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Home › Articles › ADD/ADHD › What's Wrong With My Child?

What's Wrong With My Child?

An Overview of Attention Deficit Disorder

By Julia Rosien

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"My grandson tries to do too many things at once and accomplishes nothing," says Jan Bailey of Norwalk, Calif. "During homework time, he talks on the phone, plays with Legos, looks at his novel, studies a bug crawling up the window or anything else that catches his eye. Like most children with ADHD, he's moodier than other kids his age, falling asleep and waking with difficulty."

A child with ADHD often spends his day fighting with friends. "They act without thinking, do silly things to get attention and misread or misjudge social cues," says Jerome Schultz Ph.D., clinical director and neuropsychologist at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass. Yet social isolation from peers leads to low self-esteem and depression, he says.

Making a Diagnosis
Every child exhibits some of these behaviors at one time or another. However, for a child to be diagnosed with ADHD, his symptoms must be more frequent or severe than in other children of the same age. Symptoms must affect the ability to function in daily life and persist for an extended period. In addition, the behaviors must create significant difficulty in at least two areas of life, such as home, social settings, school or work.

It's important to rule out allergies and other factors that could make a child "look" like he has ADHD, Matlen says. "If your family doctor finds nothing physically wrong, then it's time to ask for a referral to an expert trained in diagnosing neurological disorders."

The disorder is believed to be caused by a difference in brain tissue or by disturbances in the production or use of certain rain chemicals, says Schultz. "Which is why it's so important to see someone who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders," he says. It is also important to know how the disorder affects each child so that appropriate strategies can be used. "The method of treatment will be different for a child who is inattentive, but not hyperactive," Schultz says.

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