{"id":22472,"date":"2024-06-25T08:00:33","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T12:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=22472"},"modified":"2024-06-08T08:54:54","modified_gmt":"2024-06-08T12:54:54","slug":"adhd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2024\/06\/adhd.html","title":{"rendered":"Does My Child Have ADHD? What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2024\/06\/person-822420_1280.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23457\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2024\/06\/person-822420_1280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"853\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A child who is undiagnosed with Attention-deficit\/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will struggle in school, the home and with peers. Don\u2019t guess when it comes to deciding if your child has ADHD. Get a formal evaluation by a therapist trained to diagnosis the disorder. Evaluation should include a team of people &#8211; a licensed therapist to conduct a formal evaluation, parents, teachers, health and mental health specialists.<\/p>\n<p>One reason there is controversy around making the diagnosis of ADHD is because it is often not formally evaluated. A teacher may be frustrated with a child who has behavior problems and assume the child has ADHD. Or a physician listens to a frustrated parent and prescribes medications. This is not how you want to determine if ADHD is really in play.<\/p>\n<p>If you think your child has ADHD, look for these symptoms and schedule an evaluation with a mental health professional who knows how to diagnosis the disorder. It involves gathering a fair amount of data and history.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main behaviors associated with ADHD are poor attention and concentration, distractibility and impulsivity.\u00a0 Here is a list of behaviors to help you determine if your child needs an evaluation:<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>In school: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>Poor organization<\/li>\n<li>Shifting tasks<\/li>\n<li>Daydreaming<\/li>\n<li>Impression of not listening<\/li>\n<li>Poor motivation<\/li>\n<li>Messy work<\/li>\n<li>Pushing<\/li>\n<li>Interrupting others<\/li>\n<li>Excessive talking<\/li>\n<li>Fidgety<\/li>\n<li>Difficulty remaining in seat<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>At home:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>Shifting tasks and not listening<\/li>\n<li>Homework problems<\/li>\n<li>Interrupting others<\/li>\n<li>Accident prone<\/li>\n<li>Running around and fidgety<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>With peers:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>Breaking game rules<\/li>\n<li>Not listening to other children<\/li>\n<li>Interrupting others<\/li>\n<li>Grabbing objects<\/li>\n<li>Dangerous play<\/li>\n<li>Difficulty with quiet play<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Developmentally:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<li>Hyperactivity and aggression in preschool<\/li>\n<li>Academic and behavioral problems in school<\/li>\n<li>Impulsive, bored and irritable as an adolescent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep in mind that these behaviors are usually noticed before the age of twelve and interfere with school, home and\/or social functioning. Not all ADHD children show all these behaviors. And not everyone is ADHD who has some of these signs and symptoms. There could be other reasons a child behaves in these ways.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Researchers at Stanford University have findings that suggest brain imaging scans of ADHD children show different levels of activity in the frontal cortex of the brain. Gene research has also found an association of two specific genes. However, there is no blood test or other biochemical markers for ADHD.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find out as much as you can about this disorder. Work with a trained mental health professional to make an accurate diagnosis and outline a treatment plan. There is so much that can be done to help children once the disorder is recognized. This is not a life sentence for problems and needs to properly diagnosed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A child who is undiagnosed with Attention-deficit\/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will struggle in school, the home and with peers. Don\u2019t guess when it comes to deciding if your child has ADHD. Get a formal evaluation by a therapist trained to diagnosis the disorder. Evaluation should include a team of people &#8211; a licensed therapist to conduct&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[914],"tags":[808,3592,8040,8043,8034,3593,3403,3594,8037,8031,2845],"class_list":["post-22472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-relationships-2","tag-adhd","tag-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder","tag-attention-problems","tag-child-behavior-problems","tag-distracted","tag-hyperactive","tag-impulsive","tag-inattentive","tag-peer-problems","tag-restless","tag-school-problems"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Does My Child Have ADHD? 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Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. 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