[Self perception: the key stone of nursing interventions with hyperactive children].

Denise Dumas, a nurse at the Hôtel-Dieu du Sacré-Coeur de Jésus hospital, in Quebec City, and Louise Pelletier, an associate professor at the Ecole des sciences infirmières of Université Laval, are interested in promoting understanding of problems linked to hyperactivity in school-age children. They suggest appropriate nursing interventions for child psychiatry units in hospitals and outpatient clinics. The authors give a definition of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, specifying its prevalence, etiology and treatment, and describe the behaviour of the hyperactive child. They go on to look at the concept of self-perception and deal with its development and its importance in children's lives. Most importantly, the authors suggest nursing interventions suited to the needs of hyperactive children.