Archives for June 2016

The next time you drop off your child at preschool or grammar school, take a good, long look at the swarm of happy children in the playground. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in every ten of those kids will have had a diagnosis of ADHD before the age of 17.

The classic portrayal of a child with ADHD is a whirling, energetic dervish who struggles to pay attention, rarely finishes his assignments, and succumbs to strong emotional impulses: In other words, a seemingly typical preschooler. The difference is that ADHD is not a phase that a child matures out of. It’s a chronic condition involving a unique brain wiring that makes it challenging, even for the brightest and most inquisitive of kids, to focus, improve social interactions, and maximize academic performance. Fortunately, by embracing behavioral modification techniques and perhaps medication, most children with ADHD are able to reach their true potential.

The three major classes of symptoms that define ADHD involve attention and focus issues, hyperactivity, and difficulties with impulse control. These symptoms are most commonly manifested in the following behavioral signs.

• Inability to repeat verbal instructions or difficulty in following multi-step instructions
• Difficulty in finishing homework, chores, and projects
• Careless mistakes, like missing a page on a test
• Difficulty in organizing priorities, keeping track of due dates, or a tendency to forget necessary items, such as leaving shoes and coats behind, etc.
• Easily distracted by outside stimuli like “itchy” tags on clothes, the tap of a branch on a window, or the hissing of a radiator
• Fidgeting, fussing, or squirming when forced to sit still, or generally struggling with quiet activities
• Running, scrambling, climbing, yelling, and other energetic outbursts at inappropriate times
• Non-stop chatting, difficulty being quiet
• Interrupting adult and children’s conversations and games
• Trouble taking turns or staying in line, often combined with emotional outbursts

Generally, ADHD comes in three major types depending on the prevalence, severity, and mixture of symptoms. To be diagnosed with one of the three, children have to exhibit multiples of the above signs for at least six months, and those symptoms must show an impact on the child’s academic performance and social interactions. This is why most children aren’t diagnosed until about the age of seven, when the child is old enough to be tested and the developmental milestones that usually mark a modification of some these behaviors have passed.

If you suspect that your child may be struggling with the unique challenges of ADHD, ask your pediatrician for a referral to a mental health professional. The sooner the diagnosis, the quicker you can get your child the help she needs.

These days, it’s no wonder that parents of active children fret about whether their kids have ADHD as they watch them tear across the yard, knock other children over, fail to listen, or make any effort to curtail their impulses. In the U.S., approximately 11% of children under 18 years of age are diagnosed with ADHD and about 6% are on medication. When it comes to chronic childhood conditions, ADHD is the undisputed king.

Active Or ADHD?
Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is a condition diagnosed in both children and adults who display persistent, sustained behavioral patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and often impulsivity. Your toddler is sure to be full of energy, but by no means does that indicate that he or she suffers from any chronic behavioral condition.

At young ages, it’s very difficult to separate normal developmental behavior from the unique brain wiring classic to those diagnosed with ADHD. In fact, most diagnoses don’t happen until the child is about seven years of age. By then, most kids have developed the capacity to exert some level of impulse control, and can pay attention and sit still for at least a limited amount of time. Kids who continue to struggle can then be tested by mental health professionals to determine whether stumbling blocks in these areas are simply a delay in maturation or something more chronic.

Signs And Symptoms
While it may ease your mind that normal toddler and preschooler behavior may mimic signs of ADHD, it still doesn’t hurt to keep an eye out for persistent symptoms. Early intervention is the key to nipping in the bud the frustration, poor academic achievement, and social difficulties that can arise when the condition remains undiagnosed and untreated. The three general symptoms of ADHD—attention problems, hyperactivity issues, and impulsivity—manifest in different and often intertwined ways.

Classic Signs Of Inattention
– Excessive daydreaming that interferes with academics
– Problems remembering and following multi-step instructions
– Frequent unfinished homework, tests, or other tasks that require focus
– Difficulty repeating back what has just been said

Classic Signs Of Hyperactivity
– Great difficulty in sitting in one place for any length of time
– Squirming or fidgeting constantly
– Chattering

Classic Signs Of Impulsivity
– Cuts in line, struggles to wait their turn
– Interrupts other people frequently
– Emotional outbursts, tantrums, and difficulty self-modulating

There are three sub-types of ADHD, so keep in mind that not every child will show every sign and symptom listed above. Should you suspect your son or daughter may be struggling with ADHD or another behavioral issue, don’t hesitate to speak to your pediatrician or a childhood mental health professional. Proper testing and evaluation is the first step to getting your child the treatment he needs and deserves.

Describe a child bursting with energy who is prone to impulsive behavior and doesn’t always listen, and it’s likely you’re describing just about every toddler and preschooler on the face of the earth. Being active means being healthy. Until a child masters the mental ability to exert self-control, impulsivity is inevitable. And before a child has the maturity to grasp multi-step directions, inattention is actually non-comprehension. So how does a parent distinguish between normal kid behavior and the possibility of ADD?

There are three major signs that are used as diagnostic guideposts, which can involve one, two, or all three of the symptoms. Most kids aren’t tested until they’ve reached a school age, but diagnosis can be made as early as four years of age.

Inattention
What is more frustrating than a child who won’t do what she’s told? Fortunately, stubbornness is not a sign of ADD. But if that same child can’t seem to finish her math test because she was distracted by the tap of a schoolmate’s pencil, the tick of the classroom clock, or a tree branch scratching on a nearby window, she may be struggling with distraction issues that are one of the bedrocks of attention deficit disorder.

Impulsivity
It’s difficult to parent a child who can’t wait in line, who interrupts adults, or who takes physical risks like leaping off the top of a jungle gym. Studies show that human brains aren’t fully developed in terms of the risk-reward calculus until the age of twenty-five. Yet if your child exhibits physical aggression as well as a hair-trigger temper when his impulses are thwarted, consider whether she’s one of the 10% of kids between the ages of three and seventeen who struggle with ADD.

Hyperactivity
Every exhausted parent of an active child wishes, at one point or another, that they could power-down their child for an hour or two. Just because a kid would rather run wild in the park than sit in a chair reading doesn’t mean he has ADD. Hyperactivity is another level of energy. It manifests as incessant movement like wandering, fidgeting, squirming, and non-stop talking. Hyperactive children have serious difficulty sitting still and remaining quiet for any activity, which is particularly challenging and disruptive in a school environment.

If your child has reached preschool and you have concerns that she may be struggling with ADD, speak to your pediatrician about testing and diagnosis. Behavioral treatment, implemented while they’re still young, can do a world of good in helping you and your child cope with ADD.