"Does your child have trouble paying attention? Does he or she talk nonstop or have trouble staying still? Does your child have a hard time controlling his or her behaviour? For some children, these may be symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD."

At Psynaptica, we provide a comprehensive testing and a multi speciality followup support for ADHD in Singapore.

About ADHD

ADHD or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a brain based neurological disorder that begins in childhood. Despite being one of the most commonly studied and diagnosed mental health conditions in children, its causes are still unknown.

Symptoms of ADHD

The symptoms of ADHD such as poor focus to tasks, being highly distractible, disorganised, excessively fidgety and impulsive are usually seen in children before the age of twelve.

Typically, these symptoms are seen at home and in school or other settings. Often, delays or deficits might be present in language, social and motor development.

While the symptoms stabilize for many children during adolescence, many adults continue to show significant impairments such as inattention, restlessness, impulsivity and poor planning.

These symptoms interfere with academic achievement and skill acquisition during schooling and have devastating long term consequences on vocational success, self-esteem and relationships.

ADHD TESTING & DIAGNOSIS

At Psynaptica, we provide comprehensive ADHD assessment that includes standardised psychological tests for the child (or adult as the case may be), questionnaires for parents/teachers (or significant others), interviews and observations. Our assessment not only involves testing of attention, but also includes a comprehensive battery that also looks into areas such as achievement / capabilities, IQ and behavioural problems.

INTERVENTION

At Psynaptica, intervention for children with ADHD is usually carefully planned around the assessment findings. 

Our approach to intervention for children with ADHD is based on Positive Behaviour Support, skills training and play-based strategies along with cognitive behaviour therapy as appropriate and as the child matures and develops over time. We see a significant progress of children who undergo these interventions over a period of time.

Our intervention targets the following areas depending on the severity of the problem and the needs of the child:
  • Specific attention disorder symptoms through problem-solving, coaching and building cognitive stamina
  • Enhancing/working with motivation, especially for ‘boring’, easy tasks or schoolwork
  • Improve self-awareness, especially around ADHD related problems and behaviours
  • Improve self-regulation of behaviours and emotions
  • Improve relationships, with family and peers
  • Improve body awareness
  • Parents will be supported with strategies for managing challenging behaviours such as resistance / avoidance of work, low frustration tolerance and anger outbursts. Where necessary, our psychologists will work with parents to advocate for the child by corresponding with teachers to ensure that the child receives appropriate support at school.

Our approach will include building skills and cognitive stamina through play and coaching. In addition to this, our psychologists will work with parents to facilitate change in relationship dynamics and the home environment. Where necessary, we may incorporate sessions with our Occupational Therapist.

From time to time, we also run ADEPT, which is an integrated social, emotional and cognitive skills training group for children with ADHD-related behavioural problems. Its is a strength-based fun training group that helps your child achieve personal and academic success and experience happiness despite challenges.

In some cases, we work with specialist doctors who can complement the treatment with medication for ADHD.

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