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2008 ADHD Series

Dangerous misdiagnosis Is it really ADHD? ADHD: fourth In a series By Elisabeth HandleyPublished: April, 2008

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Your child is having trouble in school. He can’t pay attention, take direction or sit still for even a few minutes. His teacher thinks it’s ADHD. So does your pediatrician. Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. Just as a sneeze could be a cold or an allergy, so the symptoms of ADHD could result from any number of look-alike conditions, everything from bipolar disorder to hearing loss. “Many of the symptoms of bipolar disorder and ADHD are similar,” says John W. Samuels, educator and author of “Happy Healthy Children in the 21st Century: Overcoming ADHD and the Art of Prevention.” The symptoms include rapid speech, impulsivity and mood swings. “One psychologist I work with said he sees so many of the symptoms overlap, it’s hard to pinpoint what disorder they have,” he says. Sometimes the symptoms are not due to any type of disorder. Academic difficulties can result from undiagnosed hearing loss or even lack of sleep. Sleep apnea interrupts restful sleep, resulting in a child who cannot focus. Or, perhaps the child is not challenged enough. Intellectually gifted children who aren’t inspired by the curriculum may act out. For parents, getting an answer to the question, “What’s wrong with my child?” can be more difficult than expected. Experts say that resolving a child’s behavioral and academic problems is clear-cut in only 1 of 5 cases. Many times, this is because there is more than 1 accurate diagnosis. Approximately 50% of ADHD sufferers have a comorbid disorder, such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, oppositional-defiant disorder, a tic disorder or conduct disorder. If ADHD is the true problem, the stimulant medications typically prescribed to treat it are reported to work in 80% of cases. If your child has chronic headaches or develops a tic, consult a pediatric neurologist right away. If the treatment isn’t relieving the ADHD symptoms, take your child to see a cognitive therapist or a child psychologist. A cognitive behavioral therapist will try to adjust the child’s thinking, behavior and lifestyle to treat the ADHD, or other disorder, without medication. “Lifestyle changes can do much to help children who have ADHD symptoms, and there are also professional programs that are non-pharmaceutical in nature that can be as or more effective than medication in the short term, and especially in the long term,” says Samuels. Ultimately, the path to helping your child may be grueling, but they can be helped. Never give up – your child is counting on you.

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