ADHD or Something Else?
A few years back my husband and I were planning on moving to another part of the United States. As we were getting settled, I needed the attention of a new physician. Upon meeting the doctor for the first time, was the usual questions which I, of course, answered.
I’ve found over the years that when I am nervous or get excited I talk in ‘fast forward’ and I always use my hands when I talk, regardless of what speed I’m using! Not unusual, I was very nervous during the appointment—- there seems to be something about the doctor’s office that unsettles me.
After the appointment I received the normal ‘after doctor visit paperwork’ and to my surprise the doctor had put in his records, “This patient shows signs of ADHD!” As a 60+ aged woman, I laughed right out loud! It had never been suggested that I had any such issue. For me, it was all nerves! No, I certainly do not have ADHD!
While I could laugh at the doctor’s assumptions, ADHD is not a laughing matter. It’s a problem we see in children more and more often and it isn’t surprising when you consider the stressors. We (including our children!) live in a stress filled world, where busy seems to be best, with decreased sleep hours or good sleep, compounded with the enormous amount of additives that lives in our processed foods, and overstimulation, given all the video and technological devices our children (and adults) live with every single day!
Sometimes the diagnosis of ADHD forces the person onto medications to help control the manifestations that seem to overpower them. This helps enable the victim to center and focus on the task before them, and perhaps take the edge off the desire, or need to call out in a classroom, which can be annoying for a teacher, as well as, students in the room.
Medication can aid not only academically, but also in relationships. Friendships stabilize and improve so others begin to include them in events where before, because of bad (or at least a different) behavior, they were not included.
It’s always considered progress when a patient is able to either lessen the dosage or completely stop taking the medication altogether. Progress is also celebrated by both the doctor (or clinician) and the student who learns that getting organized with a planner or calendar enables them to finish their homework or other tasks that have often been challenging.
It’s interesting to note that girls tend to have different symptoms than boys. While boys are busy (hyperactive) and seemingly into ‘everything’ (impulsive) girls tend to withdraw, having very little self-confidence. Girls with ADHD often feel attacked, even by the person not intending to do so.
A teacher may accuse the student of being smart, but not taking responsibility and instead of making a positive, encouraging statement, make a remark that further debilitates the child’s efforts. This ‘silent disorder’ as some call it, needs first to be recognized, then handled with kindness and affirmation that she is smart, capable and able to succeed, no matter what else seems to be happening.
ADHD is a complicated disorder and affects children differently. Sometimes medications are required to help focus and calm. Other times a serious amount of love and affection, encouragement and affirmation are the perfect antidote. Whichever is needed, we need to remember as peers, that a child doesn’t always understand why he or she behaves like they do—- they just are and can’t help that. We need to be cognizant of the way we handle it, for both the child’s best interests, as well as, our own.
Photo credit: https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-awareness-month-2021/amp/