Identifying children with ADHD

Identifying children with ADHD†

The behaviours associated with ADHD change as children grow older.

A preschool child may show gross motor overactivity, always running or climbing and frequently shifting from one activity to another.

Older children may be restless and fidget in their seats or play with their chairs and desks. They frequently fail to finish their schoolwork, or they work carelessly.

Adolescents with ADHD tend to be more withdrawn and less communicative. They are often impulsive, reacting spontaneously without regard to previous plans or necessary tasks and homework.

What kind of behaviour does a child or an adolescent with ADHD have?

The main symptoms of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Of course all children are sometimes inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive. All young children have a limited attention span and sometimes do things without thinking; in ADHD these symptoms are above and beyond what is normal for a child of the same age and developmental stage.

Inattention	Hyperactivity	Impulsivity
Fails to attend to details Difficulties in sustaining attention Does not appear to listen Fails to finish tasks Difficulty in organising tasks Avoids sustained effort Loses things Distracted by extraneous stimuli Forgetful	Fidgets Leaves seat in classroom Runs about or climbs Difficulty in playing quietly Motor excess (“on the go”) Talks excessively	Blurts out answers Difficulty in waiting turn Difficulty in working in groups Interrupts or intrudes on others Rushes through set tasks

DSM-IV: Diagnostic criteria for ADHD

† U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Office of Special Education Programs, Teaching Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Instructional Strategies and Practices, Washington, D.C., 2004.