- The former BBC journalist said children may simply be struggling with emotions
We shouldn’t be so quick to diagnose ADHD in children because such ‘labels’ can be ‘debilitating’, says Kate Silverton.
The newsreader turned child therapist has warned against giving children ADHD medication prematurely as they may simply be struggling to cope with difficult emotions.
Addressing the root cause of their behavior and emotional problems is more helpful than simply grouping them under the “umbrella” term to explain it, she has said.
The former BBC journalist, 53, who appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018, has changed careers after gaining a degree in child psychology and is now a qualified children’s counsellor.
“I know it’s terribly upsetting for parents when their children behave in ways they just don’t understand,” she said on Ferne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast.
We shouldn’t be so quick to diagnose ADHD in children because such ‘labels’ can be ‘debilitating’, says Kate Silverton (pictured)
The newsreader turned child therapist has warned against giving children ADHD medication prematurely as they may simply be struggling to cope with difficult emotions (stock photo)
“Let’s not look at kids as having a problem, but there is something that is upsetting them, and once we address that, a lot of these big behaviors will go away.”
She added, “My message really is, let’s try to get rid of the labels if we can.”
Ms Silverton said that while it can be reassuring for parents to have a solid diagnosis for their child, it can be ‘debilitating for children’ and as a result ‘people expect too much or don’t expect as much of them’ .
She said, “To start, let’s work with our children on what they are brilliant at.
“If children are behaving in a dysregulated manner, let’s not see it as a symptom of ADHD, but let’s see it as a symptom of emotional dysregulation – we can work with that.”
Mrs Silverton, mother of Clemency, 12, and Wilbur, 10, with husband Mike Heron, said we are doing our children a “great disservice” if we don’t “stop to look at the reasons why” they behave the way they do. certain manner.
‘Until the science becomes more advanced, we can’t definitively say that someone definitely has ADHD. It’s not even a medical… It’s a description, an umbrella term,” she said.
She added, “I want to know that these children are seen and heard and not just medicated.”