When your child is diagnosed with ADHD, so many questions can arise. Here are some facts to help you understand Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder better:
Where to Get Help:
- Ask your doctor
- See a Developmental Pediatrician
- Talk to your child’s school psychologist
Signs of ADHD:
- Be easily distracted, miss details, forget things, and frequently switch from one activity to another
- Have difficulty maintaining focus on one task
- Become bored with a task after only a few minutes, unless doing something enjoyable
- Have difficulty focusing attention on organizing and completing a task or learning something new
- Trouble completing or turning in homework assignments, often losing things (e.g., pencils, toys, assignments) needed to complete tasks or activities
- Not seem to listen when spoken to
- Daydream, become easily confused, and move slowly
- Have difficulty processing information as quickly and accurately as others
- Struggle to follow instructions
- Fidget and squirm in their seats
- Talk nonstop
- Dash around, touching or playing with anything and everything in sight
- Have trouble sitting still during dinner, school, and story time
- Be constantly in motion
- Have difficulty doing quiet tasks or activities
- Seem impatient
- Blurt out inappropriate comments, show their emotions without restraint, and act without regard for consequences
- Have difficulty waiting for things they want or waiting their turns in games
ADHD is:
- A Neurobehavioral Disorder
- Syptoms often present before age seven
- Often Characterized by lack of focus, impulsiveness, and sometimes hyperactivity
- Believed to effect 3-5% of children globally with 2-16% diagnosed
- Diagnosed 2-4 x’s more in boys
- It is normally tested on rating scales
ADHD is NOT:
- Although it can be associated with other disorders, it does not mean your child has one of these disorders
- Mean your child will go down a bad path in life
- A life-long sentence. Only 30-50% of those with it continue having issues with it into adulthood.
Some Things to Help:
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