Hyderabad: Children suffering from NDDs also have to deal with socio-behavioural complexities as they also have to deal with the constant fear of doing something wrong, guilt because they are not normal like others and are also often blamed for any wrong doing. There exists stigma and discrimination at different levels both at homes and also at the school level which makes it difficult for them to gain the required confidence.
The family members too have to bear with discrimination often and it has been found that they have to support the child so that they can gain the required confidence to deal with these social behaviours.
This is also one of the major reasons why most of them live a peripheral life when it comes to illnesses and come to hospitals only during severe or chronic illness. With teachers and schools being sensitized towards identifying these children, there are many of them who are being identified and picked up early.
Dr Padma V., senior neurologist, explained, “There is early identification of learning disorders, autism spectrum disorders and ADHD in children in the age-group of 6 to 9 years. This has been seen largely in urban areas and semi-rural areas where people are alert and a remark by a teacher or a family member is making them opt for a medical opinion. For this reason too we find that a lot of ADHD cases are being picked up.”
Meanwhile, the actual incidence of ADHD is becoming a bone of contention between specialists who state that there is over-reporting as parents in nuclear families are not able to handle a hyper or a naughty child. Every such child cannot be having a hyper activity disorder, they state.
