The Symptoms Of ADHD That Parents Must Watch Out For
Isn’t ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder getting too sensationalized to the effect that every kid who manifests a certain degree of hyperactivity and difficulty to pay attention is regarded as a possible candidate for ADHD? ADHD has certainly received much attention in the recent past. Clinical evaluations and statistics, however, are showing that the condition occur in about 3 – 5 percent of school age children to as high as 8 – 10 percent. It seems that boys are more susceptible to it than girls with an estimated ratio of 4:1 to 9:1 across cultures and socioeconomic levels.
With these statistics and the fact that ADHD in children do not necessarily go with adulthood, many parents get alarmed with the possibility of their kids having the condition. Even without understanding the complex technical explanation of ADHD, parents can easily understand the symptoms of ADHD and the repercussions it can have on a kid’s life without any medical and psychological intervention.
What are the symptoms of ADHD that parents must watch out for?
Watching out for the signs of ADHD is important because these are used by doctors in their diagnosis of the disorder. There are three core symptoms of the condition: hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. There are two ways to medically assess the symptoms of the disorder. There is a list of varied behaviors that are exhibited in each of these groups. To be diagnosed using any of these two ways, the symptoms must have developed before the kid reaches the age of 7; the symptoms must have been observed for at least six months; and the behavior must have been caused some impact at home or school.
The first is the so called Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV-TR) used by the American Psychiatric Association. Following this protocol, the behavioral symptoms of ADHD are split into categories of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity that are classified in three ways:
• ADHD predominantly inattentive type - This is the diagnosis for a child that manifests six or more inattention symptoms, but less than six hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms.
• ADHD predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type - This is the diagnosis for kids with six or more hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms, but fewer than six inattention symptoms. This the least prevalent type of ADHD.
• ADHD combined type - This is the most common diagnosis in which a child has six or more inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms.
The second is referred as International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision 1992 (ICD-10) that is used as a protocol by the World Health Organization. ADHD has an identical list of symptoms for 'hyperkinetic disorder'. For a child to be diagnosed with the disorder: the following symptoms must be observed:
• Inattention – This is the diagnosis for kids manifesting at least 6 out of 9 symptoms of inattention.
• Hyperactivity – This is the diagnosis when 3 out of 5 symptoms of hyperactivity are observed.
• Impulsivity – This is the finding for kids exhibiting 1 out of 4 symptoms of impulsivity.
Are there other symptoms or behavioral problem that can accompany ADHD?
The signs and symptoms may appear as normal to certain parents especially when they have only one child so that comparison is not possible. Hard as it is for some parents to accept that their child has ADHD, it is the most important thing to recognize so that diagnosis can be done and interventions can be administered such as medication and therapy. ADHD can be complicated by other behavioral and psychological problems.
They may suffer from low frustration tolerance, relationship problems, depression and anxiety, low self-esteem, and inability to complete tasks. These may lead to outbursts because of frustration, academic underachievement, strained relationships, aggression, poor social skills and so much more.
Is your child misbehaving? Maybe your child is having difficulty meeting the usual expectations because he/she has ADHD. Is your child exhibiting much of the symptoms of ADHD? Seek the help of your doctor.
