ADHD Screenings: Be Careful
Screenings for ADHD may be quick, affordable, and convenient (especially if done with the pediatrician), but their results should be interpreted cautiously. This information is only a tiny glimpse of your whole child. If you plan to try medication, you may not be addressing the cause of the attention problems. Let me explain.
Pretend you have headaches. You go to the doctor and tell them about the headaches. They give you and you wife/husband/partner a questionnaire to ask about your headaches. Both of you confirm with your questionnaire responses that your headaches are painful, they occur too frequently, and they affect your daily life. The doctor concludes that you have headaches. Hmmmm, you already knew that. But did you get the information you need to understand the headaches? Do you find yourself wondering why you have headaches and if they could be caused by something else? If yes, then good!
Attention problems are a symptom that can be present for MANY reasons.
- If your child has anxiety or worry, they will be inattentive.
- If your child has high levels of stress, they will be in inattentive.
- If your child is doing something very boring, they will likely become inattentive.
- If your child is doing something really difficult, they may find it hard to sustain attention.
- If your child struggles to regulate sensory input, they will be inattentive.
- If your child is tired, hungry, or sick, they will be inattentive.
- And more…
Children are also at higher risk of attention problems with certain factors.
- Children with medical history that affects brain health, such as prematurity, cerebral palsy, genetic disorders, birth defects – like congenital heart disease, epilepsy, concussion or brain injury, hydrocephalus, brain tumor, and more – are at high risk of attention problems.
- Children with neurodevelopmental disorders, like autism spectrum disorder, learning disorders, language disorders, intellectual disorders, and tic disorders are at high risk of attention problems because they are genetically related.
- Children with biological family members who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD/ADD), are at high risk of attention problems because these symptoms are heritable.
The most important questions you need to ask….
- What might be causing my child’s attention problems?
- Are these attention problems clinically significant?
- What are the intervention or treatment options?
Below are considerations for common causes of attention problems listed above:
- If your child has anxiety or worry, they will be inattentive.
- Reducing the anxiety and worry could resolve the attention problems (especially for tasks that require working memory – math and reading comprehension, multistep directions, timed tests)
- If your child has high levels of stress, they will be in inattentive.
- How can we reduce stressors for your child. Is this a teacher or school mismatch? Is there social conflict? Does your child need therapy? Do you need parent support?
- If your child is doing something very boring, they will likely become inattentive.
- Is your child being challenged? What are their abilities?
- If your child is doing something really difficult, they may find it hard to sustain attention.
- Is your child being supported? If they have learning differences or a learning disability, they may require a different learning environment.
- If your child struggles to regulate sensory input, they will be inattentive.
- Your child may need intervention for sensory integration, such as strategies to regulate when the environment is overstimulating.
- If your child is tired, hungry, or sick, they will be inattentive.
- Improve routines, schedules, and help your child recognize their body’s signals to address these things.
An ADHD screening cannot address these things. Even comprehensive parent and teacher questionnaires that purport to tease apart symptoms across multiple disorders are not enough.
Although it’s expensive and time consuming, a child with attention problems and any other risk factors (e.g., learning differences, anxiety, social challenges, sensory integration challenges, medical risks, family history of ADHD), needs a comprehensive evaluation following the ADHD screener. This will give you a full understanding of your child’s abilities, potential causes for the attention problems, and what to do about it. Reach out to us for a free consult: [email protected]
