What’s Not ADHD?
November 18th, 2009 by Admin
Let’s look at five behavioral issues which are not ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder). While these difficulties may be found along with ADHD, it doesn’t mean that they are symptoms of ADHD.
The five problems we’ll discuss are Anxiety, Depression, Disruptive Behavior, Learning Disabilities, and Sensory Integration Disorder. Please believe me – I don’t want to make your life more complicated! Yet if we wish to approach treatment and outcomes with a degree of scientific objectivity, an accurate understanding of a child’s behavior is essential. Unfortunately, we live in a time when all kinds of behavioral problems are herded under the umbrella of ADHD. But what if some attention problems have a different foundation, and what if psychostimulant medication isn’t always the best response to behavioral problems – even those that appear to involve hyperactivity?
1. Anxiety is a problem that may easily affect attention because a child can be preoccupied with internal thoughts or worries. As a consequence, he or she may appear to be zoning out. An important question to consider is whether your child is equally distracted when he or she is relaxed. If not, situational factors may be triggering anxiety and inattention. Sometimes children who do not know how to handle a worrisome situation, or who have difficulty expressing their feelings, “clam up.” Don’t you have a harder time concentrating on work if you’re nervous or worried about a personal situation? It can be much more difficult for a child to articulate his or her worries. A concern that seems trivial to adults can also cause great anxiety for a child, as well. For example, a preschool boy was very worried in school until it was discovered that he was having trouble handling his buckles and snaps at the bathroom break but was afraid to ask for help; a 7th grade girl couldn’t focus in her Language Arts class because she was seated next to a girl who had mocked her in gym.
Depression is a mood disorder which can impair executive thinking skills like working memory, cognitive flexibility, planning, and attention.
2. Depression turns our mind’s idle down, and as a result we can appear “out of it” – but the cause is not ADHD. Irritability, lack of initiation or interest, and inattention may be symptoms of depression or ADHD. Of course, most children can’t describe exactly what they feel, or whether a mood problem or poor focus came first. In such cases, it is critical to evaluate a child’s behavior in multiple contexts, and to determine if an improvement in mood helps focus. (Some dual-action antidepressants such as Effexor (TM), which effect norepinephrine, enhance executive thinking skills much better than other antidepressants. Please consult your doctor about possible advantages of dual-action antidepressants for children with both a low mood and executive dysfunction).
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