What is ADHD?
ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a medical condition that becomes apparent in some children in the preschool and early school years. It is hard for these children to control their behavior and/or pay attention.
Just-released government statistics confirm that ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) is more prevalent than ever before, increasing over the past decade from 6.9% to 9% among children ages 5 to 17. With nearly 1 in 10 kids being diagnosed with ADHD, and more adults learning they have it. (U.S Government, September 2011).
What are the Symptoms of ADHD?
There are 3 main symptoms of ADHD; inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.
Children can suffer from one, two or all three symptoms.
Symptoms of ADHD will appear over the course of many months, often with the symptoms of impulsiveness and hyperactivity preceding those of inattention, which may not emerge for a year or more. Different symptoms may appear in different settings, depending on the demands the situation may pose for the child's self-control. A child who "can't sit still" or is otherwise disruptive will be noticeable in school, but the inattentive daydreamer may be overlooked. The impulsive child who acts before thinking may be considered just a "discipline problem," while the child who is passive or sluggish may be viewed as merely unmotivated. Yet both may have different types of ADHD
All children are sometimes restless, sometimes act without thinking, sometimes daydream the time away. However, when the child's hyperactivity, distractibility, poor concentration, or impulsivity begin to affect performance in school, social relationships with other children, or behavior at home, ADHD may be suspected.
Here are the signs of Hyperactivity and Impulsivitiy:
Symptoms of Inattention:
ADHD can make learning very hard. If a teacher gives a set of 4-5 directions, a child with ADHD may only have heard 1 or 2. These children have a wandering attention; their brains literally can not stay on one thing for a long period of time. Its like a Ferrari brain with bicycle brakes. They can't slow down when they need to. This is often a problem in the classroom, as we are required to sit for long periods of time and are required to do more than one task at a time. For children with ADHD, this is VERY hard.
Treatment:
Every family wants to determine what treatment will be most effective for their child. Since ADHD is a pychiatric disorder, this question needs to be answered by each family in consultation with their health care professional.
Something worth knowing:
This disorder is only "outgrown" by 1/3 of children. Research now shows that majority of people who are diagnosed with ADHD as a child, continue to have it into adolescence and as an adult. Some may even need treatment for the symptoms as an adult, as it may affect them while in college or at their jobs.
Just-released government statistics confirm that ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder) is more prevalent than ever before, increasing over the past decade from 6.9% to 9% among children ages 5 to 17. With nearly 1 in 10 kids being diagnosed with ADHD, and more adults learning they have it. (U.S Government, September 2011).
What are the Symptoms of ADHD?
There are 3 main symptoms of ADHD; inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.
Children can suffer from one, two or all three symptoms.
Symptoms of ADHD will appear over the course of many months, often with the symptoms of impulsiveness and hyperactivity preceding those of inattention, which may not emerge for a year or more. Different symptoms may appear in different settings, depending on the demands the situation may pose for the child's self-control. A child who "can't sit still" or is otherwise disruptive will be noticeable in school, but the inattentive daydreamer may be overlooked. The impulsive child who acts before thinking may be considered just a "discipline problem," while the child who is passive or sluggish may be viewed as merely unmotivated. Yet both may have different types of ADHD
All children are sometimes restless, sometimes act without thinking, sometimes daydream the time away. However, when the child's hyperactivity, distractibility, poor concentration, or impulsivity begin to affect performance in school, social relationships with other children, or behavior at home, ADHD may be suspected.
Here are the signs of Hyperactivity and Impulsivitiy:
- Feeling restless, often fidgeting with hands or feet, or squirming while seated
- Running, climbing, or leaving a seat in situations where sitting or quiet behavior is expected
- Blurting out answers before hearing the whole question
- Having difficulty waiting in line or taking turns.
Symptoms of Inattention:
- Often becoming easily distracted by irrelevant sights and sounds
- Often failing to pay attention to details and making careless
- mistakes
- Rarely following instructions carefully and completely losing or forgetting things like toys, or pencils, books, and tools needed for a task
- Often skipping from one uncompleted activity to another.
ADHD can make learning very hard. If a teacher gives a set of 4-5 directions, a child with ADHD may only have heard 1 or 2. These children have a wandering attention; their brains literally can not stay on one thing for a long period of time. Its like a Ferrari brain with bicycle brakes. They can't slow down when they need to. This is often a problem in the classroom, as we are required to sit for long periods of time and are required to do more than one task at a time. For children with ADHD, this is VERY hard.
Treatment:
Every family wants to determine what treatment will be most effective for their child. Since ADHD is a pychiatric disorder, this question needs to be answered by each family in consultation with their health care professional.
Something worth knowing:
This disorder is only "outgrown" by 1/3 of children. Research now shows that majority of people who are diagnosed with ADHD as a child, continue to have it into adolescence and as an adult. Some may even need treatment for the symptoms as an adult, as it may affect them while in college or at their jobs.