Is ADHD really as common as…
Ooh!
Shiny!
Can I play?
Hey guys!
Amy focussing hard today on DNews to talk about ADHD, properly known as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder.
ADHD is, by all accounts, on the rise.
In 2011, 6.4 million schoolchildren were diagnosed with ADHD in the United States, a 42 percent
increase since 2004.
But is it a true rise or are we just so much more aware of ADHD that we’re diagnosing
kids with it when, really, they’re just super energetic?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently surveyed 2,976 families to take a
close look at how children came to be diagnosed as ADHD.
And it turns out while most diagnoses followed the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines,
there’s a striking number of instances where the guidelines weren’t followed.
The AAP stipulates that information ultimately leading to an ADHD diagnosis be taken from
multiple sources in a child’s life covering a variety of settings.
That means a teacher, and a piano instructor, and a sports coach.
If the piano instructor is the only one giving evidence of poor attention, the kid might
not be ADHD, he might just not want to play music.
The CDC survey found that in 18 percent of cases, the diagnosis of ADHD was done solely
on the basis of family members' reports, which is inconsistent with AAP recommendations.
And because these diagnoses weren’t following the right methods, one out of every 10 children
was diagnosed without the use of a behavior rating scale that is supposed to be administered.
The study also shows that children are getting diagnosed at an earlier age.
Roughly half of ADHD cases are found in children age 6 or younger: 17.1 percent at age 6, 14.6
percent at age 5, and 16 percent of cases at age 4 or younger.
But aren’t kids supposed to be energetic and excited to discover the world?
What’s really the difference between being hyper and having ADHD?
The core symptoms of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
Difficulties with concentration, mental focus, and the inhibition of impulses all impair
daily functions.
In children, ADHD is typically identified when they get into a structured setting like
school, and it’s a lot more than just running around with boundless energy.
A child who becomes easily frustrated and overwhelmed, has trouble managing their emotions,
and struggles to organize, plan, pay attention, and can’t remember details is far likelier
to be ADHD than the victim of sugar cereal for breakfast.
And really, children are just more energetic than adults, something evolutionary biologist
Michael Rose from the University of California, Irvine, says is an evolutionary thing.
Children are excited to learn about the world around them, both their environments and the
people within them.
Playing and running around helps a child’s brain develop.
Parents, meanwhile, stand by a guardians, making sure that developmental play doesn’t
stray too close to traffic.
As children age, they start to learn about the risks this kind playful behaviour brings
with it, and slow down, not because they’re less excited, but because as they near adulthood
they gain a sense of self-preservation.
So the rise of ADHD cases could be a case of overdiagnosing excited children mixed with
parental concern.
There are a lot of other things that could be affecting a child’s manners.
Trace talks about the effects of adrenaline in the body here.
We’ll have a link in the description if you’re on mobile.
So what do you guys think?
Do you have trouble focussing sometimes?
Let us know your experiences in the comments below and don’t forget to subscribe for
more DNews every day of the week.
So what do you guys think?
Do you have trouble focussing sometimes?
Let us know your experiencesin the comments below and keep coming back to Test Tube for
more DNews every day of the week.
So what do you guys think?
Do you have trouble focussing sometimes?
Let us know your experiences on the Discovery News Facebook page or on Twitter @DNews.
You can also find me @astvintagespace.
Thanks for watching!