OT and ADHD

I chose to listen to a podcast titled Can OT Help with ADHD? because I was intrigued by the title and curious about what would be said. I am interested in working with children and ADHD is commonly diagnosed in children. Many times, people have trouble focusing and consider themselves to have ADHD; However, people are only diagnosed with ADHD if symptoms are disrupting everyday life activities. 

 I learned a lot from listening to this podcast, specifically about school aged children diagnosed with ADHD experiencing sensory difficulties. I was not aware of the large overlap between ADHD and sensory processing disorder. I did not realize attention difficulties could be caused by a sensory imbalance. It makes so much sense, but I have never connected the dots before now. A child may be unable to focus due to sensory overload or sensory seeking. I learned that there are different sensory profiles in which people can belong. For example, a child seeking sensory input may start to feel like the “troublemaker” because they are constantly getting reminders from their teacher. This can hinder their self-confidence and self-image. This is when a “sensory diet” or sensory schedule become important. It was said that small changes to an environment can make a big difference. This may include a few minute movement break every 2 hours, but could be different depending on each child’s “just right challenge.” 

During my free time in this quarantine, I am going to look for the recommended book, The Out of Sync Child, to learn more about this topic.