AD/HD: ART AS DOCTORS' HEALING DREAM (May 17, 2010)

When the two Seans, together with their “classmates” -- Charles, Joemer, Johann, Luke, Mico, Niňa, Sophia, and Simeon -- recited this poem in unison during their “graduation day,” everyone was touched and teary-eyed:

“AD/HD
Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder
Kami ay may AD/HD
Madalas kaming hyper at takbo nang takbo
Madalas wala kaming control at parang matigas ang ulo.”

Questions asked by our kids -- Psalma, Wika, and Sulat – even by their Granny, Zenaida Mendiola – were answered by the following stanza:

“Madalas hirap kaming magfocus at parang hindi nakikinig
Sa klase kami ay napapa-away at madalas nakatindig
'Yan ang sintomas ng AD/HD
Kaya dinala kami sa PGH para mag-Group Therapy.”

It also explained what their Ina was doing as president of the foundation named after their sibling, Awit, ably supported by Gayle Pacquing, Foundation Awit's executive assistant, with volunteers like Julie Gambala, Jonas Pacquing and his mom Roxanne:

“Sa therapy natuto kami nang marami
Gaya ng paggamit ng “Please, sorry, may I borrow?” at “Excuse me...”
Natuto kaming makinig at magpakabait
Para marami kaming dolphin at di matawag na makulit.”

And how art played its part:

“Natuto kaming sumayaw ng Who Let The Dogs Out? sa wii
Nadagdag din sa talent namin ang paggawa ng origami
Natuto kaming makipag-kaibigan at maglaro nang walang awayan
Higit sa lahat naintindihan namin na ang AD/HD ay di kasalanan ninuman.”

But, everything was made possible by unsung heroes:

“Sa tulong ng mga doktor gaya nina Doktor A, J, at S
Sa tulong ng teachers na mabait sa makulit
At lalong-lalo na sa love ng aming magulang at lola
Sa tulong ng lahat ng ito kami ay mayroon ng pag-asa.”

If they had their way, Doctors A, J, and S would hide behind those initials forever.

However, we deem it necessary to give due credit to Dr. Aileene Del Mundo-
Nepomuceno, Dr. Josephine Gatdula, and Dr. Joseph Sayo – Child Psychiatry fellows
at the Philippine General Hospital – who committed themselves to AD/HD.

And their big sisters – Dr. Cynthia Ramos-Leynes, former chair of Behavioral Medicine and Child Psychiatry Department,and Dr. Norieta Calma-Balderrama, current section head of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry -- who permitted us, through Foundation AWIT president, Dr. Dinah Nadera, to complete this nine-week module on group therapy for children with AD/HD which is a common behavioral disorder with a worldwide incidence of 5-10%, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Affected were more than 3 million Filipinos, or four-percent of our population, which was 84 million then, when the study was conducted four years ago.

From 2006 to 2008, based on the PGH's Child and Adolescent Census, AD/HD had been in the top 5 diagnosis and ranks fourth among the common psychiatric referrals seen, comprising 8.81% of total cases.

Generally, PGH patients are charity cases.

So, by 2004, the Child and Adolescent section of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine put up an AD/HD Clinic in partnership with Janssen Pharmaceutica, a division of Johnson & Johnson Philippines.

As early as the last quarter of 2009, the team had been planning until they were able to finish the final draft of the module last January guided by these general objectives: (1) to help the children develop an awareness about their condition; (2) to help the children learn activities that can improve their attention span and impulse control and redirect their hyperactivity into meaningful actions; (3) to help the children integrate into the society by teaching them values and interpersonal skills such as effective communication and socially appropriate behavior.

For nine Wednesdays, at 1:00 -3:00 p.m. at the AD/HD clinic (or Room 301 of the PGH's Out-Patient Department), the kids took part in the activities that were compressed to maximize resources, time, and money within the three-month session.

Their significant others, though, were never left out since they were given parallel sessions: from dealing with hyperactivity, impulsivity, or inattention to developing talents and skills to expressing oneself.

From AD/HD awareness to self-awareness, art became a common denominator.

Literary arts for their logbook or journal writing and story telling, media arts for their radioshow, theater arts for their role playing or charades or body talk, visual arts for their origami making, even communication arts for their pass-the-message games, among others.

What sets the activities apart from others is the use of structured tools to evaluate the psychoeducation sessions of parents and of standardized questionnaires to measure symptoms of AD/HD after every group therapy session.

Evaluation after the completion of all nine modules discovered the artist in the children with AD/HD, whose evaluation sheets were accompanied with illustrations!

Based on the evaluation, the modules are now being revised as appropriate to be published as a resource tool for professionals and familes in dealing with children with AD/HD.

That makes Drs. A, J, and S artists too -- as authors of the poem and of this forthcoming publication!

The module ended last April 21, our Papa's birthday, and two weeks of practice were allotted for graduation in May 7 where they ended this literary piece with:

“AD/HD
Kami ay may AD/HD
Pero ngayon kami ay bumubuti
At higit sa lahat – cute pa din kami!”

If indeed healing's goal is to make people happy, then we certainly succeeded.

And we will try to go beyond what Proclamation 472 declares being October each year as National Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Awareness Week!

TEXT SUPPORT:
OFFICE ARITHMETIC

Smart boss + smart employee = profit
Smart boss + dumb employee = production

Dumb boss + smart employee = promotion

Dumb boss + dumb employee = overtime

CONSIDER THIS:
If people say something bad about you, judge you as if they know you, do not get affected.
Just think: DOGS DON'T BARK IF THEY KNOW THE PERSON.