Russell Barkley and others have reported 65-80% of kids with ADHD continue to have symptoms as adults. Sadly, only 10% or so receive treatment; gratefully, that seems to be changing. More recent research on adult ADHD supports the diagnosis, hence the change in diagnostic criteria. Without treatment the outcome is bleak for many adolescents and adults.
How ADHD Affects Your Child
Symptoms significantly impair your child's ability to function in some of the activities of daily life, such as schoolwork, relationships with you and siblings, relationships with friends, or the ability to function in groups such as sports teams. In addition to looking at your child's behavior, your pediatrician will do a physical and neurologic examination. A full medical history will be needed to put your child's behavior in context and screen for other conditions that may affect her behavior Your pediatrician also will talk with your child about how your child acts and feels.When someone is diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, they have been told where their weaknesses lie and have no choice but to adapt to their environment to ensure their success as adults. They learn to hire people to help with their weaknesses and the monotonous tasks that define the working world. Problem Solving Ability: Their minds work on top of the box, so they can see all the different angles being thrown at them. Since their thoughts are not linear, they are able to come up with solutions that others would not see.
Managing Child ADHD
This is where additional intervention approaches are vital to supporting children with ADHD and thus far the consensus is a prolonged multi-modal treatment approach that adapts as the child progresses through differing developmental stages. Such approaches include behavior therapy with the child that focuses on specific skill building and self-awareness, parent training and psycho-education, teacher consultation, and classroom accommodations. As children enter middle school, it can also be beneficial to spend time with an executive function tutor to begin to lay the foundation for keeping oneself organized, compensate for weaknesses, and feel a sense of control in their lives.Group therapy: Since the inpatient program is group focused, groups are held multiple times a day on a wide variety of topics. Some of the groups provided at Oasis include social services groups, community groups, recreation, and behavioral health. Additionally, we have interactive sessions that are designed to enhance the patient's level of functioning in certain key life areas that are often neglected with prolonged drug abuse and psychiatric conditions. These sessions may include physical, emotional, and social well-being, vocational development, daily living skills, and spirituality.
Link Between ADHD and Premature Birth
Evidence shows that children who were born weighing less than 1500 grams (3.3 pounds) or who had birth complications may be more prone to ADHD. Additionally, studies have linked resistance to thyroid hormones to hyperactivity and lack of impulse control, but it is unclear how this impacts ADHD. Adoption studies provide more evidence of a genetic link to ADHD: biological relatives of children with ADHD have a higher chance of having ADHD than adoptive relatives of children with ADHD.In Canada, the U.S.A., and many other countries, the child's pattern of behaviour is compared against these criteria to make a diagnosis of ADHD. Your child will probably not need to have a lot of tests, because there is no medical test that confirms ADHD. However, if the doctor suspects that something else is causing your child's symptoms, she may order some other tests. It will probably take two or three visits to the doctor to diagnose ADHD. The doctor will also need time to collect information from your child's teacher. Health care professionals are here to help. And if English is not your first language, the services of an interpreter can be arranged.
