Adhd Or Misunderstood

Misdiagnosis of ADD/ADHD was looked at last week and we discussed how large of a problem it has become. The true extent of this problem becomes apparent when you stop to analyse the diagnosis rates over the past decade and also the rate at which ADD/ADHD medication is prescribed. The end results of the research are unbelievable!Looking at the data on a graph gives an indication that much of the industry devoted to ADD/ADHD will become less and less one of hte industries growing! So what is happening? It seems that we are either facing an epidemic of catastrophic proportions or a diagnostic system that is driven by something else besides clinical accuracy. It is my firm believe that the truth is the latter scenerio and that a multitude of people are misdiagnosed each year as ADD/ADHD which is not a little thing in their lives. I want to repeat that I believe that the reasons behind these wrong diagnoses are:

Failure to investigate alternative explanations - An ADD/ADHD diagnosis has become almost 'fashionable' in some circles and is therefore the first thing some medical professionals reach for when confronted with behavioral problems.

Outside pressure - Some teachers and caregivers see an ADD/ADHD diagnosis, and the resultant prescription of mind altering chemicals, as the quickest way out of their difficulties in dealing with a particular student. What happens when overly eager educators or doctors push to have a child tested and labeled. Money - The manufacturers of ADD/ADHD medication have access to multimillion dollar marketing budgets that serve to keep the possibility of an ADD/ADHD diagnosis 'warm' in the mind of medical professionals, teachers and parents.

This week's article will focus on a cause of misdiagnosis that could very easily be filed under the first alternative: Failure to investigate alternative explanations. It is a well established fact that many children who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD were actually gifted students who 'acted out' in response to being bored with the educational environments in which they have been placed. It is easy to understand why the educators and professionals sometimes confuse the effects of ADD/ADHD with the classic responses of gifted students to unchallenging environments. Children exhibiting the effects of ADD/ADHD and 'unrecognised' gifted children often display remarkably similar behaviors including:

- Increased activity levels - Difficulty paying attention - Impulsivity - Lack of focus and persistence, and - Difficulty following rules

If you use only these behaviors as the method for diagnosing ADD/ADHD it will be very easy for a gifted student to be misdiagnosed. In truth, just because behaviors resemble each other does not mean the root cause is the same.Issues within the function of the brain have been linked to the commonly discussed symptoms of ADD/ADHD.g. malfunctioning neurotransmitters). ADD/ADHD type symptoms exhibited by gifted children have radically different explanations. This is the reason why it is extremely important that a child not be quickly labeled ADD/ADHD just on their behavior.

Research has shown that gifted children generally possess advanced abilities in at least some of the following areas:

- Psychomotor - Sensual - Intellectual - Imaginational, and - Emotional

Of particular interest to this discussion are the areas of advanced psychomotor and imaginational abilities. The first is characterised by behaviors such as rapid speech and impulsive bodily movement, the latter by intense visualisation and daydreaming. It would take an uninformed professional just a short step to move from these behaviors to 'diagnosing' hyperactivity and inattentiveness respectively.

The way many gifted children respond to their learning environments causes confusion in distinguishing between ADD/ADHD and gifted. Some educationalists estimate that gifted students often spend half of the school day waiting for their peers to 'catch up'! It is easily seen that this can cause extreme boredom and attention problems in subjects that are already mastered. It is quite common for gifted and talented students to react in "boring" environments in a manner resembling ADD/ADHD.

Last but not least, the fact that many gifted students have similar social issues that ADD/ADHD children possess leads to a misdiagnosis. The main reason behind this is the fact that they are often more intellectually and emotionally developed than their peers, making it difficult for them to fully relate and fit in.

It should be clear from the above that you could very easily end up with a similar set of behaviors but with radically different causes and also radically different ways of dealing with it ('The 3 Steps' outlined on this website and a clear gifted child program respectively - Although following the '3 Steps' in the case of a gifted child certainly wouldn't hurt either!). If your gut tells you that the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD is rash and too quickly accepted, do not hesitate to get this corrected for your gifted child! The 'normal' state of affairs is that it is found out that a child is actually gifted long after an ADD/ADHD diagnosis was made. Take the first step of having your child's abilities evaluated before seeking help for ADD/ADHD which is what most psychologists in the educational area would support. By doing this you could be saving yourself a lot of stress and emotional anxiety!

If you want to learn more about the common reasons that are behind the many misdiagnoses of ADD/ADHD, check back in our next article. See you then!