Signs of ADHD in Children

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects your child's behavior and can cause challenges at school. If you're worried that your child may have ADHD, the Raleigh, NC, pediatricians at White Oak Pediatrics can help you get a diagnosis for your son or daughter.

Signs that could mean that your child has ADHD

ADHD doesn't affect every child the same way. In fact, your child could have one of three forms of the disorder: hyperactive-impulsive, inattentive ADHD, or a combined form that includes hyperactivity, inattentiveness, impulsiveness and distractibility.

Hyperactivity can cause a variety of symptoms including:

• Difficulty staying seated at school
• Excessive energy (Your child may need to be active almost constantly.)
• Fidgeting
• Non-stop talking

Inattentiveness and distractibility may mean that your child:

• Daydreams often
• Has trouble paying attention
• Loses things
• Makes careless errors
• Forgets about homework assignments
• Struggles to concentrate on school work
• Becomes distracted easily
• Has trouble with organization and planning

If impulsivity is one of your child's issues, you may notice that he or she has problems with:

• Taking turns during conversations or playing games
• Waiting in line
• Raising a hand before speaking at school
• Making smart choices (May engage in risky or illegal behavior)
• Controlling his or her temper

Not surprisingly, these behaviors not only affect your child's performance at school but may also make it challenging to make and keep friends.

It's certainly not unusual for any child to have trouble with these issues occasionally. However, if your child frequently has problems and these problems occur in multiple settings, ADHD could be the reason. Although you may associate ADHD with boys, girls also struggle with ADHD symptoms.

Help is available for ADHD

Your Raleigh, NC, pediatricians can help you determine if your child has ADHD. If your son or daughter is diagnosed with ADHD, the doctors can recommend helpful coping strategies and techniques and provide information about obtaining individual education plans (IEP) and 504 plans that will help your child succeed in school. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, medication may also be helpful in some cases.

Could ADHD be to blame for your child's behavioral issues? Call (919) 787-0266 to schedule an appointment with your pediatricians in Raleigh, NC at White Oak Pediatrics.