Notice
Notice
What is ADHD? What should we look out for? What are some key signs?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder/ADHD/Aroreretini is a neuro-developmental condition that can interfere with many things, including progress at school, organisation and executive function (doing everyday tasks) and relationships.
It is a proven brain difference, and involves lack of a natural chemical called dopamine.
Dopamine helps us to control our attention, focus, concentration, memory, motivation and impulsivity. It also helps us to stop ourselves saying or doing things that might hurt or annoy others.
Approximately 7.6 percent of children aged 5-12 have ADHD (Salari et al., 2023). This is around 2 or 3 students per class at primary school.
Children don't grow out of it, they merely learn to manage it. Or not. Some signs/experiences of ADHD (e.g. hyperactivity) tend to mellow over time. Struggles with developing good habits, following systems, seeking dopamine, distractibility tend to continue through to adulthood, and can increase during stressful times - e.g. new jobs, new baby.
It is believed that an ADHD brain's development is slighty delayed. This might mean a child will behave and react in ways more common in a child 2-3 years younger. Or it will take an adolescent longer than their peers to mature emotionally.
There are many inconveniences and difficulties associated with having ADHD, but there are often many strengths and positive attributes that come along with a differently-wired brain.
ADHD is highly heritable. It runs in families. Sometimes when children are being assessed for ADHD, it is not unusual for one or both parents to start thinking about whether it might be part of their own picture.
The te reo Māori kupu (word) aroreretini can be translated as attention goes to many things. A really good description the experience of ADHD and a contrast to having a "deficit" of attention. ADHD/aroreretini is better described as a lack of control over attention and focus.
ADHD - What is it NOT?
It is not;
naughty behaviour,
bad parenting,
It is not caused by;
an unhealthy diet,
too much screen time.
It is not;
a choice,
in much the same way as
dyslexia or diabetes is not a choice.
Please consider how you speak to children with ADHD.
According to Jellinek, (2010) Students with ADHD receive 20,000 more negative messages before the age of 10 than their "neurotypical" peers.
"Try harder" implies that they are not already trying as hard as they can.
"Make better choices" implies that they have a choice and are deliberately "misbehaving."
Instead, try : I noticed that you...... how can I help you to .......
Presentations of ADHD:
(According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Model - DSM)
ADHD - Hyperactive/Impulsive
Fidgeting, low control over movement
Impatient, blurts out answers
Talking a lot, interrupting, hard to stay on task
Takes risks, doesn't think of consequences
ADHD - Inattentive (Previously called ADD)
Day-dreamy, easily distracted,
Poor concentration
Forgetful, makes careless mistakes
Disorganised, loses belongings
ADHD - Combined - the most common type
A combination of features of both previous types
Did you know?
Boys tend to show more Hyperactive/Impulsive signs.
Girls tend to show more Inattentive signs
BUT NOT ALWAYS.
It's important to remember ADHD presents in as many unique and individual
ways as there are people with it!
ADHD - It's not just about the 'H'
Hyperactivity is probably the main sign that we have been told to look out for, but there are MANY other experiences of ADHD; some that you may not be aware of.
Sometimes people talk about "symptoms" or "traits". On this website we will talk about "experiences."
Observable experiences- someone else notices these signs/symptoms: (Many of these make up part of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) criteria for diagnosis of ADHD.)
Hard to get started on a non-preferred task until it becomes extremely urgent.
Hard to stop doing a highly engaging task, sometimes for hours, and sometimes at the expense of physical needs, toilet, thirst, hunger.
Forgetful when asked to do something, especially when given a long list of instructions.
Disorganised with belongings, messy room, loses items.
Fidgeting, jiggling, bouncing, changing posture or position, rocking, tapping feet, spinning pencils, doodling, tearing paper, vocal tics, humming, habitual coughing, sniffing, body-focused repetitive behaviour (nail biting, cuticle picking, hair pulling, scalp scratching.)
Not so observable - or internal experiences. - the person experiences these internally/in their head: These do not feature as much in the DSM, but are common experiences for those with ADHD.)
Jumbled, racing or bouncing thoughts. Working memory difficulties - e.g. not able to recall instructions for a task, forgetting why they came into a room.
Distress and frustration with competing sensory information, inability to concentrate in a noisy/busy environment.
Instant, impulsive, emotional over-reactions - (could be described as melt-downs/tantrums) and a long time to recover from these.
Misunderstanding vague language and misreading social body language - sometimes jumping to conclusions about how others perceive them.
Low self esteem, including negative self talk - e.g. I'm dumb, no-one wants to be my friend, I'm messy, I'm naughty.
Dread and guilt - letting down parents and teachers, "making bad choices."
Inaccurate estimation of time; being late, rushing to finish things, forgetting plans, or important events.
Having an idea of how something should look (e.g. a project) and not knowing how to start, or the steps to take to achieve it. Losing motivation to finish tasks that were initially fun and interesting.
Rejection sensitivity - highly attuned to how you are perceived. Overthinking of tone, facial expressions, over-reacting to criticism, "over-thinking" small incidents, catastrophising over social situations, being too scared to try in case others laugh - anxiety is a very common accompanying condition.
Video explanations
Dr Sarah Watson - Clinical Psychologist from New Zealand (Totally Psyched Clinic) - Via ADHD NZ organisation. "What is ADHD?"
NB: Dr Sarah's discussion about "ADHD in remission" may be confusing or misleading. She is referring to a medicated ADHD brain, ADHD is strongly believed to be a life-long condition.
Jessica McCabe - Host of Youtube Channel - "How to ADHD." "What is ADHD?"
NB: In this video Jessica speaks very fast. You can slow this video down by clicking the "cog" on bottom right, and reducing the playback speed (via "custom").