A large number of children across Gujarat has been increasingly showing behavioural problems, doctors said in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
"The number of children showing signs of autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and similar diseases are increasing, around 10% to 15% higher. A lot of it could be due to increased awareness because, earlier, parents were not aware of such problems while today they are more likely to keep an eye," said Dr Amola Patel, a development paediatrician.
She said that if identified early, the behavioural problems can be addressed well. Explaining how can a parent differentiate if a child is merely throwing a tantrum or just being a child or if he is indeed suffering from a behavioural problem, Dr Patel said parents need to find if the child's difficult behaviour is a problem in a particular setting or if it is the same for all places.
"Say a child is being particularly difficult in school but is otherwise quite normal everywhere else in such cases the problem will be in some aspect of the school and not a behavioural problem. But if the child is difficult or behaves in a certain way in school, at home and other places then it is often an indication of a behavioural problem," said Dr Patel.
She was speaking on the sidelines of a national conference on growth development and behavioural paediatrics held in the city. The conference is being held to create awareness about resources and advancements in the treatment of children with special needs.
Dr Patel said that early interventions are particularly helpful in such cases and parents need to be made aware of development milestones so that they can know if their child is lagging behind and if that is a sign of some problem.
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