessary, provide treatment for SDR. Sarclinic knows what to do, how to treat and cure SDD, motor disinhibition syndrome! Hyperactive children become calm and adequate.

Hyperactivity in children, treatment

Sarklinik conducts treatment of hyperactivity in children. Childhood hyperactivity, hyperactivity syndrome in children, including attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are successfully treated. Correction of hyperactivity in children, infants, infants, toddlers, preschoolers, schoolchildren, adolescents, and adults (men and women, boys and girls) must be carried out. Sarklinik has developed a hyperactivity correction program. As a result of treatment in children, the symptoms of hyperactivity completely disappear. Sarklinik knows how to treat hyperactivity in children.

Disinhibition - increased physical activity caused by weakening volitional control over voluntary behavior. Disinhibition is not psychomotor agitation in a weaker degree of its manifestation, this qualitatively different state. Many psychiatrists who note such a symptom as disinhibition in the patient’s objective status mainly mean a certain behavioral pattern that resembles the behavior of a child, or the behavior of a person in a state of alcohol intoxication.

It is worth emphasizing that disinhibition is a manifestation not so much of a quantitative increase in motor activity, but manifestation of its clearly expressed involuntary character, which is out of the control of the subject himself and cannot be controlled from the outside by other persons. The question naturally arises: how then does disinhibition differ, for example, from catatonic excitation? To answer this question, it is necessary to dwell in more detail on the phenomenon of disinhibition.

Disinhibition not always accompanied by increased physical activity. For example, a patient in a conversation with a doctor can behave quite calmly, but at the same time stretch, yawn, pick his nose, etc., which allows psychiatrists to use such formulations as “does not keep distance”, “does not maintain decency” in describing the status " and so on.

Disinhibition, as a behavioral phenomenon, first of all, means, based on the etymology of the word itself, a weakening of conscious control over voluntary behavior. To a certain extent we're talking about O pathologies of volitional processes. Disinhibition is spoken of only when the patient has waking consciousness. Consequently, behavioral phenomena that occur during unclear consciousness, such as ambulatory automatism, somnambulism, and oneiric catatonia, should not be classified as disinhibition. Of course, in the listed conditions the patient carries out involuntary, automated (subcortical) behavior, but, most importantly, he is not aware of it. For clarification, let's use the following example. A patient suffering from schizophrenia with a syndromic diagnosis of “catatonic agitation” demonstrated the following behavior: stereotypically, for several hours, tirelessly, he made movements similar to those that a person makes when chopping wood, while he jumped and made the same sounds words of indecent content. In a strict sense, this is not psychomotor agitation, which is characterized mainly by chaos. The described behavior is characterized, first of all, by involuntariness, autonomy, stereotyping, symbolic coloring, possibly significance and unconsciousness. In extreme cases, we can talk about catatonic-impulsive disinhibition.

Let's return to the “classical” disinhibition, which is one of the three main symptoms of mania(manic triad). As paradoxical as it may seem, in the manifestation of manic disinhibition there is both an element of will and an element of awareness.

Disinhibition is a complex psychophysical process, which is described in detail by E. Kretschmer in his study of hysterical phenomena, including the following Components:

1. reflex excitation of subcortical behavioral activity - from simple reflex acts (tremors, vomiting, tics) to more complex subcortical automatisms with symbolic, often unconscious “load” (like behavioral patterns in the above examples);
2. weakening of volitional control aimed at suppressing reflex activity, on the one hand, but, on the other hand,
3. semi-conscious direction voluntary activity, although weak, but still volitional activity, to maintain and enhance reflex excitation.

Fine voluntary and reflex movements never merge, they intersect. If a person gags, this movement is reflexive or involuntary. Further, the subject can suppress it by force of will - and this will be voluntary suppression. However, the subject may not be able to suppress gagging. Of course, a person cannot, by force of will alone, voluntarily induce the act of vomiting, but if a reflex urge arises, he can, with some effort of will, support and strengthen the reflex act of vomiting - this is how uncontrollable vomiting occurs during hysteria. If you ask a healthy person to tremble, it is unlikely that he will be able to do it completely and long enough. And only with hysterical disinhibition do we see that the subject can tremble for hours, vomit endlessly, and this is not difficult for him, it is given “tirelessly.”

Why does the subject maintain reflex excitation in the case of disinhibition? This can be explained by observing the behavioral reactions of healthy people or children. Let's imagine a person who has inflammatory reaction with a rise in temperature, and he shudders and “shakes.” How might he react to chills? Much depends on the situation, environment, and personal attitudes. He can, by an effort of will, significantly weaken the chills, and everyone will agree that this will require significant effort (the person will have to “gather his will into a fist”). But if he is in bed in the category of “sick,” in the presence of care and care from those around him, then the individual can allow himself to “shake to his heart’s content,” and he may notice that he can do this easily and does not experience fatigue. It is precisely due to the fact that the reflex becomes accessible to the conscious will, and their fusion gives rise to a feeling of lightness, subsequently the tendency towards disinhibition, as a subjectively pleasant state, is fixed in human behavior.

A similar reinforcement can be found in the child’s behavior depending on the nature of his upbringing and his individual characteristics. Let's imagine a situation - a child fell and was slightly hurt, and he may have a reflex act without even crying, but simply screaming. He can also suppress this reflex act if his interest is concentrated on some object that occupies him. And he can “become crying” for a long time, even forgetting about the reason that caused it - as a rule, there is an over-caring and anxious mother nearby. In the further consolidation of such behavior in a child, emotional factors undoubtedly play a large role.

Thus, in disinhibition, as a persistent behavioral phenomenon, despite the fact that it is initially initiated by reflex excitation, the main thing is its voluntary (semi-conscious) strengthening, motivated:

1. situationality,
2. feeling of lightness and
3. emotional nourishment.

All three of these factors - situationality, lightness and emotionality, we we can also observe when performing voluntary movements, polished in the process of mastery and brought to the level of automatism, for example, in the triumphant performance of a ballet dance. But to achieve this, you need years of painstaking and grueling training. The wild dance of a shaman looks completely different, who, with the help of psychoactive substances, by self-inducing a trance, essentially achieves states of disinhibition and activation of subcortical motor activity, bearing an archetypal-symbolic coloring. Subsequent strengthening and voluntary reinforcement of awakened behavioral patterns leads to the same thing - lightness, emotional saturation, lack of fatigue. The shaman can dance until he simply falls from physical exhaustion. The hysterical psychoses called St. Vitus' dances looked the same.

Disinhibition is, first of all, a behavioral disorder that is characteristic of the following conditions:

1. manic state;
2. hyperkinetic syndrome and other forms of disrupted behavior in children;
3. behavioral disorders due to dementia, personality defect, dissocial personality disorder.

From behavioral disinhibition itself it is necessary to distinguish between hyperkinesis and obsessive actions , which can be described as “partial disinhibition.”

"Active" translated from Latin means "effective, active." The Greek word "hyper" clearly indicates some excess of the norm. In children, hyperactivity is usually manifested by impulsivity, distractibility, and inattention unusual for his age. If a child is hyperactive, both he and his immediate environment experience difficulties: parents, teachers, classmates. Such a child requires timely help, otherwise, in the future, a psychopathic or antisocial personality may develop from a hyperactive child. Today it is known that among young offenders, hyperactive children make up a very significant percentage.

Hyperactivity refers to excessive mental and physical activity in children, when excitement prevails over inhibition. According to doctors, hyperactivity is a direct consequence of very minor brain damage (minimal cerebral dysfunction), which cannot be detected by diagnostic tests. The first signs of hyperactivity in a child appear in early childhood. Aggression and emotional instability, as they grow older, often lead to conflicts at school and family.

Manifestations of hyperactivity

The peak manifestations of this syndrome coincide with the stages of psycho-speech development: 1–2 years (speech skills are established), at 3 years (an increase occurs vocabulary), at 6–7 years (formation of writing and reading skills). But they are most pronounced in older preschool, as well as primary school age. It is during this period that intellectual stress increases, educational activity becomes the leading one, new requirements appear: the ability to concentrate attention for a long period of time, to complete the work started, to achieve desired result. Therefore, under conditions of systematic and long-term activity, hyperactivity makes itself known very convincingly.

Psychologists from the USA M. Alvord and P. Baker offer criteria for identifying hyperactivity in a child.

Motor disinhibition:

1. Shows signs of anxiety (moves in a chair, drums his fingers, climbs somewhere, runs, moves his hands, feet).
2. He cannot sit still and constantly fidgets in his chair.
3. Sleeps significantly less than other children, even as an infant.
4. Chatty.

Active attention deficit:

1. The child is inconsistent and cannot hold attention for long.
2. Inattentive. When addressed to him, he does not listen.
3. He takes on the task with enthusiasm, but does not finish it.
4. Disorganized.
5. He loses things very often.
6. Tries to avoid tasks that require mental effort and uninteresting, boring tasks.
7. Forgetful.

Impulsiveness:

1. Answers without fully listening to the question.
2. Often interferes with educational process, conversation, interrupts. Can't wait for his turn.
3. Impatient if there is a pause between any action and reward, unable to wait for reward.
4. Poor concentration.
5. Unable to regulate/control one's actions. The child's behavior is poorly controlled. Doesn't respect the rules.
6. While completing tasks, he shows different results. He behaves differently. In some classes he is successful and calm, in others he is not.

Keep in mind that if a child has at least six of the above signs clearly expressed, the teacher (educator) may make an assumption (not make a diagnosis!) that the child has symptoms of hyperactivity.

Learning problems

Today, the problems of children who have behavioral disorders and the difficulties associated with their learning have become especially relevant. Overly excited, noisy, restless and inattentive children attract the attention of the teacher, since he has to make sure that they complete their assignments, sit quietly, and do not disturb their classmates. Such children are busy with their own affairs in class, and it is incredibly difficult to get them to listen, complete the task and keep them in place. They “don’t hear” the teacher, they forget and lose everything. Despite all the existing behavioral problems, the intellectual functions of hyperactive children are not impaired. Such children are capable of quite successfully mastering the general education school curriculum if the requirements match their capabilities.

Correction in the family

Two extremes must be avoided:

– setting excessive demands, combined with excessive punctuality, cruelty and punishment;
– manifestations of excessive permissiveness and pity.

Fluctuations in parental mood and frequent changes in instructions have an extremely negative impact on such children.

If you are unhappy or upset by your child's behavior, try to control your violent emotions. Encourage children to try positive, constructive behavior, even if it is small.

Maintain a positive attitude. Emphasize his successes, praise the child if he deserves it.

Avoid repeating the words “no”, “no”.

Speak to your child in a reserved, soft, calm, but confident manner. Maintain this tone when speaking to other people in his presence.

There should be balanced and calm relationships in the family.

The requirements for the child must be the same for all family members.

Maintain a clear daily routine. Just quiet games before bed.

The child's diet should contain foods with high content magnesium, potassium, calcium (dried fruits: dried apricots, prunes, raisins; dairy products).

Excess sweets excite the digestive system, which leads to overstimulation.

If possible, avoid crowds of people, large stores, restless, noisy friends.

Don't get tired. It leads to a decrease in self-control and, as a consequence, an increase in hyperactivity.

Give your child the opportunity to use up excess energy (running, walking).

When starting work, reduce the requirements for accuracy.

Ask the teacher to seat your child at the first desk.

Give short, specific, clear instructions for action.

Agree on the rules of conduct in advance if you are going to visit a museum or theater.

Try to avoid long trips, stuffiness, and heat.