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Photo Credit: David Goehring CC License

How does one determine if a child has a medical issue or a spirited temperament?

For parents, it can be very confusing, as they try to tease out if their child has a medical condition or not.  In general, trust your instincts and consult a medical professional if you are trying to support your child with their temperament yet they are still experiencing challenges such as:

• focusing, as a serious concern in school
• social skills/perspective taking with peers are out of “synch”
• “melt-downs” are frequent and more intense
• daily functioning is significantly affected

The Temperament Trait of Perceptiveness

1———————–2———————–3————————4——————5

(Hardly ever notices)                                                           (Very Perceptive)                     

(Forgets multiple directions)                                    (Can follow multiple directions)   

How much does your child pay attention to the world around them?  Use Mary Sheedy Kurcinka’s continuum to gain a greater understanding of how perceptive you and your family members are.  Do you notice every new change in the environment?  Is your attention distracted by people, noises (no matter how faint), colours, objects?  When going for a walk does your child stop to notice everything?

Perceptive children may get into trouble because they appear to be not listening, but in actual fact, they are absorbing the world around them more than the average child.  They may be slower to complete directions because they are processing so much information, but they are able to finish the task.  Whereas, children with attention deficit problems tend to have more difficulties sorting out the information that is coming to them, therefore lose focus, and are not able to complete the required task without a lot of re-direction and prompting.

Energy – how energetic is each member of your family?

 

Activity level is another factor of temperament.  Does your child seem to always be needing to move and be busy or do they have more quiet energy and are able to sit for longer periods of time?

1———————–2———————–3————————4——————5

Quiet                                                                                                                    Very Active  

(sits and plays for extended time)                                                                  (always on the go)                                                 (sleeps in one place)                                                                                        (restless sleeper)

Energy levels are another factor in attention deficit issues.  For some children they may have a very active temperament, and need to move around, but are also able to complete tasks.  Whereas, other children  may bounce around and are never able to complete a worksheet without support, and this may be due to attention deficit issues.  If your child has a very active temperament, it is important to build in movement breaks as this need to expend energy builds within them.  Plan for your child’s activity level, but be careful not to overstimulate as this can put them into a hyper-aroused state.

All the temperament traits have their strengths, and it is important to convey these positive messages to your child.  “Wow, look how you noticed that”,  “I know you love to look at that, but now we need to walk this way”, “Your energy is going to make you a great parent one day”, “Let’s walk to the park and get some of our energy released”.

Have a great day!

Warmly,