Is My Child Purely Active, or Does He or She Have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
If you are wondering whether your child is purely active or has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), you aren’t alone. In fact, this is one of the most frequently asked questions amongst parents these days. Does your child find it hard to pay attention? Always fidgeting around constantly when they are supposed to be focusing on a task? Or even frequently disrupting others? These could actually be signs of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is divided into 3 different types:
Inattentive type,
Hyperactive-Impulsive type
Combination type.
The symptoms presented will determine which type of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) your child has, and these symptoms would generally impact your child’s functionality and day-to-day life. For children with the combination type, it means that your child’s symptoms don’t exclusively fall within the inattentive or hyperactive-impulsive type behaviour. Instead, a combination of symptoms from both categories is exhibited.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD for short, is a condition where the child is disorganised, struggles with impulse control and has difficulties making priorities.
He or she may also have problems with:
Managing time
Focusing on a task
Multi-tasking (for eg. listening and taking notes concurrently)
Waiting for their turn
Sitting still
Fidgeting around
Planning and prioritising
Controlling their frustration
Work that requires prolonged mental effort
On the other hand, hyperactivity is simply one of the many signs of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Your child may be very energetic and find it hard to sit still. But, if they are able to control their emotions and impulsive behaviours, and don’t have other symptoms indicated above, they may just be overly energetic and not suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
It doesn’t take one or two signs to diagnose a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Furthermore, not every child experiences them to the same degree. To give you a better understanding, read on to find out the tips and explanation from our centre’s director-cum-consultant.
Signs of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Hyperactivity/Impulsivity ADHD
Impulsivity is characterized by failure to resist a temptation, an urge, an impulse, or the inability to not speak on a thought. Hyperactive kids find it difficult to control their behaviours and are overly eager to act and respond to situations. Often, they like to rush things through, such as finishing other people’s sentences or having problems in waiting for their turn to talk or act. Hyperactive kids also tend to interrupt others during conversations or activities and end up throwing tantrums if they do not get what they want quickly.
Symptoms of impulse control include:
Starting a fire or argument
Oppositional behaviours
Emotionally reactive
Sudden explosion of anger
Committing acts of violence or stealing
Compulsive lying
Poor social skills
Overly sensitive towards others
Doesn’t consider consequences before speaking or acting
Predominantly inattentive ADHD (Attention Deficit DisORDER)
Under this category of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) children, they aren’t loud and attention-seeking. They are generally quieter and less involved in activities compared to the other children. They may daydream in class, or stare into space, ignoring what’s happening around them. These children miss details and are distracted easily, get bored rather quickly and have trouble focusing on a single task. Learning new information and organizing their thoughts can also be a difficult job for them. They don’t seem to listen to what others are saying and also process information more slowly and less accurately than others.
Fact: More girls are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) than boys.
Emotional Instability
ADHD children tend to get overly sensitive or passionate about minor issues. They can be easily overwhelmed by tasks or deadlines and totally give up on that task altogether. On top of that, these children have trouble controlling their emotions and may display outbursts of expressions. Being easily frustrated is also common in them, which will ultimately affect their social relationships. This will, in turn, lower their self-confidence and cause them to feel isolated from their peers.
Executive Function Issues
Executive functions are the essentials of daily life. Such issues include poor inhibition, poor self-regulation, poor time management and the inability to engage in social settings. This is usually evident in ADHD children and they tend to struggle with staying organised with plans and priorities. They may also find it difficult to act natural and stay relaxed even in normal situations, and often feel nervous and apprehensive around people.
Immaturity
Maturity development is often a problem amongst children with ADHD when compared with people around the same age group. They tend to lack judgment about things that are beneficial or harmful for them and have a weaker mentality than their supposed age. These children may then feel disconnected with their peers due to the inability to communicate at the same wave-length and end up feeling left out or unwanted.
Can This Condition be Treated?
Being hyperactive or inattentive doesn’t necessarily mean that your child has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but it's definitely not something that should be neglected. They need to be closely monitored for other signs of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or their psychological development may be impacted in the long run. A combination of signs may be prevalent in your child if their social relationships, emotions and school performance are affected.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that can be treated by means of therapy or medication, while the latter is often the less preferred choice. Education and training are also crucial in guiding parents and guardians to better relate to their children and help them to improve their behaviour and functions. Do take note that constant encouragement will also aid greatly in making your child feel more appreciated and confident.
Listening Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapies(CBT) can also help them to transform negative behaviours into positive ones by adjusting the way they feel and thereby achieving precise judgement. Through such therapies, children also develop better thinking ability, which affects their depth of perception. In turn, they would acquire better analytical skills in logical thinking which help them to improve their self-esteem and also correct their negative behaviours.
Tips to Help Your Child At Home
Physical activities can also help your children work on their mental abilities, behaviour and also aid their ability to focus.
Following are the recommended activities:
Swinging
Jumping
Pushing, pulling and climbing
When doing deskbound tasks, get your child to stand on one leg with the other leg on the stool, instead of sitting down
You should assess the degree of all the signs in your child, and judge them based on his or her functionalities and survival abilities. From the tips above, you can perform our recommended activities with your child and gauge their abilities based on your personal benchmark for them. If such essential abilities aren’t affected, your kid may just be active and not suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
If you find that the signs are prevalent in your child and are disruptive to their lives, it’s better to set up a time to meet with a therapist for an assessment. Though Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can be a lifelong challenge, it is treatable and therapy can help improve the situation.
It isn’t always necessary for your child to be diagnosed with a condition unless they require specific needs such as prompters or exemptions for examinations. Therapy and oral medication are merely suggestive and not mandatory treatments for your child. Leave it to the professionals to judge the severity of your kid’s issues and recommend possible solutions or treatments if needed. If your child possesses 3 or more of the above signs, you may contact us for a FREE assessment to see how should we go about helping your child’s future.