ADHD

What is it?

Deciding if a child has ADHD is a several-step process. There is no single test to diagnose ADHD, and many other problems, like anxiety, depression, and certain types of learning disabilities, can have similar symptoms. ADHD interferes with a person's ability to stay on a task and to exercise age-appropriate inhibition (cognitive alone or both cognitive and behavioral). Some of the warning signs of ADHD include failure to listen to instructions, inability to organize oneself and school work, fidgeting with hands and feet, talking too much, leaving projects, chores and homework unfinished, and having trouble paying attention to and responding to details.  Often symptoms include a combination of hyperactivity, inattentiveness and impulsiveness.

Key Points:

• There are three common types of ADHD:
  
  • Combined Presentation: if enough symptoms of both criteria inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity were present for the past 6 months
  • Predominantly Inattentive Presentation: if enough symptoms of inattention, but not hyperactivity-impulsivity, were present for the past six months
  • Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Presentation: if enough symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity but not inattention were present for the past six months.

• Affects 3-5 % of all people in Canada.
• Often lasts into adulthood.

How do we treat it?

The causes of ADHD are not known but a there a number of factors which contribute to how the condition presents.  One factor is often food.  Many children with ADHD are worse on certain foods and better on others.  In addition, often lifestyle factors (including sleep) are involved. Our approach is to examine thise areas and strive to find what works best for your child.