ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neuro-developmental disorder and some of its characteristics include inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity
The estimate of prevalence in the United States is 5-10% of school-going children and boys are more commonly affected by it. The causes of ADHD are yet to be discovered but several theories talk about biomedical, sensory-motor, genetic predisposition and chemical imbalance in the brain.
We can help in four different ways:
- Diagnosis and Behaviour Therapy
- Remedial Teaching
- Social Skills Training
- Sensory Integrative Therapy
Diagnosis & Behaviour Therapy
Our Educational Psychologists will assess the child to diagnose their condition. We will also support parents and/or caregivers with practical strategies to better manage their children at home and school.
Remedial Teaching
Remedial Teaching is defined as specialised instruction for students with special learning needs and are falling behind in their school performance. At Dynamics, we provide remedial teaching services through our experienced Special Education Teachers.
Social Skills Training
We conduct social skills training, both one-on-one and in a group setting. Our classes are conducted by our Special Education Teachers and in these sessions, children are given opportunities to develop and hone age-appropriate skills to interact with their peers.
Sensory Integration Therapy
Inattention is caused by the children’s inability to block stimulation that is not relevant to the task at hand. They attend to everything; all stimuli impinge on their senses with equal potency. This causes them to be distracted by the stimulation arriving from their environment (sounds, sights, thoughts, etc.) and prevents them from paying attention to their task.
This is similar to what Occupational Therapists would call a Sensory Modulation Dysfunction (SMD), where the child has difficulties organising the degree, intensity and nature of their response to sensory input in a graded and adaptive manner. SMD can cause emotional problems as well as attentional problems, such as distractibility, impulsivity, disorganisation and hyperactivity
Sensory Integrative Therapy provides a potential intervention for ADHD children without medication.
To modulate is to regulate, adjust to a certain level or adapt to the circumstances. In the context of behaviour, modulation refers to matching the child’s responses to the demands and expectations of the environment. Inadequate modulation may result in problems in the following areas:
- Modulation of sensory input
- Filtering of sensation
- Attending only to relevant stimuli
- Maintaining an optimal level of arousal
- Maintaining attention to a task
Sensory modulation may be manifested in:
- Distractibility
- Impulsiveness
- Increased activity level
- Disorganisation
- Anxiety
- Poor regulation
- Inattention. Some children will develop inattention, which is secondary to a learning disability. These children may be frustrated with certain academic tasks and may become inattentive to avoid completing the tasks.
Dyslexia is a type of specific learning difficulty. A child with Dyslexia may find reading, spelling and writing difficult, even though they are capable in other areas. These difficulties are a result of brain differences, which means that this condition is biological and is not caused by the way the child is taught or the child’s parenting style.
The difference in the brain makes it difficult for the child to process information for sounds in language. Therefore, it may take the child a longer time to recognise sounds and understand instructions.
Children with Dyslexia also have poor phonological awareness, which means they find rhymes difficult. They also find it difficult to learn the sounds of the alphabet and use this knowledge to help them read or write. Many of them have poor working memory and may forget verbal information, such as spoken words.
Dyslexia may be accompanied by poor attention and speech and language development. However, no two children are the same. Some may find reading very difficult, while some may find it easy but tend to read at a slower pace. Some children may have problems with writing alone. Certain languages are also more difficult for children with Dyslexia than others and English words are considered to be more challenging for them because the spelling is more irregular than for example, Spanish.
While Dyslexia will make school life more difficult for the child, there is a lot that we can do to help. At the end of the day, we must always remember that every child can learn. Besides, studies have shown that most of the children with Dyslexia have successfully learned to read and write. Many individuals with Dyslexia can go on to become highly successful. This is be cause, the way their brain functions, though different from others, serve as an advantage to some of these individuals. By providing a child with the appropriate type of education required, they are more likely to overcome the effects of Dyslexia, reach their potential, and achieve great things. This is done with the care and support from experienced specialist teachers and evidence-based strategies.
At Dynamics, we provide inclusive and personalised Dyslexia remediation services as well as Speech Therapy for children with Dyslexia.
Educational Therapy is specialised one-on-one teaching therapy for students with learning difficulties that include Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Sensory Processing Disorders and attention difficulties. We cover Literacy and Math curriculum, both local and international, from pre-school to school-leaving age. With academic support as the central core, we also target underlying causes of difficulties and under-achievement through training of cognitive processes involving attention, auditory, visual and memory skills.
Speech, language and communication are essential in our daily activities and routines but they can be areas of challenge for children with conditions and issues, such as speech delay, language difficulties, childhood Apraxia of Speech, articulation, autism and speech dysfluencies, among others. Speech Therapy can help these children through assessment and remediation of their language skills, communication skills and articulation.
Occupational Therapy focuses on enabling the child to reach their best level of functional performance, in both home and school settings. Occupational Therapy can help the child improve Gross and Fine Motor Skills, Sensory Processing, Postural Control, Balancing Responses, Visual-Motor Integration, Handwriting, Play Skills and Activities for Daily Living.
Dynamics Psychological Practice provides Psycho-Educational Assessment that can help determine the strengths and weaknesses of your child academically. We also conduct other assessments and testing for children, such as Cognitive Assessment, Developmental-School Readiness Assessment, Neuropsychological Assessment and more. Each of these assessments is conducted by our clinically certified Psychologist. We spend the time getting to know you and your child, addressing your concerns and queries as well as providing professional feedback and recommendations following the assessments.