ADD

About ADD

Attention Deficit Disorder is often confused with ADHD. The two conditions are quite different; a child with a diagnosis of ADD finds it difficult to concentrate and focus and may also have other struggles including:

• An inability to follow one train of thought or consistent threads of thought.
• Problems filtering out background noise
• Forgetfulness and clumsiness
• Frequent fidgeting
• Inability to listen well or follow conversations
• Aggressive behaviour or difficulty controlling impulses.
• Talking only about the subjects he or she is interested in

Living with ADD can be exhausting, both for your child and your whole family. ADD is often diagnosed in early childhood and if untreated can go on to affect teenagers and young adults with increasingly damaging results, including the development of depression or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

How can you help my child?

NETwork Interventions specialises in Verbal Behaviour which is a form of Applied Behaviour Analaysis (ABA) and is widely recognised as an effective and proven approach to change the behaviour of children with ADD and many other acquired disorders, developmental delays and conditions.

Our team of trained behaviour analysts and psychologists have many years’ experience of successfully helping children with a diagnosis of ADD. Once we have undertaken an extensive observation and assessment of your child, we will design a tailor-made ABA programme of teaching for your child. We will be with you every step of the way as you implement these interventions, transferring to you the knowledge, skills, confidence and encouragement you need to make it succeed.

We have seen time and time again that a whole family approach is the key to achieving maximum results. Having worked with many families affected by ADD, we understand the strain this disorder can have on your child and the rest of the family. Because of this, we never work with a child in isolation – and the interventions we design will take into account your family situation and the needs and challenges of the whole family unit. We will also work very closely with your child’s school to ensure a consistent approach.

What results can I expect?

Behaviour Analysis can be highly effective in changing the behaviour of a child with a diagnosis of ADD. Families of children with a diagnosis of ADD that we have worked with have seen some astonishing changes in their child. These include, but are not limited to:

• Improved concentration and ability to stay ‘on task’ at school, leading to improved academic performance and better school reports.
• Challenging or aggressive behaviour patterns which have been replaced by healthy, positive and age-appropriate behaviours.
• Significant improvements in relationships within the family, making for a happier family and stronger, more stable family unit.
• Better relationships with other children and the ability to make and keep friends.
• The ability to converse well with children and adults.

Many children make remarkable progress and learn to interact and function just like other children of the same age.
There are many factors which will influence how successful the interventions will be. These include the nature and severity of the problem, your family situation and your availability to implement the interventions on a daily basis. We will talk to you about these and the level of success you can expect, once we have completed a full assessment of your child.

Getting started

All of our interventions start with an in-depth observation and assessment of your child. This will involve:

• Observing your child in a range of settings including school, home, a party or play date and other outings such as a trip the shops or to visit grandparents. 
• Gathering detailed information from you and any professionals who are working with your child. 

We then report our findings to you in writing, by video or face to face over a coffee, depending on what works best for you. We will give you an honest, impartial assessment of you your child’s skills, successes, challenges and struggles. We will then make recommendations for helping your child, including costs and time scales.

Once you are happy to proceed, we get started with implementing the programme. Whether your child’s programme lasts two weeks or two years, we will be with you every step of the way, providing the expertise, training and support you need to make it work.
We will review your child’s progress throughout the programme to ensure that it is working and that you are happy with the degree to which your child is progressing and is learning the appropriate skills and behaviours.

You as parents

Your role as parents is crucial for the success of the programme. Your determination to implement our recommendations on a daily basis will significantly impact how successful the programme is. It will be more than worth the investment of time, effort and money - and, as many families tell us, the positive impact this will have on your child and your family will make it all worthwhile. As well as expert consultants to design your intervention and work with your family, we have therapists available to work in a one to one capacity with your child to support you in your implementation.

Did you know?

ADD is often treated with medication. The adverse side effects of these drugs have been well documented in recent years The NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) now recommends that medication should only be used alongside therapy and training for parents. New research shows that behavioural intervention is just as successful as medication, but without the side effects- and our experience over many years has demonstrated this time and time again.

Case story for ADD

Noah, aged 7 had been diagnosed with ADD and was on high doses of Ritalin. His family had resigned themselves to the fact that he would be on medication for the rest of his life. Every day was a series of angry and violent outbursts, after which he would seclude himself in his room and refuse to talk to anyone. It seemed as if Noah disobeyed every instruction placed on him, his siblings found him difficult to be around as most interactions ended in fist fights. Noah never seemed to be happy.

He didn’t participate at school and struggled to respond to questions or recall information. He became more and more disengaged at school and his reports were poor.

The first thing NETwork Interventions did was conduct a thorough assessment of Noah's skills. We identified a number of key skills Noah had not learnt - and this was the trigger behind his bad behaviour. We got to work teaching Noah the skills he was missing. These included learning to communicate his needs and wants, express feelings appropriately and recall and talk about past events. We taught his parents how to support Noah in learning and developing these new skills and how to successfully manage bad behaviour when it did happen.

The result was staggering. After just a few sessions, Noah's violent outbursts had greatly reduced and he was spending more and more time in positive interactions with his parents and siblings. His parents gained confidence in interacting with him and managing his behaviour. Noah is now on a reduced level of medication and is a different child, both at home and school.

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"Our son was diagnosed with Asperger’s aged 7; NETwork Interventions spent a day observing him at school and at home and quickly identified the skills he was lacking – skill deficits that we - and others working with our son - had not picked up on. NETwork Interventions trained us to help our son learn those missing skills. The results have been remarkable – he no longer cries about going to school, his concentration and behaviour are much better and he is far less likely to alienate others by the things he says. Thank you."
Parent in Surrey

"It is always a pleasure talking to Lu and Shelley - we think they are superstars!"
C & C, Ottawa

"The observation and assessment period that NETwork complete at the beginning is difficult to understand at the outset, but it turns out that it is an intricate process that [does] indeed find the issues to work on and subsequently address and resolve."
Mum, Quebec

"Dillan had significant behavioural issues and received a very late diagnosis of NVLD when he was 9 years old. This diagnosis did little to help our family. Louise quickly and efficiently set up a programme for our teenage son which rapidly identified his strengths and weaknesses. Shelley taught us and his teachers how to best address these, including language deficits which had previously remained unrecognised, Louise’s team worked within our budget, working hours and extensive travel commitments, working closely with school and our local authority to ensure everybody was on board and funding accessed. At times it felt as though Louise was coordinating a small army. Additional support of parent-counselling through Louise’s team proved invaluable, even though we were originally a little sceptical. It most likely made the difference between success and failure in our ability as parents to sustain a positive family unit whilst implementing the programme. We worked with NETwork Interventions for just under one year."
Dr Edwards, North London

"We would like to say a massive thank you for your hard work during the 2 day assessment. We are so grateful and highly impressed with your level of knowledge, confidence, professionalism as well as the kindness and respect shown to our family. Now, we really believe there is light at the end of the tunnel."
Monica, UK