ADHD, which is the acronym for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is one of the most difficult diseases to diagnose. It affects children in their pre-school or early school years and has symptoms which are often mistaken to be nothing but pranks or tantrums being thrown by overactive or difficult children.
The three key symptoms associated with ADHD are: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Since most children are hyperactive or impulsive, the majority of parents do not pay much attention to them. They believe that these inconsistencies will blow away with age. It is only when these symptoms are spotted by teachers in school who work with large groups of children that the child is provided counseling or medical support for ADHD.
One cannot blame parents for failing to spot ADHD symptoms, and seeking early medical help. The symptoms may not appear together. Sometimes, only one or two of the ADHD symptoms may manifest themselves and that too at gaps of six months to a year, or even more.
The symptoms that indicate that a child may be suffering from ADHD are:
- Restless behavior
- Inconsistent behavior like running, climbing or leaving a seat when everyone else is quiet or seated
- Continued squirming or wiggling of toes when seated
- Being impatient when asked to stand in a line
- Responding to questions even before the full question is asked.
These ADHD symptoms flow from a child's excessive hyperactive and impulsive attitude. Children who are inattentive can also be suffering from ADHD if they display the following symptoms:
- Make careless mistakes
- Are inattentive to the point of looking bored
- Do not follow instructions
- Constantly lose or forget things like toys, or pencils, books, etc
- Skip from one uncompleted task to another for no reason
- Get easily distracted
- Rarely do their homework
It is therefore not a surprise that even the ADHD specialists take time to conclude that a child is suffering from ADHD. Some of the questions that they ask before coming to such a conclusion are:
- Can such behavior be described as excessive?
- Does such behavior is more pervasive or occurs more often when compared to children of the same age?
- Does such behavior constitutes a regular part of child's life or is it a response to a few situations?
- Does such behavior manifest itself in all settings or is it limited to specific setting like school or with other children?
The ADHD specialists need to speak to a child's parents, teachers and other adults who form a part of child's life. These responses help the specialists to learn whether the irregular behavior is a result of ADHD or is it a passing phase.
Currently, it is estimated that 3 to 5% of American children suffer from an ADHD disorder. There is now a growing awareness of ADHD and parents can easily find psychologists, psychiatrists or counselors who can guide children afflicted by ADHD.
