how do I know if my son has ADD?

Question

he has a dramatically short memory span, and doesnt concentrate most of the time when we work on his homework

Answer 1

You need to take him to your pediatrician. If he does his job, he will have the school test him for a learning disability. My son has ADHD and it is real. Don't let anyone tell you there is no such thing. Its a chemical embalance. I didn't want to put him on meds and fought it for a couple years. You know who I hurt.....my son. He was too hyper to have friends, he fell behind in school, he couldn't play sports because he couldn't pay attention. Then my pediatrician asked to just try the meds. I put him on Concerta. Which is great, he has no side effects. He has caught up in school, plays basketball, has alot of friends now and he thanks me for helping him because he wasn't happy before. However, he really needs to be tested to be sure that is what it is and not just laziness or just not liking homework. You shouldn't medicate a child that doesn't really need it. ADHD is real and is a constant battle. People with negative opinions don't have children with ADHD.

Answer 2

Talk to the school counselor, they should be able to help you out. ADD/ADHD like most other mental health issues is diagnosed by the "patient's report of the severity and duration of the symptoms", or in the case of a child, the parent's report. There is a 100-question test that psychologist or therapist can give you and the child's teachers. You (and the teacher) answer the questions based on your observations. The counselor evaluates the answers and gives a diagnosis. If the diagnosis is ADD/ADHD, you have many treatment options from behavior modification to medication but you need professional help for the diagnosis and treatment. Good luck.

Answer 3

Usually a family doctor will recommend that your son see a pyschatrist so they can test him, get reports from his teachers and how he is at home. Then they will prescribe medications. My son was diagnosed when he was 5 and was on ritalin until he was 8, during those 3 years his outburst were getting worse, which had nothing to do with ADD. So I had my family doctor take him off the medication and test him again, he did not have ADD. So you want to becarefull because they can sometimes be mis-diagnosed. Even though the signs are what you describe, which they consider symptoms of ADD, it sometimes is just bordem, lack of intrest.

Answer 4

Don't take him to a doctor and put him on meds. Instead try removing TV/video games etc from your home. Use a reward system for when he concentrates, and at first expect only a short attention span but gradually increase your expectations. Instead of getting impatient and angry when he "won't" concentrate, just praise him when he does. Positive reinforcement will work 100 times better than meds or negative reinforcement. It doesn't really matter whether officially he has "ADD" or not - your job is to try to correct his behaviors. Good luck.

Answer 5

In most cases if you go to a doctor trying to "Find out" if your kid has ADD your kid will have ADD...the medical industry is designed to get those diagnoses and prescriptions written. As long as your son has a balanced healthy diet, a good amount of exercise, and good interaction with a loving family just let the muscle of his mind grow at it's normal pace some kids will take longer to develope the skills of memorizing and concentrating on subjects which may not be interesting to them....Ritalin isn't brain fertilizer but a good childhood is.

Answer 6

There is no such thing as ADD... The Pharmaceutical companies invented the diagnosis to sell more drugs.. The inability to sit still and concentrate are usually due to the overconsumption of Sugar and caffine by children.. Many start their day off with a breakfast of Sugar laden cereal and soda with sugar and caffine..........

Before you put your child on drugs that have aweful side effects, try cutting out all the sugar and caffine from his diet.... You will see a remarkable change in his behavior....................

Answer 7

His school can tell you where you can take him to be tested or his doctor.They thought my daughter was ADHD but after being tested they found she was bi polor. She is just 9 but is doing so much better now.

Answer 8

there is such a thing as ADD, and ADHD. they are both quite different. do some research and ask the school to perform an educational psychologist assesment.

Answer 9

my little bro has that and see if he can take Stratara or go to a ADD site

Answer 10

try this web site...then ask your kid's dr.......
http://focusonadd.com
http://www.addresources.org
Good luck!
if your kid does have add...find out everything there is to know because there is alot of things you can do besides medicate!