Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often occurs during childhood, with symptoms including hyperactivity, and a limited attention span. This condition can affect children in many ways, including difficulty with learning and making friendships and low self-esteem. It is important to note that if a parent suspects their child has ADHD symptoms they should seek medical advice.

There are many strategies and techniques that parents and carers can provide to support a child with ADHD. Kylie-Jane Shannon, owner of Jungle Kids Indoor Play Centre, elaborates on some of these. “Both indoor and outdoor play allows children with ADHD to express their spiritedness in a more conducive environment,” says Kylie. “In the context of outdoor activities, rustling leaves and gentle wind breezes across the skin, provide a level of calmness that helps children with ADHD to relax,” she adds.

“Indoor play centres provide the perfect environment for interpersonal skill development, teaching children to take turns, respect each other and learn to manage personal space,” says Kylie. “The variety of play activities such as slides, ball pits, swings and balancing beams help with the improvement of children’s flexibility and coordination as well as providing an effective outlet for children to expend their energy,” adds Kylie.

Effective strategies and techniques that support all children but can be particularly effective for children with ADHD include understanding rules, using positive language and praise, preparing children to switch activities or finish an activity, and helping children to manage their behaviour.

“It is imperative to remind children of appropriate play, and should be done in a specific manner, as children with ADHD usually understand best through demonstration,” says Kylie. “For example, telling a child that fun balls must be placed in the ball pit after one is done playing with them followed by enacting the rule, is the most helpful way of explaining rules effectively,” adds Kylie.

Using positive language and praise is a more effective way of supporting a child to manage their behaviour. For example, saying ‘Please wait for your turn’ as opposed to Don’t push’ demonstrates how we learn to interact respectfully with each other. Commending positive behaviour is vital for all children, however, those with ADHD react very positively to praise. Commend a child who has demonstrated positive behaviour. For example, say, ‘Well done Micah, for playing so well with your friends today’ or ‘Thank you Micah for being kind to Rosie today’.

It is important to support children to manage their own behaviour. Strategies that can help include, giving children an indication of when an activity will end or when they will need to switch or transition to a new activity. All children, but more often those with ADHD, need time to realise that the situation they are currently in or experiencing is about to change. “Reminding children of the duration of play, as well as mentioning the time left before finishing an activity, eases the packing up process and helps prepare children for home time,” says Kylie.

For children who find it hard to manage their behaviour or display forms of tantrums, it is important to be kind but firm. Children like boundaries, so being clear about behavioural expectations and what will and won’t be tolerated is necessary from the outset. It is also important to be consistent about behavioural expectations. “for example, should a child display impatience in a crowded line that potentially may trigger a tantrum, suggest a detour to another play area until the traffic of the previous area slows down,” says Kylie.

Jungle Kids Indoor Play Centre continues to dedicate its expertise and delight to serving families within the town of Wallan, Victoria.

Check out their full range of services and current featured promotions at junglekids.com.au.Visit their Facebook page to view all their activities and special offerings. Jungle Kids Indoor Play Centre is open seven (7) days a week and is open until 5:00pm on weekdays during the school holidays.

As part of their Play-all-day Single Admission, adults and babies attend free of charge. 12 months to 3 years old attend at $8.50 and 4 years old to 12 years old attend at $10.00.

Written and syndicated by: YDMA News

There’s more to vision than just the eyes. A range of skills combine to make sense of what is seen, recall it when needed, and act on it. When there are problems with visual skills, children may exhibit symptoms that are very similar to dyslexia or ADHD as they struggle to keep up with their peers in a world where processing what they see is an uphill battle.

Australian behavioural optometrist and fellow of the International Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control (FIAOMC), Gary Rodney says that he’s had first-hand experience of the difference vision therapy can make in children’s lives. “They can seem like completely different individuals. They move from a situation in which they’re behind in their learning, frequently in trouble for making mistakes, and constantly struggling at school to one where they can fulfil their potential. It really is life-changing.”

However, Gary says that one of the biggest problems is a lack of awareness. “Parents and teachers often consider poor eyesight as a possible reason why children struggle at school, but they may not realise that clear eyesight isn’t enough.”

Visual skills range from the ability to “track” lines of text systematically, to depth perception, spotting differences between one thing and another, and remembering what one sees. When they’re lacking, they can be developed, and Gary has witnessed astonishing changes in many of his young patients as a result.

  Improved Academic Performance

It’s impossible to do well at school when visual skills aren’t properly developed, but with training, the first improvement that parents and teachers notice is improved academic ability. For the children themselves, the change must be even more rewarding. From facing schooldays packed with impossible challenges and frustrations to dealing comfortably with the tasks that have been set for them, there’s no doubt that acquiring the necessary visual abilities is a big win for them.

  Better Coordination

Adults will often shrug off a child’s poor coordination as nothing more than clumsiness when it’s really a symptom of his or her need for vision therapy. From the child’s perspective, there’s embarrassment, failure, and little enjoyment in sports participation. After all, it’s not fun being the kid who always drops the ball or misses an easy goal. With the limiting factor that lay behind poor coordination moved out of the way, it becomes possible to do better at sports and have more fun at play.

  More Self-Confidence

Always feeling like they are the ones who are lagging behind their peers can’t be very pleasant for children with visual skills issues. Trying hard and repeatedly failing to do schoolwork correctly, often being in trouble because adults think they’re ‘careless,’ or ‘naughty,’ and possibly having to endure teasing from schoolmates is sure to hurt self-confidence. Needless to say, overcoming their difficulties and discovering that they’re able to hold their own in any setting must certainly be a huge relief for children who have benefited from vision therapy.

  Do Better Socially

“One can often see the difference,” says Gary. “Children blossom. At first, they’ll be shy, quiet, even sullen. But as they uncover their potential, they also come out of their shells. It’s as if they’ve entered a better, brighter, happier world. It’s one of the things that makes vision therapy so rewarding for all concerned: the therapist, the parents, and of course, the child.”

There are some inspiring case studies on the Smart Vision Optometry website, and those who would like to learn more about how vision therapy benefits children are welcome to view the videos posted there.

For more information on behavioural optometry, or to book an appointment, visit the Smart Vision website: Optometrists Sydney: Optometry Services For Children and Adults | Smart Vision; for specific information about Myopia treatment and prevention visit Myopia Prevention: Solutions, Control And Treatment In Sydney; and for detailed information about Myopia Treatment visit Orthokeratology In Sydney: The Non Surgical Alternative.

To book an appointment for a thorough eye check-up, click here or Call the Bondi clinic on (02) 9365 5047 or the Mosman clinic on (02) 9969 1600.

Impulsivity. Hyperactivity. Distractibility.

Research tells us children with a vision problem like convergence insufficiency (CI) are a whopping three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than children without CI. In fact, 15 of the 18 symptoms of ADHD listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders are also symptoms of a functional vision problem.

Functional vision problems generally branch out of three main areas: eye tracking, eye teaming, and eye focusing. These skills are outlined below alongside the difficulties that they are associated with. Notice the overlap with ADHD symptoms.

• Poor eye-tracking skills relate to inefficiency in the ability of the eyes to fixate track and jump from object to object. This includes jumping the eyes from word to word on the page when reading. Poor eye-tracking skills lead to decreased fluency when reading, frequent loss of place, skipping lines when reading and writing, increased distractibility when reading, and failure to attend to finer details when reading and writing.

• Poor eye teaming skills relate to the inability to use the two eyes together well as a coordinated team. Depth perception, avoidance of close work tasks, difficulty completing work in class, difficulty sitting still and maintaining a steady posture, and viewing distances often result from poor eye teaming skills.

• Poor eye-focusing skills make it difficult for the child to maintain clear vision at varying distances. It makes learning, reading, writing, and sports more difficult and can lead to reduced comprehension levels along with avoidance of concentrated tasks.

So if your child has problems paying close attention to details, avoids near-work tasks requiring mental effort (like homework), and has difficulty completing school work and following instructions, don’t risk a misdiagnosis. A comprehensive vision skills assessment with one of our behavioural optometrists will only take you an hour and could end up being the difference between a label and a cure. Don’t let your child become another statistic.

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the connection between vision and learning difficulties.