How to determine if your kid has adhd or another problem with similar characteristics?

Answer 1

"ADHD is also known as attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit disorder with and without hyperactivity, hyperkinesis, hyperkinetic impulse disorder, hyperactive syndrome, hyperkinetic reaction of childhood, minimal brain damage, minimal brain dysfunction, and undifferentiated deficit disorder.

The term attention deficit is inexact, as the disorder is not thought to involve a lack of attention. Rather, there appears to be difficulty in regulating attention, so that attention is simultaneously given to many stimuli. The result is an unfocused reaction to the world. As well, people with ADHD can have difficulty in disregarding stimuli that are not relevant to the present task. They can also pay so much attention to one stimulus that they cannot absorb another stimulus that is more relevant at that particular time.

For many people with ADHD, life is a never-ending shift from one activity to another. Focus cannot be kept on any one topic long enough for a detailed assessment. The constant processing of information can also be distracting, making it difficult for an ADHD individual to direct his or her attention to someone who is talking to him or her. Personally, this struggle for focus can cause great chaos that can be disruptive and diminish self-esteem.

The neurological manifestations of ADHD are disturbances of what are known as executive functions. Specifically, the six executive functions that are affected include:

the ability to organize thinking
the ability to shift thought patterns
short-term memory
the ability to distinguish between emotional and logical responses
the ability to make a reasoned decision
the ability to set a goal and plan how to approach that goal
About half or more of those people with ADHD meet criteria set out by the American Psychiatric Association (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM-IV]) for at least one of the following other illnesses:

learning disorder
restless leg syndrome
depression
anxiety disorder
antisocial behavior
substance abuse
obsessive-compulsive behavior"

Also someone with Adhd usually has lots of energy and/or acts really hyper.

Answer 2

Let me atart by saying I babysat a lot and I was a teacher's aid for a while. When my sister was 7 she was "diagnosed" as having ADHD. She couldn't sit still, always jumping up in the middle of a task to start something new, yelling, shouting and getting excited for no reason. She couldn't even sit do do her homework, or read a book or see a movie, even ones she anticipated enjoying. She got left back in kindergarden and in 2nd grade she was put on ritalin which is technically a stimulent (it stimulates the parts of the brain that calm a person down). It was a wonder drug, she could sit still for however long she wanted, read books in one sitting, watch movies, she never got in trouble at school anymore. Then, in summer of '01, when she was 14, she started getting anxiety attacks and depression, that was followed by seizers and hallucinations (she thought the livingroom was trying to eat her, that the floor was collapsing, I can't remember all of them) Then she started cutting and for the past five years we haven't had knives in our house, well, we have one steak knife, but that's it. She had to be home schooled for the rest of eighth grade and went to a high school for troubled teens that has left her so woefully ill-equipped for college that there is no way she could pass the entrence exam. She doesn't understand any multiplication, division, or even simple literary works. Appearently when a child enters full blown puberty the brain changes significantly enough to make things like ritalin tear their head apart, we didn't know this, so we kept pumping it into her for several months, maybe a year, after all the badness started. For the past 5 years she has had the mind of a 13 or 14 year old and I have been worrying that I may have to look after her for the rest of my life. Don't medicate your child, however he is naturally can't be worse then the kind of things that science can do.

Answer 3

there are tests that can be done to determine if a child has adhd. Don't just let someone diagnose them and put them on medication, without doing a number of tests first! There are WAY too many kids on medication these days, and I don't doubt that some (if not most) of them are just a little bit hyper, but their parents or teachers find that they have to give them too much special attention, so they drug them!

Answer 4

This is an interesting little test to try that I kinda discovered while caring for my cousin who is hyperactive.

Ask them if they can be quiet for one full minute and have them count to themself until the time is up. If they can do that, it is more likely they are not challenged enough or there is another problem. If they get distracted, ADD is more likely.

This is completely unscientific, but gave me some great insight into my cousin's behavior.

Answer 5

if you are giving him sugar. caffiene. in the forms of ice tea, colas tea ect. and if he rarely sees fresh fruits and vegetables or grains or seeds. he probably has some sourt of nerviousness due to lack of propper nutrition. the brain and nerves need certain nutrition. and if it doesnt get it. it misfires causing probs . stop ruining the kids feed them right.I saw a miracle . I saw a prob child have a 100% turn around with proper nutrition. it takes a while for the transfomation but it works