ADHD: Could My Child Have ADHD?
Posted on February 18, 2009
Filed Under Helping Parents Help Kids, Improve Your Skills, Learning Tips, Teaching Tips |
Attention deficit disorder in children, also referred to as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, refers to children who often have difficulty focusing their attention, listening, remembering things, staying still, and/or waiting their turn. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Addition, DSM-IV, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a “persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequent and severe than is typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development.” Some of the symptoms must have been present in the child prior to age seven, and some must be present in at least two settings (e.g. at home and at school). Therefore, before concluding that your child has AD/HD, parents need to consult a qualified professional.
Many parents feel that their child has ADHD, when if fact they do not. Having an attentional issue does not mean that your child has ADHD or even ADD. In fact, most people have trouble staying focused on what they are doing if the phone rings, if people are talking nearby, if traffic is rushing past the window, or if music is playing; many sounds or events can distract any person from their work. When this happens, most people may find themselves reading entire pages without having any idea what they just read. Not a clue!
If this happens to your child, it does not mean that she automatically has an attentional disorder. Actually, not only is this type of distractibility normal, it is common. In fact, it is one of the most common problems kids have when they finally sit down to study.
However, if your child is continually distracted, by even the smallest stimuli, he may have ADD. If this is accompanied by excessive activity, then he may have ADHD (an attentional problem along with hyperactivity). In either case, discuss this with your pediatrician who may treat your child, or may refer you to a neurologist or a psychiatrist. And don’t be alarmed if your child is diagnosed with ADHD or with some form of an attention deficit disorder. There are many famous people diagnosed with ADHD, and they obviously became quite successful in life even with their attentional difficulties.
ADHD Symptoms:
- Has difficulty paying close attention to details or makes careless mistakes on homework or tests.
- Has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities.
- Does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.
- Does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork.
- Has difficulty organizing tasks.
- Avoids schoolwork for long periods of time.
- Often misplaces or loses assignments or books.
- Becomes distracted easily.
- Seems to be fidgeting all the time.
- Has difficulty remaining seated.
ADHD Treatment, Strategies and Recommendations:
- Suggest that your child write, scribble or even draw while reading. If your child enjoys writing, have her write while reading. Tell her not to get hung up on spelling or grammar here; she can even scribble. Encourage her to write down ideas in her own words This way she is always thinking about what she has to write. This helps her stay focused, and it helps her learn the material.
- Tell your child to subvocalize. When he’s reading a book or reading his notes, encourage him to read out loud. If he is in a place where he can’t talk out loud, tell him to “mouth” the words silently. His brain will “hear them.” This will help him learn the material, and it will help him stay focused.
- If appropriate, encourage your child to work in spurts with breaks. Encourage her to work in intervals of no more than 20 to 30 minutes at a time with ten-minute breaks in between. This will help her stay focused because as she is working, she’ll know there’s a break coming up. She needs to learn to treat herself well—after all, it’s hard for her to stay focused. Remind her to remind herself that when she is supposed to be working, she needs to stay on task. This means she needs to concentrate: think, read, write and talk.
- ADHD behavior charts. Your doctor may suggest using a behavior chart. Be sure to design this with your child. Together come up with your goals. Ex. I will play after school until 5:00. Between 5:00 and 6:00 I will do my homework (be sure to include breaks as recommended above). I will eat dinner between…, etc. Have fun creating your chart together. Then set up your goals. Ex. Your child receives a star, a sticker, or a check mark, for each accomplishment. When he has received five of them, he gets a toy or whatever you have decided together would be an appropriate reward. ADHD children need immediate gratification, so give rewards often. If a child has to wait the whole week for a sticker or for the reward, you will most likely lose his attention and this strategy will not work.
- Use a timer. When doing homework, it may keep him on task and moving at a good pace. Be careful though, because some children become anxious about being timed. Also, for some, timers are too distracting.
- Spread things out. Make it so he studies a little every day rather than a lot all at once. This way he will be more focused on a manageable amount of material every day. This will help prevent him from getting tired. It is difficult enough for children with ADD to stay focused; it is even harder when they become tired.
- Think before you read. Before your child begins doing homework or reading a book, tell her to start thinking about what she will be learning by reading this chapter or paper. At this point it is a guess just to get her engaged. Then have her refine her guess by reading the title of the chapter and sub-headings, looking at the pictures and illustrations and reading the captions under them. Have her attempt to answer the questions at the end of the chapter before even reading it. By now her guess about what the chapter is about should be close. Even if it is not, thinking about what it is about will help her stay focused. This strategy takes a little getting use to, but once she gets the knack of it, she’ll be surprised how helpful it will be.
- Stop and think while reading. While your child is reading the material, tell her to stop and ask herself what she just read, and to write down everything she can remember. If she can’t remember much, tell her to reread it and write down ideas as she goes along or draw pictures, graphs, charts—anything that will help stay focused and remember the information.
- ADHD medications. If various strategies are not successful, and your child is still having difficulty staying focused, your physician may recommend medication. With the proper choice and dosage, the improvement can be amazing.
- ADHD diet. Sometimes certain foods affect children in unpredictable ways. If you suspect diet might be an issue, consult your physician.
If you found this article useful, you’ll find a lot more useful information in our award winning book, “Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids.”
Linda Silbert, Ph.D. & Alvin Silbert, Ed.D.
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I wonder if suppressing childen’s activities (ex. asking them to study and avoid play) can be a reason for this problem.