How to identify ADHD in children

Children have relatively weak physical fitness. Once they have experienced a serious illness, they are likely to suffer from ADHD, because serious illnesses can easily hurt a child's heart and nerves, which may cause nerve damage and lead to ADHD. ADHD in children is very difficult to treat and may even affect their future life and study. So how do you determine if a child has ADHD?

How to distinguish whether a child is hyperactive or naughty?

Differences in attention

Children with ADHD cannot concentrate for a long time in any situation, even when reading picture books or cartoons, they cannot concentrate. But naughty children are different. When reading picture books or cartoons, they can concentrate and hate being disturbed by other children.

Differences in the purpose of action

The actions of naughty children are often purposeful, planned and arranged. Children with ADHD do not have this characteristic. Their actions are more impulsive, chaotic, and they never finish what they start.

Differences in self-control

Naughty children have the ability to control themselves in a serious and unfamiliar environment, and can behave themselves and stop making noises; however, children with ADHD do not have this ability and are often accused of being "unreasonable".

In addition, with the popularization of knowledge about ADHD in recent years, some kindergarten teachers have been able to detect early symptoms of ADHD in some children (under 7 years old). If they do not observe discipline, do not take naps, etc., urge parents to seek medical treatment as soon as possible. Although naughty children are also very active, they are much better than children with ADHD in controlling themselves.

Many behavioral manifestations of ADHD are very similar to naughty behaviors. For example, both may not pay attention in class, make mischief, affect and hinder others' learning, and disrupt classroom discipline. Parents often mistakenly believe that children with ADHD are just naughty, or attribute naughtiness to ADHD. In fact, there is an essential difference between the two.

Firstly, naughty behaviour may be caused by poor relationships with parents and teachers. For example, some children do not like their math teachers, so they deliberately disrupt the class order every time they have math class. Children with ADHD will have difficulty concentrating in class regardless of their relationship with the teacher. Secondly, naughty children may disrupt classroom discipline in order to attract other people's attention. They will only feel satisfied when they get other people's attention, while the behavior of children with ADHD is aimless and uncontrollable.

Thirdly, naughty children are somewhat planned and have a certain degree of self-control when doing things, while children with ADHD lack plans, have poor self-control, and cannot delay gratification. When performing learning-related tasks, they naturally show phenomena such as ADHD and inattention.

Finally, the behavior of children with ADHD is consistent across time and across situations, while naughty behavior is only manifested in specific situations. For example, children with ADHD will not listen in class no matter what class they are in, just to different degrees; while naughty children may only not listen in class in a certain class. Children with ADHD may have difficulty controlling their behavior at home, at school, or in a stranger's home; while naughty children may only behave in certain situations, such as at home.

Therefore, as long as teachers and parents grasp the above standards, it will be easy to distinguish whether the child has ADHD or naughtiness. They will not mistake the child's naughtiness for ADHD, or neglect ADHD as naughtiness.