ADHD in Children: What You Need to Know

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is a not yet fully understood medical condition in which a child or adult has trouble concentrating and can behave in a variety of inappropriate ways.

New research is coming out all the time, however, and the more it is studied, the more parents can learn about what ADHD is, and what a diagnosis can mean for not just your child, but the entire family.

What IS ADHD, exactly?

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder. They have trouble concentration on the one hand, and are overly active physically as well.

A child with ADHD will often not be able to pay attention to a task for any length of time. The ‘hyper’ part makes them want to jump from one thing to the next. They will often miss or do not understand instructions, and as a result, they can do poorly in school unless strategies are put in place to help them overcome this issue.

In terms of the hyperactivity part of the disorder, they often have trouble sitting still, and can annoy others with the fidgeting or ‘outbursts’. They don’t finish things that they start because they have a hard time sitting still and concentrating. The real issue comes when they act without thinking (have poor impulse control), which can result in expulsion from a classroom, or even school. This will set them even further behind in their academic studies.

The symptoms of ADHD can be similar in adults. The sad truth is that ADHD is not a condition one outgrows. Many adults over the age of 40 have never been diagnosed with ADHD because the medical profession’s understanding of it and criteria for diagnosing it were very limited 30 to 40 years ago. ADHD symptoms were dismissed as the child being ‘bad’ or parents not having control over their children.

They were often labels as having a certain kind of personality, and being disruptive and unfocused. Adding to the confusion was the fact that sometimes a person with ADHD can actually swing to the opposite extreme, and ‘hyperfocus’ on something that they like, to the exclusion of anything else. This can be very irritating to teachers who feel they are not ‘trying hard enough’ in certain subjects, thinking it is a case of preference, when it fact, it is a case of what captures and holds their attention.

If you have seen your child behave ias though they are run by a motor one minute, scatterbrained, or super-focused on one thing for hours, like a video game, you might think that your child is just being naughty. You might also worry you are a ‘bad parent’. Neither of these is true. ADHD is a medical condition that can treated and/or managed successfully in a number of ways. Not all of these ways have anything to do with medication.

Parents who are being forced to homeschool their children during the global pandemic that started in Spring 2020 might be at their wits’ end trying to cope with their child being home all the time AND trying to get work done as well if they are fortunate enough to be able to work from home.

Many might be tempted to explore medication as one option. The good news is, there are a range of medications to choose from which can help your child, but of course, you have to balance the benefits with an potential side effects.

Strategies to help them with school work, personal organization, routine setting, and more can all help as well. So can adjusting expectations. Surveys have shown that the average person these days has an attention span of about 8 seconds due to all the media input coming at them from all directions. This being the case, what chance does a child with ADHD have?!

School success strategies, and effective homeschooling strategies do take time and effort, but they can lay the foundation for future academic success, and best of all, a less stressful home life.

ADHD is a real medical condition, not a character flaw, on their part. It is certainly not bad parenting skills on yours. If you’ve been struggling to help your child with ADHD succeed at school or in their learning, educate yourself about all your medical options. Get a doctor who ‘believes in’ ADHD (many still don’t! despite all the criteria specified as to how it can be diagnosed) and is up to date on the latest research.

If you suspect your child has ADHD but has not yet received a formal diagnosis, that should be your first step. Once they have that, you can put together a treatment plan with your doctor, and an Individual Education Program with your child’s school. You can also join support groups and consult experienced parents who have been on the same journey as yourself, and learn best practices to help your child succeed in life despite their ADHD.