During the assessment process it is of great importance for the physician or clinician to consider other possible causes of inattention, impulsivity, or hyperactivity in your child, or teen, or yourself. In fact, this is probably the most important element of a good assessment. There are several possible causes of these behaviors, especially in children, and the clinician must have great certainty that these other possible causes have been ruled out before giving the label of "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" to your child.
In this issue we will discuss the possibility that your child has depression rather than an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, lymbic type.
When one is depressed several of the following symptoms will be noted. Someone with four or five of the following symptoms should probably see a physician or other professional to get a real assessment done.
The common symptoms of depression include:
· Physical Hyperactivity, or Lack of Activity (Hypoactivity)
· Change of Appetite, either Less or More
· Change in Sleeping, either Less or More
· Loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities
· Loss of energy, increased fatigue
· Feelings of worthlessness, or inappropriate guilt
· Difficulty concentrating
· Thoughts of death or dying
· In children and teens, depression is shows itself with increased aggression, irritability, or isolation from the family.
Sometimes really out of control emotional behavior is attributed to ADHD, but might really be the result of depression! Depression in children and teens often looks to a clinician, who barely knows your child, as ADHD.
One main difference is that depression has a "starting date" and ADHD has been present to some degree or another since birth.
· Does your child seems very sad, or very grouchy or irritable?
· Does it seem like nothing is fun for him, even things he used to like doing?
· Does he seem bored most of the time and just sit around?
· Has he gained a lot or weight? Or lost a lot of weight?
· Does he seem to be sleeping a lot more than usual, and have lots of trouble waking up in the morning? Or does he have unusual trouble getting to sleep at night?
· Does he seem unusually restless or agitated?
· Is he having more trouble than usual paying attention to school work?
· Is it harder for him to make decisions than usual?
· Has your child/teen talked about suicide, or even make attempts, recently?
If three or four of these are true of your child/teen over the past six months, expecially the one about suicide, then we'd recommend that you have him checked out by a therapist, psychologist, or physician who specializes in depression. It is very common to mis-diagnose depression for ADHD, especially by inexperienced therapists and physicians. Learn more at the ADHD Information Library at http://www.newideas.net.
Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., is a family therapist who has been working with ADHD children and their families since 1986. He is the clinical director of the ADHD Information Library's family of seven web sites, including http://www.newideas.net, helping over 350,000 parents and teachers learn more about ADHD each year. Dr. Cowan also serves on the Medical Advisory Board of VAXA International of Tampa, FL., is President of the Board of Directors for KAXL 88.3 FM in central California, and is President of NewIdeas.net Incorporated.
Adult ADHD: Beating The "Three-Quarter Rule"
In this article we are going to address some of the wonderful questions Adult ADHD people have written in with, asking about how to "focus and finish" with Adult ADHD. Here's a really great one from Judy...
Melatonin, Sleep Enhancement, and ADHD
Overview
Melatonin is a natural hormone, which is produced and secreted by the pineal gland. Melatonin plays an important role in the regulation of many hormones in the body.
Has ADHD Put Your Career in Danger? 3 Steps to Get You Back on Track
"Roger, you must get those contracts completed for this month's sales and don't forget, we have a meeting tomorrow at 9:00. Don't be late again!"Roger was a super salesman, but he risked losing his job because he was too busy rushing from client to client to get his paper work completed.
Alternative Medicines Adhd Treatment Options
Traditionally stimulant medications are the drug of choice prescribed by doctors in order to treat the various symptoms of ADHD. However, these medications often only provide temporary relief and have to be taken for long periods. Besides that, they can also have certain detrimental side effects. Because of this, many people are tempted to seek out relief through the alternative medicines. Alternative medicines ADHD treatment options can be varied. Here are some of the options available to those seeking Alternative medicines for ADHD:
Is it ADHD or Bi-Polar Disorder?
Bi-Polar Disorder, or Manic Depression, is characterized by mood swings, sometimes extreme, ranging from depressed to normal moods, or from depressed to manic episodes. Manic behaviors are often very similar to "hyperactive" behaviors, including motor restlessness, irritability, temper outbursts, sleeping less, or having higher levels of energy.
Solutions to ADHD
It wasn't a surprise to find out that Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) has ranked as one of the most frequent neurological impairments all over America as it mostly hits on children. The disorder has affected more or less five percent or in figures it is roughly 2 million of the entire population. As a justification, experts have hypothesized that in every American classroom you could anticipate to find a child suffering from ADHD.
The Help Group Summit 2007 Features More Than 20 Leading Experts in Autism, Learning Disabilities & ADHD
Two-Day seminar for professionals and parents to present cutting edge information in research and best practices.
Teacher Tips: Using Worksheets with ADHD Students
Thank you to all of our professional educators who dedicate themselves to our children! We know how difficult it can be working with ADHD children, so here are your teacher tips for the week, brought to you by the ADHD Information Library and ADDinSchool.com.
A Sociolinguistic Analysis of In-Office Dialogue Reveals Psychiatrists and Parents Have Significantly Different Perceptions on ADHD and Psychiatric Co
Seventy-eight percent of psychiatrists and parents provide different responses when asked about patients? "most concerning behavior."
What Causes Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?
The most recent models that attempt to describe what is happening in the brains of people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder suggest that several areas of the brain may be affected by the disorder. They include the frontal lobes, the inhibitory mechanisms of the cortex, the limbic system, and the reticular activating system.
The Eagle Soars -- Science and Religion Have Merged! God Exists--And Stress Causes ADHD, All Mental Disorders, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Dise
A medical technologist recovered from a 27-year course of central nervous system poisoning due to medical misdiagnoses, personal stress and caffeine. Several years later Ruth Whalen experienced symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Miss Whalen treated herself, recovered, researched, uncovered a medical and religious travesty, and discovered that the brain contains a black hole. Ruth merged science with religion and released The Light: How Stress Poisons the Central Nervous System and Causes ADHD, Parkinson's Disease, Schizophrenia, Autoimmune Response and More.
Tips for High School Teachers with ADHD Students: Organizing Your Students
Thank you to all of our professional educators who dedicate themselves to our children! We know how difficult it can be working with ADHD children, so here are your teacher tips for the week, brought to you by the ADHD Information Library and ADDinSchool.com.
ADHD: Pay Attention, Now
Over the past quarter century, the numbers of those diagnosed with ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) has increased dramatically. More sophisticated diagnostic tools and social acceptance of the malady may be a partial explanation.
A New Affordable Therapy for ADD/ADHD
All the research over the past 40 years shows clearly that EEG biofeedback training (aka Neurofeedback or Neurotherapy training) is by far the most effective therapy for ADD/ADHD with a "cure" rate of 85% or greater.
Conners Rating Scale A Tool for Diagnosing ADHD
As more and more people have become aware of the occurrence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, the incorrect diagnosis of the dysfunction has, unfortunately, become commonplace. One of the tricky things about ADHD is that all people, at one time or another, display some of the symptoms of the condition, and this is particularly true of children. It is important to understand that a correct diagnosis of ADHD can only be arrived at after measuring certain criterion, using certain tools. We will take a look at one of these tools and the criteria measured with it in this article.