Yes, like many many older post institutionalized children, Meghan suffers from distraction. Have I been ignoring this or is it just now manifesting? I think maybe it's a little of both.
I have done so much research on this topic. Hypervigilience, flight or fight syndrome, ADD, ADHD, PTSD, negligence, abuse, Attachment Disorder- there are so many different theories. Why do so many Post Institutionalized kids suffer from these symptoms, and what is the cause? IS it ADD or ADHD that is a chemical lifelong condition which may require medication? Is it a PI (Post Institutional) condition that can be overcome with years of behavior therapy? Is it immaturity? Is it a developmental delay? Why is Meghan distracted? Will she grow out of it? Will her focus problems cause her school work to suffer?
What I have learned - and I may get this wrong because I don't have any of my resources open- so this is just me paraphrasing. What I have learned is that a kid with ADHD has problems with the development of the frontal areas of their brain - and the chemicals it produces. These chemicals control impulses, arousal and alertness.
Apparently, in the first year of life, the frontal area of the brain continues to develop. A child who is neglected, or institutionalized during this time may not receive the stimulation to allow the brain to continue to develop properly.
At the same time, a child who is not stimulated and well taken care of by the primary caregiver may also develop an attachment disorder at this time. Kids with attachment disorders can be hypervigilent, developmentally delayed, speech delayed, distracted, etc.
So both ADHD and Attachment Disorders share symptoms. I read an article about adopted kids and ADHD. The doctor writing the article said that many PI kids have these symptoms but that it isn't typical ADHD. For example, statistically boys make up a greater percentile of ADHD kids, but in PI kids, these symptoms are distributed evenly between boys and girls. Also, the "ADHD" that the PI kids present with is not coupled with aggression that manifests in typical ADHD. There were other examples, but basically the doctor concluded that many of the PI kids were not suffering from typical chemical ADHD, but that they had developed symptoms and behaviors of ADHD due to their environment and that with a lot of work, behavior modification and therapy the kids could overcome these issues.
When I go down the ADHD checklist of behaviors I say "that's Meghan" to nearly every behavior. But it's not that bad. I have seen kids bouncing off the walls. She's not like that. Her behavior is more distracted. So then I looked up ADD vs ADHD, thinking that she isn't hyper. But ADD isn't her. So what is it?
Meghan with her friend - another International PI kid.
Last week we had our regularly scheduled student intervention meeting with the school. Everyone is very pleased with her academic progress. She is reading ahead of her class. (Math -not so much). However, the theme that seems to be emerging is that her focus is very poor. She does very well when the teacher sits with her. But leave her to do her work herself and it will not get done. She does not stay on task. One on one she will excel. All signs point to home schooling, but I still want to make sure that is the best thing for her. If I do homeschool her it will be with the purpose of mainstreaming her later. She still needs to learn how to behave in social situations.
I wish she came with a handbook. (Haha- jokes on me, she actually did come with a handbook but the problem is - it's in CHINESE!).
My little one has been home for 2 months today, is PI, and I find she gets a bit distracted as well, particularly at school work time. I am homeschooling her until the fall-that's the plan, anyways. At first, I would sit her down to do her math. After rearranging her surroundings for a few minutes, she would finally start. One minute later she would say, "I'm done!" I would look at her in disbelief and find that she had missed problems sporadically throughout her paper, but she would think she had filled them all in. She would look surprised when I would point out the problems she still needed to work. Now, she is doing all the problems, but it is still very hard to get her started and staying focussed. One-on-one does work well with her as well. Very interesting! I'm confident this will improve with time. I have already seen improvements since she came home.
ReplyDeleteYou have done a lot of good research, and I'm sure you will make the right decision for Meghan. Hang in there!!
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