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Is My Child ADHD?

There is a widespread labeling of children with ADHD in North America to difficult children with behavioral problems. Although ADHD was once known as minimal brain damage, it has become so widely used that is has a prominent place in our contemporary culture. In the US there seems to be three types of children labeled ADHD.

The first group are those children that have a chemical imbalance in the frontal lob of the brain at the neurotransmitter sight responsible for attending and focusing to tasks. This means that there is less activity going on at a tiny spot in the brain. These children are treated with a range of medications such as Adderall, Catapres (clonidine), Cylert (magnesium pemoline), Dexedrine (destroamphetamine), DestroStar (dextroamphetamine sulfate), Ritalin (methylphenidate) or Tenex (guanfacine). Three to five percent of all school age children are affected by ADHD and boys outnumber girls by 3 to 1, although ADD in girls is under-diagnosed. The hyperactivity needs not be present to be diagnosed ADD for up to 30% of children with ADD are not hyperactive but have trouble focusing.

The second group of children most often labeled ADHD are children who are hypersensitive to certain chemicals used in foods such as Red or Yellow dyes, preservatives, and sugar. When these substances are eliminated from the diet the hyperactive behavior decreases. Sometimes these children are placed on ADHD medication and show a positive response. Even some normal children will show a marked improvement in attentiveness when they take ADD medications.

The third group of children most often labeled ADHD are children who are in control of the household instead of the parents. These parents do not want to take responsibility for their child's behavior, so they believe their child to be ADHD.

For a parent to be certain that their child has ADHD, a progression of criteria is needed to be satisfied The following is a home test taken from Dr. John Taylor's book , Helping Your Hyperactive Attention Deficit Child, Prima Publishing, Rocklin, CA, which I highly recommend for reading. It is a test that every parent can take if they are questioning their child's behavior but remember that it is very important to have your child receive a through physical examination and a through psychological work up before a child is (labeled) determined to be ADHD.

1. Quiet person.......or a noisy and talkative person?

2. Voice volume is soft or average.......or is their voice too loud for the circumstance?

3. Few mouth or body noises.......or do they make lots of clicks, whistles, or sounds with mouth or body?

4. Walks at appropriate times.......or is jumpy, runs ahead & needs to be called back frequently?

5. Keeps hands to self.......or pokes, touches, feels and grabs?

6. Appears calm, can sit still.......or always has a body part moving, fidgets or squirmy?

7. Can just sit.......or has to be doing something to occupy self when sitting, quickly bored?

8. Slow to react, deliberate: not impulsive.......or impulsive, engages mouth and muscles before brain?

9. Understands why others are displeased after misbehavior.......or feels picked on, is surprised and confused about why others are displeased; doesn't connect own actions to others reactions?

10. Planful; thinks ahead to consequences before acting.......or does things without considering consequences ahead of time; careless?

11. Avoids other child's mischief.......or gets involved in mischief; attracted or curious about it or starts it?

12. Concerned about punishments and consequences; submissive.......or pretends to have an "I don't care" if threatened or punished; defiant?

13. Obeys directions and follows orders.......or disobeys; needs supervision or reminding; forgetful?

14. Constant mood with mild or slow mood changes.......or moody; unpredictable; quick to anger or tears?

15. Easygoing; handles frustration without much anger; patient; can be teased.......or irritable, impatient, easily frustrated?

16. Emotions are reasonable controlled, are not extreme, and doesn't disrupt relationships.......or emotions are extreme and poorly controlled; explosive, tantrums?

17. Cooperates with, obeys and enforces the rules of work and play.......or argues and gripes about the rules; wants to be the exception; oppositional?

18. Gives up when denied a requested privilege, item or activity.......or badgers pesters, pushes, won't give up or take no for an answer ?

19. Concentrates and blocks out distractions when working on something of medium interest.......or easily distracted by noises and people; short attention span?

20. Follows through, has an organized approach to activities, finishes projects.......or flits from activity to activity; starts things without finishing them; gets sidetracked?

21. Doesn't try to bother or hurt others with words.......or needles, teases, mouthy; has to have the last word?

The score is the total number of items in Column B plus twice the number of items in Column C. The range of possible scores is 0 to 42. An individual (age two through adult) scoring 24 or less is probably not hyperactive; 28 to 32: mildly hyperactive; 33 to 37: moderately hyperactive; 38 to 42: severely hyperactive.

No single checklist is final proof of the existence of ADHD. This instrument makes a crude division between ADHD and other behaviors. It is not a comprehensive list of all symptoms but lists the most differentiating symptoms---those likely to occur in non-ADHD individuals. As time passes, research will undoubtedly lead to more refined diagnostic methods. Meanwhile, screening checklist, behavioral history, and observation remain the best diagnostic tools.

This information was taken from Dr. Taylor's book because I believe this information to be one of the best regarding the ADHD disorder. Dr. Taylor is nationally known for his seminars on this subject. He is a clinical psychologist who lives and practices in Salem, Oregon. Dr. Taylor believes that the hyperactive attention deficit disorder requires using all the tools from every method available to achieve the best results for the child. This book reflects this multidimensional approach. I highly recommend his book for further information.

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