FOR TWO hours every day, Candy Pangilinan turns on her portable DVD player, full volume, to drown out her son?s wailing from the room across hers.

Quentin, 5, has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with Asperger?s Syndrome, diagnosed when he was just 1 year old.

?Quentin cries a lot during sessions with his therapist because, like all kids with developmental problem, Quentin hates change and being given orders,? Candy told the Inquirer. ?So I need to be diverted, or I?ll go crazy.?

Thanks to therapy, the actress said, Quentin is less anxious and irritable now. ?There was a time when my friends thought a new boyfriend was beating me up. But it was all from Quentin?s tantrums [punctuated with] hitting and kicking,? the comedian said.

Once, she recalled, she kept interrupting the sessions, leaving the therapist frustrated. ?She told me, ?Ms Candy, I just want to remind you na walang namamatay sa iyak.??

Everyone at home is used to the boy?s crying spells now, Candy said, but it used to be ?really? bad. ?Once, my mom couldn?t stand his crying, so she barged into the room and told Quentin?s teacher, ?Tapos na po ang session.??

Candy first noticed that Quentin was ?different? when he was 9 months old. ?He was prescribed corrective eyeglasses at that age, with 500-grade lenses,? she said. ?He could not talk or stand when he should.?

News of Quentin?s condition came when Candy had just broken up with the boy?s father. She recounted: ?I skipped denial stage and simply asked the doctor what should be done. I felt better when the doctor told me, ?It?s not your fault. You?re here ? this means you?re prepared to help him.?

Candy learned that stress during pregnancy was among the possible causes of the disorder. ?Things weren?t going well between me and Quentin?s father while I was pregnant,? she explained.

Missing father

Another reason, Candy noted, was an unexpected complication when she delivered. ?We couldn?t find Quentin?s father, whose signature was needed before I could be operated on. Because of the delay, Quentin may have suffered a lack of oxygen in the brain.? Also, she said, it could be a case of genes that didn?t match.

Not all parents react the same way to the problem, she also learned. ?Some find it hard to accept. They want their children?s condition kept secret,? she observed. ?How can the kids be helped? I tell parents who come to me for advice to talk to developmental doctors immediately.?

She continued: ?I tell them that, in the very least, the kids? fine motor skills should be developed. Imagine a 15-year-old who still can?t go to the bathroom on his own.?

Like many others with ADHD, Quentin has very high IQ, but with an EQ that?s at least three years delayed. ?He?s catching up really fast,? said Candy. ?His doctors said this was because of the dedicated people who are helping him,? said Candy. ?My mom has also been praying non-stop for him.?

E-mail mcruz@inquirer.com.ph