Signs of ADHD

Symptoms That May Give You Clues

The signs of ADHD aren’t always easy to spot. ADHD symptoms vary from person to person and situation to situation. Don’t assume that because your child isn’t hanging off the ceiling that they couldn’t possibly be ADHD. I learned the hard way…they can.

If your child is inattentive, hyperactive, impulsive, or a combination of two or more of these traits, he or she might be labeled ADHD. Children who are primarily inattentive tend to be the most overlooked. (This tends to be girls more often than boys.) All people with ADHD prefer right brain over left brain learning tasks. Use this link for a summary of right brain vs left brain functions.

I knew something was up when my daughter was still throwing a fit on the floor when she got frustrated at 8 years old. There were many other signs, but ADHD never crossed my mind because she wasn’t hyper. In fact, sometimes she seemed more lazy or spacey, not at all like the ADHD children I had in my classroom when I was teaching.

In hindsight and after a lot of research, I realize that a lot of her behaviors (including the fits) were symptoms of adhd. The ADHD brain is different according to scientific study and the behaviors that result are often not well recieved in our culture. Here are a few examples:

I have summarized ADHD symptoms at this link. If your child is showing signs of ADHD, I would recommend consulting an expert if you would like an official diagnosis.

Here are some examples from our life:

It was nearly impossible to get her anywhere on time in the morning. While she was in school, she couldn’t get up (even when she went to bed super early) and once she was up, I had to physically get her dressed in order to leave on time. This was one of the reasons we decided to homeschool. She had always been a sleeper, so I just assumed she was tired.

She was always losing things. Papers, books, jackets, shoes, pencils, toys. My husband and I always said it was a good thing that all her body parts were attached.

Another one of the signs of ADHD that I just wrote off was her inability to follow multi step oral directions. She would try to start and just say “what?” I was constantly berating her for not listening.

At school in first grade, her teacher would send her to the bathroom before the rest of the class even got in line so that she would be finished when the last child in the class was finishing. Even at home, she took a long time in the bathroom…singing, studying the tile design, looking at the lights, adjusting her clothes. Her “business” was finished, she was just distracted.

She didn’t have any trouble focusing on some things. In fact, she seemed obsessed. When she learned about dolphins she was fascinated by them. She read books, watched movies, drew pictures, and TALKED about them ALL THE TIME.

There were many others things, but none jumped out at me and screamed “ADHD!” Yes, she was a little “absent minded professor-ish” but she was smart, docile and had the ability to focus. Not the stereotypical hanging off the ceiling, never sitting still, wild child.

When we sought the advice of an educational psychologist we were shocked when she suggested ADHD might be the culprit. In fact, we laughed at the idea and never pursued help. At age 11, when we were still having the same problems, we took her to another counselor who tried to help us work through the issues with some limited success. At age 13, we contacted the psychologist again who confirmed the suspicion.

Again, If your child is showing signs of ADHD, I would recommend consulting an expert for an official diagnosis.

More about homeschooling the ADHD child.

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