ADHD BEHAVIOR AND DIAGNOSIS

The fact that all people who are inattentive, overactive or hyperactive, do not suffer from ADHD is true. What is also true is the fact that some people, showing these symptoms are ADHD patients. Therefore, how does one know if it is ADHD or not?

ADHD diagnosis is based on the fact that ADHD behavior is conflicting with the age of the person. A symptom suspected to be related to ADHD should also start before seven, continuing for six months at least.

However, the major factor that should be present for diagnosing ADHD is that in case all the other symptoms are present, the behavior should cause a major hurdle in the patient’s life, in at least two of the areas. In childhood, this could be at the playground, the schoolroom, in communities (like church), in a social setting, or at home.

So what does that prove? Well, yes, there is a possibility that a person showing these symptoms may not have the disorder. This also proves that there is a precise way of diagnosing its presence.

A specialist, diagnosing ADHD in children, should consider if the possible ADHD symptoms are in excess, pervasive and long term or if the symptoms are much more common in a child than usual, as compared with the non-ADHD kids of same age. They also determine if the problem is continuous and not a temporary response to current situations, and if it occurs in other situations.

Answers to the above questions and your child’s behavioral pattern, would have to be compared, in DSM-IV-TR, (a manual for diagnosing psychiatric disorders) with the diagnostic criteria for ADHD.