Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a relatively common psychological disorder that encompasses a series of cognitive, emotional and behavioral symptoms that make it difficult for a person to function normally on a daily basis.
ADHD is usually diagnosed in childhood due to the visible symptoms that usually occur at this stage and that affect both academic performance and parents’ attempts to apply consistent parenting norms and guidelines. However, there are cases of adults and adolescents who have not been diagnosed and experience problems in their daily lives because they do not understand what is happening to them.
Below we present a summary with the main keys that will help us identify a case of ADHD in our children or adolescent sons or daughters.
What are the main signs that allow us to identify ADHD in children?
ADHD commonly presents symptoms related to inattention, hyperactivity or both related elements. These symptoms, in the long run, decisively affect many areas of a person’s performance and life as well as your general well-being and mental health.
In this sense, there are a series of signs that allow us to detect and diagnose cases of ADHD in children and adolescents; However, this diagnostic process can only be carried out by mental health professionals, and parents cannot unilaterally assume that their son or daughter has a case of ADHD. And we must not forget that this disorder is very susceptible to being confused with patterns of behavior that are simply uncomfortable or inconvenient from the point of view of adults, especially considering that in childhood it is more difficult to feel motivated to respect rules whose benefits are very abstract or long-term.
However, There are several behavioral patterns that help people detect signs of this alteration, something necessary to seek professional help and establish a diagnosis. Therefore, this list of signs that a boy or girl may have ADHD from the parents’ point of view can be helpful.
1. Constant movement
Hyperactive and impulsive behaviors are one of the most characteristic symptoms of ADHD and constitute one of the main keys that help both parents and psychologists identify and diagnose the disorder.
These hyperactive-impulsive behaviors can be of diverse nature, but the most common are constant movement, the need to stand up when sitting, the desire to climb by inappropriate places quite frequently and a permanent inability to sit still in a certain place.
Children with ADHD, especially at very early ages, tend to tap their hands or feet on some surface both when they are standing and sitting, because being relatively still makes them uncomfortable due to the lack of stimuli.
2. Lack of attention
These children show notable difficulty paying attention both at home and at school They are easily distracted, make mistakes at home and at school due to the fact that they are not focused on what they are doing, and have problems following instructions of all kinds.
In addition to that, they also tend to have a lack of ability to focus on what is being said to them or difficulty listening when someone speaks directly to them or repeating anything they have recently heard.
All of these symptoms are defining signs that we may have a case of ADHD.
3. Self-focused behavior
Children and adolescents with ADHD often have real difficulties in recognizing the needs, intentions and desires of other people which causes them multiple difficulties when it comes to interacting socially.
This inability to put themselves in the other’s shoes is due to both their impulsive behavior and their lack of attention to others and to the internal states of those around them; In general, they are more interested in the environment than in introspective processes.
4. Trouble staying silent
Problems staying silent for long periods of time and constant interruptions to both adults and peers of the same age are also signs that may indicate a case of ADHD.
This can be effectively tested by testing the child’s ability to remain silent. challenging him to remain silent for a certain amount of time.
5. Difficulty playing with other people
Difficulties in following instructions and participating in planned games with other people are notable in children and adolescents with ADHD, because it is difficult for them to keep the rules of the game in mind at all times. This, again, It affects both your social life and your self-esteem and psychological well-being.
Another essential characteristic of people with ADHD, especially in young children, is a constant inability to wait their turn, which prevents them from successfully carrying out all types of games and group activities.
6. Organization problems
Organization problems are another of the classic symptoms of ADHD, a deficit that is associated with both the person’s impulsivity and their inability to pay attention and concentrate.
This prevents the person from satisfactorily carrying out tasks of all kinds in everyday life and also those tasks that are required in the academic field, which causes a notable decline in the boy or girl’s performance and leads him or her to think that school “is not for him/her.”
In addition to that, people with ADHD also tend to habitually forget things, such as doing their homework, and they also tend to repeatedly lose many objects they own, such as school supplies or toys.
The difficulty in successfully completing tasks of all kinds, both at home and at school, is also due to the lack of sustained attention capacity that children and adolescents with ADHD have. Thus, Projects that could bring benefits in the medium and long term resist them something that can affect their education.
How is ADHD treated?
ADHD intervention can be carried out from the field of psychology and psychiatry. From psychiatry, psychostimulant drugs are often used such as methylphenidate, based on the hypothesis that stimulating mental activity will make the boy or girl stop having the need to look for sources of external stimuli and can channel their energy through processes based on introspection and thought management. .
However, this form of intervention only serves to mitigate the symptoms, not to train the person to better self-manage their behavior patterns and their ways of modulating their emotions. For the latter, psychotherapy is necessary.
On the other hand, In the field of psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral treatment is usually chosen. This type of therapy offers support both in the internalization of routines and life habits that predispose the patient to better manage their impulses and counteract their influence, as well as to enhance ways of thinking and feeling that facilitate the task of concentrating on what they are doing. doing without giving in to constant distractions. That is, a double route is used: behavioral, on the one hand, and cognitive, on the other.
In this sense, if you are looking for psychotherapeutic support in a case of ADHD, we invite you to contact us.
In Cribecca Psychology We serve people of all ages and families both in person and by video call.
