I would guess that nearly ninety percent of the children referred to my office come with the question: “Does this child have ADHD or ADD?” I will tell you that almost all children leave my office without a diagnosis of ADHD or ADD!
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is diagnosed when a child displays symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity. Sometimes people refer to inattention alone as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD); meaning the child is often inattentive but not hyperactive or impulsive. Depending on your information source, you will find the incidence of ADHD/ADD listed as anywhere from three percent to ten percent of the population. I know of one public school where literally fifty percent of the student body is medicated for ADHD/ADD!
I never argue that a child is not inattentive; however, I propose that inattention is often a symptom of some other underlying issue or concern. It is a symptom of a problem, but not usually THE problem. For example, what if a child has poor auditory memory? By the time the parent or teacher has taught a lesson or given instructions, the child has forgotten much of what has been said. Wouldn’t that look like he or she wasn’t paying attention? What if the child simply did not understand the concept? Wouldn’t that look like he or she wasn’t paying attention? If a child’s rate of processing information is slower than average it, again, would appear that he or she was not paying attention.
What about the symptoms of hyperactivity or impulsivity? Sometimes I will see a child whose processing speed is quite fast, but whose ability level is lower than average. The child’s brain is on “turbo” but his or her ability to solve problems is limited. The combination would make the child appear impulsive – doing things without thinking. Sometimes hyperactivity and/or impulsivity are symptoms of physical or emotional concerns. Hyperactivity could be a symptom of thyroid problems or anxiety.
Interestingly, one of the standard treatments for ADHD is stimulant medications. People are often unaware that many of these medications actually slow down the child’s mental processing of information! This, then, creates a whole new problem; the child can focus but has difficulty thinking through the problem.
The bottom line is that, of course, ADHD is real and needs to be accurately diagnosed and treated. But not all cases of inattention are caused by ADHD. Not all cases of impulsivity or hyperactivity are caused by ADHD. As parents and educators, we need to be careful that children are given accurate diagnoses and are treated appropriately, otherwise we risk frustration and feelings of failure, which can set the wheels in motion for various emotional and behavioral responses.
