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Hyperactivity or excess activity in a child is not necessarily a sign of ADHD, which affects about 5% of children.
Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD) present important symptoms that have a clear and significant impact on everyday life, whether at home or in class. In terms of behavior, these children often have difficulty managing multiple information or instructions at the same time. They also find it hard to sit still, even at meals, in waiting rooms or in classrooms.
They need to touch everything, who make noise, who always play with something in their hands, who are unable to wait their turn, who forget and lose their belongings ... They are sometimes in a good mood, sometimes in a bad mood without anyone knowing why. They react very strongly to events around them with often inappropriate and excessive responses to the situation. These children are experienced by the entourage, family, social, school as very difficult to manage and are therefore often rejected, punished, put aside. And yet, these children are in search of permanent affection and are often anxious. Beside the difficult aspects to manage on a daily basis, the overflowing imagination of these children, their great creativity.
From 6 to 12 years old, the child enters the age of learning and activities, it is the period during which ADHD seems most noisy and often leads parents to consult their doctor or pediatrician. After the age of 12, motor hyperactivity tends to fade and attention deficit and impulsivity predominate.
However, these signs can not be immediately interpreted as a disorder of any kind without a thorough evaluation. It is the daily repercussions, the unusual character and the possible variation of the behaviors according to the contexts, which will be important factors to be determined. It may indeed simply be transient behavior or the sign of other problems less known to the child.
Indeed, hyperactivity or excess activity in a child is not necessarily a sign of ADHD, which affects about 5% of children. The all-coming children may also have a thousand reasons not to follow what the mistress says, to refuse to do homework sitting at home, to give the impression of being "mounted on springs", or to answer before the sentences are finished. It can be an anxious child for example. Anxiety that can become invasive, if it is not detected, can make it very agitated and give the impression of "hyperactivity". It may be the result of a recent family change, such as a conflicting parental separation, a death in the family, a quarrel with a classmate, or a move. We can then also observe a decrease in the results compared to a previous operation, unusual tantrums, agitation, stomach ache, headaches, without ever, that the child or adolescent expresses a fear or excessive stress by words. It can also happen when a child has feelings of sadness, never to be seen crying or complaining about being unhappy.
ADHD more common in boys.
ADHD occurs more often in boys than in girls, but with slightly different characteristics. It seems that boys move more but it also exists in girls even if its expression is more discreet.
ADHD before the age of 5 years.
The diagnosis of ADHD is more difficult at these ages. But it can be suspected in a small child very agitated, who runs everywhere and moves in all directions with an unconscious danger.
Note that attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity is not due to a psycho-emotional or psychosocial disorder. Contrary to popular belief, the hyperactive child lacks neither attention nor affection. He may, however, need it to the extent that as he grows up, he will be more and more aware of his difference and, without the affection and help of those around him, he may fall back on himself.
however, it is also normal for the child to be active and live a full range of emotions such as anger, sadness, fear or joy. Emotions have a function of survival and communication, and none is negative in itself. The most deleterious for them would be not to let them have the right to feel them, or to express them. At the other extreme, leaving them no frame or limit, poses difficulties. This can hinder the development of skills such as controlling impulsivity, managing emotions and even respecting others. Sometimes it is not a question of troubles, but rather of temporary difficulties. It happens that some of them also try to "wake up" their parents, disturbed by similar problems.
The causes
ADHD is a neurobehavioral disease . Neurological because it is caused by an abnormality located in certain areas of the brain responsible for attention; and behavioral because this failure would have repercussions on the direction of the organization of the child, but also on its movements, which it struggles to control.
According to the researchers as well, two brain areas are involved in the onset of
The hormonal factor
In some people with ADHD, researchers have noted a deficiency in certain neurotransmitters, responsible for mood and behavior, in the brain. These include:
Dopamine
, which plays an important role in motivation and attention;
Noradrenaline
, which plays an important role in the learning process, but also in memorization and the notion of caution.
Low production of these neurotransmitters causes not only the lack of attention, but also the impulsive tendency of the hyperactive child.
The genetic factor
Genetics play a major role in the development of ADHD in children, because it seems that this disorder is hereditary .
The prevalence of the disease in relatives of an overactive person is indeed very high. Nearly 25% of hyperactive parents give birth to children with ADHD. On the other hand, studies of identical twins have shown that if one had attention deficit disorder, in only 20% of cases did the other suffer. In other words, in 80% of cases , both children were equally affected.
The environmental factor
ADHD can be caused by a significant exposure of the child to toxic products such as lead or mercury, but also organophosphorus pesticides, during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Studies have also shown that some food additives, including dyes and preservatives, can induce a condition similar to attention deficit disorder in children who are genetically predisposed to the disease.
Risk factors
- Children born prematurely;
- Children having lack of oxygen at birth;
- Children who have suffered head trauma;
- Children suffering from bacterial meningitis;
- Children born to alcoholic mothers and who smoke.
It should be noted that although ADHD, if not treated in time, can cause great academic difficulties, it does not call into question the intelligence of the person who suffers from it. In other words, a hyperactive child can be extremely intelligent , but his inability to concentrate will, in the majority of cases, lead to academic failure.
Symptoms: how to recognize ADHD?
The three main symptoms of ADHD are inattention , hyperactivity and impulsivity . These three manifestations may be present simultaneously in children, to varying degrees, but they may also be randomly separated. We can thus distinguish three forms of ADHD:
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Symptoms of inattention
A child may suffer from a deficit of attention without showing signs of hyperactivity. He is usually and very often "in the moon" and is not able to focus on one thing. Little concerned about details,
- he accumulates the errors of inattention in his duties;
- he is unable to complete a task until the end;
- he seldom pays attention to what is said to him;
- he is badly organized and disorganized in his activities;
- he often misleads objects that belong to him;
- he becomes distracted and easily distracted;
it avoids activities requiring sustained mental effort; - he has no notion of rules and disciplines, he is thus considered a rude and rebellious child.
Symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity
A child may also suffer from hyperactivity without showing signs of inattention . Unable to hold in place, he can concentrate on one task if he takes the trouble, provided that it interests him. At school, he is often considered a disruptive and rude child. Generally,
- he is unable to sit quietly on a chair without squirming;
- he is unable to sit in the classroom, he gets up despite the instructions;
- he speaks too much, even when he is not talking to him;
- he answers questions even before he has finished asking them;
- it is particularly turbulent, short and climbs everywhere without any awareness of the danger;
- he is impatient and has a hard time waiting for his turn in games and other activities;
- he has no control over his actions and words, which often makes him aggressive;
- he does not like the rules;
- he has mood disorders, from joy to sadness and anger spontaneously.
In case of doubts, it is the professional assessments, with the help of parents and teachers, that will make it possible to determine the origin and extent of the difficulties, and thus propose appropriate assistance.