Introduction
Recently, I received messages from several new friends in the background, saying that after reading the previous article, I felt "Daigo empowerment", my own baby was only in kindergarten middle class, and she had been "shouting all day, not sitting on the small bench of the class, and excessive energy every day", which may be a potential A baby, ready to be taken to the doctor to see. The parents finally said: The child is so noisy now, what should I do in the future class? Grades can't keep up with this life and it's over!
We are very happy to meet such a visionary parent, but today we have to pour a basin of "cold water" on everyone, and it is also a "reassuring pill" for many parents who are worried about their babies fidgeting all day and suspect that it is ADHD - children jump up and down all day, not necessarily ADHD.
#01
Abused "ADHD"
Tell you a joke that is widely spread in child psychological medicine:
Surveys have shown that among children diagnosed with "ADHD", the prevalence of babies born in August is 60% higher than that of babies born in September.
Seeing this, are the parents who have babies born in August in the family all brought up their hearts?
Don't worry, this reason is very simple, because September 1 is the first day of school, the baby born after September can only wait until the next year to go to school, become the older child in the class, will be much more well-behaved; and the baby born in August is the smallest in the class, learning can not keep up, play is also big, of course, easy to be regarded as "ADHD" by teachers and parents.
In other words, many children are misdiagnosed as "ADHD" only because they are too young! About 1 million children in the United States may be reported to be misdiagnosed with ADHD each year. From this data, we can see the extent to which the term "ADHD" has been abused.
#02
Why are children labeled ADHD?
Behind this question is actually full of heartache.
Some parents feel that their children's academic performance, talents and skills are not as good as those of "other people's children", and they cannot accept it in their hearts, so they throw the pot to ADHD and comfort themselves that they are the children's own problems, rather than their own tutoring problems;
Some parents have completely misunderstood the meaning of the term "ADHD", and only feel that their children are lively and active, and the derogatory words are used positively, making a fuss.
Whatever the reason, we hereby appeal that in the child's growth period, parents should be vigilant about labeling their children with diseases, which is not conducive to children's physical and mental development.
Remember the saying: "hyperactivity" ≠ "ADHD"!
#03
What does a real Ava look like?
The diagnosis of ADHD has its own professional standards, but the reason why there is a misdiagnosis is that the object of diagnosis is a young child, and the auxiliary information is given by the child's parents, teachers, doctors in the diagnosis, largely rely on the feedback of teachers and parents, and these feedback have limitations, may not be so objective.
In a large number of observational studies, many similar phenomena are just normal manifestations of growth, and 57% of preschool children (around 4 years old) are evaluated as hyperactive: small motors, tuberculosis, grumpy bear children, absent-minded, careless, but most will improve within 3 to 6 months. When these phenomena persist into a child for one year, early intervention should be taken [1].
Whether the child is A baby or not, we still have to see if he meets the three core symptoms of ADHD: hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention that does not match the level of development. For a specific diagnosis, see the previous article "Self-diagnosis 丨What is ADHD/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?". 》。
Here's another point - the attention span of children of different ages is not the same, you can check the age of your baby
(It is recommended to collect and save, and the child can review and control when he grows older)
I believe that after reading this article, you can also sweep away the state of "talking about A color change". When our children have corresponding hyperactivity symptoms, parents are cautious to directly define and label, may wish to find the cause first, to determine the real root cause of the child's fidgeting. If you are highly suspicious that your baby does have ADHD, you should find a reliable, experienced psychologist or developmental behavior doctor in time to help your child make a definitive diagnosis.
This article is reviewed by experts
Li Yun / Xiamen Xianyue Hospital · Deputy Chief Physician
Expertise: Diagnosis and treatment of children's ADHD, autism, mental retardation and children's emotional disorders, and in-depth research on common psychological problems in the normal development of children.
Yiying Huang / Xiamen Xianyue Hospital · physician
Expertise: Bachelor of Clinical Medicine, Xiamen University Master of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Xiamen University, research direction for child psychiatry Engaged in children and adolescents mental health work for 1 year.
bibliography
[1] Russell A. Barkley. How to Raise ADHD Children[M].Sirui Wang et al., trans. Beijing:China Light Industry Press,2016:133.]