Do you wonder what the signs and symptoms of ADHD are?
Do you feel like your child (or you when you were a child) is always the one getting into trouble or has difficulty behaving around other children at play dates or parties? Have you noticed other parents giving you the stink eye? Is going to a restaurant exhausting? Is your child always in motion? Does she talk your head off and interrupt constantly?
Or perhaps the opposite is true. Maybe your child is always a bit “out of it,” lost in her thoughts, day dreaming and not paying attention. She may forget school assignments and lose jackets, library books and other personal possessions.
Perhaps a teacher or school counselor has suggested your child is overly active or lacks focus. Maybe your pediatrician has brought up the possibility of ADHD. Deep down, you wonder if your child has ADHD. You may be a bit frightened of a diagnosis, fearing your child will be labeled by others. Whether your child is officially diagnosed or not, some people in their lives have probably labeled them, and with worse labels than a child with ADHD. They may refer to them as the “space cadet” or the “bull in the china shop” or the loud, boisterous or even angry kid.
Myself, I’d much rather have a child diagnosed with ADHD than be labeled with such derogatory terms.
In general a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder may show some of the following symptoms:
- Forgetful
- Lacks focus
- Makes careless mistakes
- Day dreamer
- Has many unfinished tasks
- Can’t manage emotions
- Loses things
And/Or
- Interrupts
- Fidgets and squirms
- Can’t sit still
- Can’t wait their turn
- Talks too much
- Lacks good social skills
- Extremely active
- Impulsive
ADHD Evaluations
If this sounds like your child, it may be time to have them evaluated. ADHD evaluations include a parent interview, input from the child, parents and teachers, and state-of-the-art comprehensive testing. Parents consistently say completing an evaluation truly helped them to better understand their child. Adults who have had evaluations comment that it is a life changing event for them because they always thought something was wrong with them, that they were lazy or were stupid.
I am currently taking a hiatus from psychological testing, including IQ testing and ADHD evaluations. If you would like names of other local providers, please see this page for options.
https://heatherengland.com/colleagues/
Thanks!