ADHD or Koboko ?

Hey guys! How's everyone battling with their Monday afternoon, lol...hang in there *wink wink*. Soo today’s post is a bit different, it’s about a developmental disorder known as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), yes most of you are very familiar with it but as Nigerians we gats rely on koboko. I decided to do this post because a lot of kids these days are ill mannered and it irritates me a lot! It's very necessary to know when your parenting skills aren't working and when your child needs professional attention. Now, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) described ADHD as
one of the most common childhood disorders with symptoms like hyperactivity, difficulty-paying attention and staying focused and inability to control behaviour. This disorder is normally seen in kids but it is also seen in adolescents and adults (yup, adults get it too!). ADHD comes in three types and they are;

The predominantly Inattentive type which proves the most difficult to diagnose because the child does not exhibit what might be seen as clear symptoms of ADHD. They appear to be quiet and focused especially in school but are actually not paying attention, they tend to daydream a lot, they are easily distracted, have short attention spam, appear careless and forgetful with regular tasks. A child with this type of ADHD needs help as much as a child with other types of ADHD.

The Hyperactive impulsive type which can easily be mistaken for “bad behaviour”. Children with this type of ADHD are overly active, they usually have difficulty staying in one particular place, excessive talking, they tend to take actions without considering the consequences, they is excessive running or climbing and restlessness.

The third is the combined type of ADHD which is a combination of the predominantly inattentive and the hyperactive impulsive type.

According to NHS, about 2-5% of school children and young people have ADHD, that’s nothing less than 2million people. In an article written by Adewuya AO and Famuyiwa OO, the prevalence of ADHD among primary school children aged 7-12 in Nigeria is 8.7% with 4.9% being predominantly inattentive, 1.2% being hyperactive impulsive and 2.6% being combined.  Although not everyone who shows hyperactive, impulsive or inattentive traits had ADHD. This is why proper and thorough examination and diagnosis by a professional is needed before the necessary treatments commence.

 On the causes of ADHD, studies have shown that genes play a huge role in ADHD, so next time your child starts to misbehave uncessarily, check yourself and your ancestors lol. In addition, researchers are looking at other possible factors that may cause ADHD like environmental factors. There is a significant link between smoking and drinking during pregnancy and ADHD (not just ADHD but other disorders which I will talk about in another post).

As Nigerians and having our own culture and all, it is difficult to accept and acknowledge the existence of these  disorders and know they are not just for "oyibo" people. I'm a huge advocate of koboko but if used for a while and its not working then it might be a good idea to rule out ADHD and double check if you're using too much or too little of the koboko. I'm a huge advocate of koboko o! But the truth is, if the koboko isn't working as it should, it's either adhd or you're using too much or too little. I don't think it would hurt to get a professional to rule out adhd if you have the opportunity and resources to get that done. 

Hope you guys learnt a thing or two from this post, tell me what you think, do you believe in ADHD? would you put your child on ADHD medication if they were diagnosed with it ? or is there any other thing you would like to add to this ? Leave a comment below and thanks for stopping by!

XO...MM