If your son has ADHD, or you suspect it, here you will learn how to act and what to do so as not to waste time going around and without answers.
Although it is not always easy to recognize, the ADHD It is behind a significant number of problems that may appear throughout life. His full name is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and unfortunately, he is still a great stranger ...
From a young age, to a child with ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity or impulsivity can cause difficulties in learning, behavior and / or social relationships. This limits, in many cases, the possibility of having a normal life for children, adolescents and adults who suffer from it.
What is ADHD? Does it really exist?
It seems lies to have to be talking about this yet. We have spent years turning to a lighter subject than water. Even so, there are still mixed opinions.
The truth is that ADHD exists Yes or yes. Children and parents in families like yours live it every day in many homes. Despite this, there are still those who want to deny it and sow doubts to confuse people with the sole intention of creating controversy and selling copies of their book.
What is Attention Deficit Disorder and / or Hyperactivity?
He ADHD It is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It is in the same group of others as the Autism, The dyslexia, The bulimia, the tics and else.
It shares origin and symptoms with them on many occasions and this makes it quite easy to confuse, especially in younger children.
It is due to an alteration of the normal development process of some areas of the brain. These areas are responsible for regulating our self-control. If they do not work properly, important difficulties can occur
They say that the inventor of ADHD recognized that he had invented it, is it true?
No way. Sometimes, the information they sell us is not entirely true. The truth is that neither that man they refer to is the inventor of ADHD, nor did he say that.
There are many conflicting interests in this subject of neurosciences and psychology. In the end, these types of controversies have much more pull in the press and on the internet than 100% scientific information.
Why do you talk so much about ADHD now and a few years ago you didn't hear anything?
There are three clear reasons.
- ADHD is very common: about 5% of children.
- It causes many problems: in studies, in behavior and in social relationships.
- There is effective treatment: medication and therapy can solve the problem.
This means that within the world of medicine, especially pediatrics, pediatric neurology and psychiatry, many efforts have been devoted to deepening the knowledge of ADHD.
Obviously, the interest of the pharmaceutical industry It is also present. Despite this, let's be realistic. No doctor in his right mind would lend himself to diagnose something that is not true. Much less would we dare to indicate medication to children who did not need it.
My name, my image and my ethics are not for sale.
This does not stop saying what I think and what science shows. He ADHD It has a biological origin and as such, a series of symptoms and a treatment.
There have been many advances thanks to the efforts of all the agents involved in the attention to ADHD, but there is still much to do to resolve all the difficulties that people and families suffer from
What is the cause of ADHD? Is it born or made?
ADHD has a genetic origin mainly. It is mainly inherited from parents to children. So much so, that 70% of the factors that influence its appearance are hereditary.
This makes it easy for us to meet several family members with the same problems. Up to 50% of parents of children with ADHD have the same problem. The same figure is found among the brothers.
Even so, there are factors such as prematurity, low birth weight, smoking or drinking during pregnancy, which enhance these genetic factors.
Attention Deficit, Hyperactivity and Impulsivity. ADHD symptoms
He ADHD It can present with a series of symptoms called main symptoms or nuclear symptoms, which they are tres:
1) Attention Deficit / Concentration Problems
In this group of symptoms we can see very subtle situations. Sometimes it's very clear when you talk to a child and he doesn't listen to you or you need to repeat things many times. At other times it is not so visible because it is looking at you and you think it listens to you, but really, it is not thinking about what you say. It seems he doesn't listen or doesn't understand the explanations.
Often this causes problems when writing and also difficulties in reading comprehension. Of course, this affects the development of math exercises and accounts with "dumb" errors or the typical "sloppy" exams.
2) Mental or Behavioral Hyperactivity / Restlessness / Nervousness
The most common examples are not being able to sit in the chair in class, be running or jumping constantly or not stop talking. In addition, other less obvious are moving the legs without stopping while sitting, having something in the hands in motion, touching everything ...
3) Impulsivity / Impatience / Intolerance to frustration
It can be very difficult to differentiate the impulsivity of ADHD from a behavioral disorder or from a bad voluntary attitude on the part of the child. Even so, in ADHD, tantrums, intolerance to frustration, shouting can be frequent ... when impulsivity is behavioral.
When impulsivity is purely cognitive (they think very quickly) words can be skipped when writing, lines when reading or different steps in an exercise.
According to each case, one or two symptoms may appear in varying intensity. This can cause two people with ADHD to be very similar or not look like anything.
In addition, another series of symptoms called ADHD comorbidities are common. They are a series of problems or disorders that appear together although they are not directly deprived of it. There may be many
Other related symptoms:
- Mood disorders: anxiety and depression
- Learning disorders: dyslexia, distracted or dyscalculia
- Behavioral disorders: Challenging negativist disorder
- Sleep disorders
- Tics
What do I do if I suspect that my child has ADHD?
I think the best thing you can do in that case is to follow the following recommendations:
- The best option for the suspicion of a child with ADHD is to put yourself in the hands of a guarantee specialist.
- The professional's specialty is the least relevant. I know psychologists who make first-class diagnoses as well as Pediatricians, Neuropediatras, psychiatrists ...
- The important thing is to have all the necessary information, to make a well-defined and complete evaluation. This should be followed by all the necessary information for the family and close monitoring.
The main errors in the diagnosis of ADHD. The keys to avoid them
To avoid mistakes in the evaluation process of a child, the order of the tests performed is fundamental.
This is the correct order:
- ADHD evaluation.
- Dyslexia Evaluation
- High Capacity Evaluation.
We will analyze it very quickly:
- In case it is detected ADHD, you have to intervene and treat it before you can evaluate dyslexia. Otherwise, the test results will not be reliable. A boy with ADHD can simulate a dyslexia.
- Second, if there is no ADHD or it is already treated correctly. We can evaluate the possibility of dyslexia. If there is, it must be treated before moving on.
- It should be borne in mind that if we measure the IQ of a child with ADHD and / or Dyslexia not treated correctly or we do not know he has them, the test results may be low. We will not know then, if the mistakes made have been a result of ADHD or Dyslexia or if it is due to a low coefficient
- On the other hand we can also have problems with diagnostic errors. A child with ADHD and High Capabilities can give normal results in some tests to detect them.
- To do this, you must be clear that more than the tests, the important thing is the professional who does them and their experience in this field.
These are the most useful tests for a correct diagnosis of ADHD
There are countless tests created for the diagnosis of ADHD. These are the ones I work with and are the best:
Braingze test
- This test is based on the analysis of a visual parameter called "ocular vergences".
- They are the involuntary movements that make our eyes before the appearance of stimuli.
- They cannot be manipulated or controlled and there are some profiles that have been demonstrated for children with ADHD.
- A positive result definitely confirms ADHD.
Nesplora CLASSROOM Test:
- This test is based on the performance of functional tests using virtual reality glasses and a 3D application.
- The child performs some exercises with the equipment and the program measures a series of parameters. They are attention, impulsiveness, fatigue, response time and head movement.
- These data are compared with a database of children without ADHD to see the level of difficulty of each of them.
- The use of these tests together and at the same time, the performance of different scales of assessment to parents, is the most reliable way to get a definitive diagnosis.
The formation of parents, a fundamental aspect.
In these cases, the role of the family is essential to get help. There is no instruction manual for any child, but even less for a child with ADHD. Likewise, nobody teaches you to be a father.
Training and information would be the best investment a family could make with this problem. The better you know ADHD, the better you can help your child, the better you will understand. You can put yourself in his place and find solutions with him to the problems of everyday life.
What do I do if my child has ADHD? It has a solution?
Of course, let's be clear as well as positive. ADHD has treatment and besides, I will never get tired of saying that, in many cases, it has a cure. I've been working on the subject for years, seeing patients in my office, thousands now. Many patients with ADHD have been discharged because they no longer required more treatment or therapy. His life has normalized.
When a person with ADHD manages to solve their problems and make their lives without any pharmacological or other help, it is clear that ADHD is cured. This, in addition to personal opinion based on experience, is demonstrated by science. There are many studies that show the results of treatment on brain development and functioning. It becomes normalized as evidenced by different studies of experts such as Dr. Katya Rubia
In summary
- ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder.
- It has a mainly genetic cause.
- The main symptoms are Attention Deficit, Hyperactivity and Impulsivity.
- It causes important problems in academic performance, in behavior or in social relationships.
- It is important to detect it as soon as possible and there are tests that avoid errors.
- The ultimate goal should always be to overcome ADHD.
Remember
The more fathers and mothers know this information, the sooner we will end the 30% school failure we have right now.
About Manuel Antonio Fernández: Neuropediatra Expert in Learning, Behavior and Development of Children and Adolescents. Founder of the Andalusian Institute of Pediatric Neurology Director of the I Online Master in Neuropediatrics and Neurodevelopment.You can follow me on Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook or YouTube
ADHD AND DISORDERS OF NEURODESARROLLO. A JOURNEY OF THE SHADOWS TO LIGHT IN A FEW CHAPTERS (HEALTH SCIENCES)
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