The 4 instant steps of AD/HD diagnosis part 4

Step 4: History and Observation
After seeing many Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - (Adhd) young children it becomes apparent that no two are exactly the same. Despite this, if one takes a careful history which is tuned to Attention Deficit Disorder With/Without Hyperactivity, there are usually telltale signs.
* About 1/3 of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - (Adhd) kids will have been normal infants who become toddle tornadoes the minute they started walking.
* At preschool about ½ stood out in their inability to sit and settle at story time. Some upset other adolescents.
* For many Attention Deficit Disorder - (Add) children, the first school report used the words, ‘disruptive, distractible, goes walkabout’
* There is a striking difference between scholarly accomplishment in the one-to-one situation versus unsupervised study.
* Most are restless and as you talk to them they fidget and their eyes flit.
* Their behavior in a group is often embarrassing and when playing with one other young adolescent they are overpowering and bossy.
* Their compulsivity makes them both verbally and physically accident prone
* As you talk to the parents you quickly sense their frustration, stress and confusion. (this is different to the feeling that you get from the parents of a defiant and poorly managed adolescent)
* In the office young, impulsive, overactive children are easy to diagnose. The moment they walk in the door, the doctor will by reflex reach out to protect their property.
* In the office older kids present less dramatically. Most squirm, fidget and fiddle. Their talk often gets side-tracked or they become lost in mid sentence. Asking questions often gets the answer, ‘Good’ Their eyes and minds are all over the place.
* We estimate that over 90% of Attention Deficit Disorder With/out Hyperactivity children can be identified as such by a properly tuned history. Sometimes Add will not be obvious in the doctor’s office and then the diagnosis is made by listening carefully to the parents. When this happens, Attention Deficit Disorder (Add) is diagnosed in the same was as many other medical conditions. The doctors believe what the parents tell them so listen carefully.
It is much more difficult to diagnose children who present with pure inattention and subtle problems of learning. In this situation tests and pointers are of special value. When major family dysfunction and the heavy behaviours of Oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder cloud the picture, diagnosis may become exceptionally difficult but this is very very rarely the case.
With experience it gets easier but for our purposes you need only make that diagnosis once and that should be easy as pie.
Doesn’t that change the whole Attention Deficit Disorder With/out Hyperactivity picture?
I'll be working on the next few articles soon. In the meantime if you need any further assistance, please drop me an email at questions [@] adhdgift.com

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