Does My Child Have ADHD?
A Parent's Guide to the Signs and Next Steps
You may have found yourself wondering, “Does my child have ADHD?”
Perhaps your child is bright and capable but seems to struggle to concentrate at school. Maybe homework takes hours, instructions need to be repeated over and over, or they are constantly losing things. You might have noticed that they are easily distracted, forgetful, restless or impulsive.
Or perhaps it is less obvious. Your child may be quiet, daydream frequently, take a long time to get started on tasks or seem to switch off when something doesn't capture their interest.
These experiences can leave parents wondering whether ADHD could be part of the picture, particularly when the same difficulties seem to keep coming up at home and at school.
But how do you know?
What does ADHD look like in children?
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects attention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity. Importantly, ADHD doesn't look the same in every child.
Some children experience predominantly inattentive symptoms. They may:
struggle to sustain attention, particularly for less interesting tasks
become easily distracted or daydream
forget instructions or everyday tasks
lose belongings
have difficulty organising their schoolwork or belongings
start tasks but struggle to finish them
make careless mistakes
appear not to listen, even when they are trying.
Other children experience more hyperactive and impulsive symptoms. They may:
fidget or find it difficult to remain still
seem constantly “on the go”
talk frequently or interrupt
struggle to wait their turn
act before thinking
seek stimulation or become particularly restless when bored.
Some children experience a combination of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms.
Emotional regulation can also be an important part of the picture for some children with ADHD. They may become frustrated quickly, have intense emotional reactions, struggle to recover after becoming upset, or find changes and disappointments particularly difficult. Some children also work extremely hard to “keep it together” at school all day, only to become exhausted, overwhelmed or emotionally dysregulated once they get home. This can sometimes mean that parents see a very different side of their child's difficulties than teachers do.
What if my child isn't hyperactive?
This is an important question.
ADHD isn't always the child who is running around the classroom or constantly interrupting. Inattentive ADHD can be much less obvious, and these children can sometimes fly under the radar, particularly at school.
A child might sit quietly in class while missing important information, forget what they have been asked to do, lose track of their belongings or take much longer than expected to complete their work.
Sometimes these children are described as “daydreamers”, “lazy”, “disorganised” or simply as not trying hard enough, when the underlying difficulty may be quite different. They may be working much harder than it appears to keep up with the demands of school, but their difficulties can remain unnoticed because they aren't disrupting the classroom.
Is it ADHD, or something else?
This is where things can become complicated.
Difficulty concentrating, completing schoolwork, managing emotions or sitting still doesn't automatically mean a child has ADHD.
Similar difficulties can occur for many different reasons, including anxiety, learning difficulties, sleep problems, developmental differences, emotional stress or other neurodevelopmental conditions. ADHD can also occur alongside other conditions.
This is why an ADHD assessment isn't simply about ticking off a list of symptoms.
A good assessment considers the whole child, their development, strengths, learning, behaviour, relationships and everyday functioning.
When should I consider an ADHD assessment?
You don't need to be certain your child has ADHD before seeking advice.
It may be worth exploring an assessment if you are noticing ongoing difficulties that are affecting your child's:
learning or academic progress
ability to complete everyday tasks
relationships or friendships
confidence and self-esteem
emotional wellbeing
functioning at home or at school.
It is also worth paying attention when the concerns are being raised repeatedly by both parents and teachers.
ADHD symptoms are considered in relation to a child's age and developmental level, and a diagnosis requires difficulties to be persistent and to have a meaningful impact on functioning in more than one setting.
What happens during an ADHD assessment?
An ADHD assessment is designed to build a picture of what is happening for your child and why.
Depending on the child and the questions being explored, an assessment may consider:
developmental and family history
attention, concentration and executive functioning
behaviour and emotional functioning
learning and academic skills
information from parents and teachers
school reports and observations
questionnaires or rating scales
other factors that could be contributing to your child's difficulties.
The Australian ADHD guideline recommends gathering information from multiple settings and sources, and considering both difficulties and strengths. Rating scales can be useful, but should not be used on their own to diagnose ADHD.
Sometimes the assessment confirms ADHD. Sometimes it identifies another explanation for your child's difficulties. And sometimes it highlights a combination of factors.
All of these outcomes can be useful because the goal isn't simply to put a label on a child.
The goal is to understand what your child needs to thrive.
What if I'm still not sure?
That's completely okay.
You don't need to arrive at an assessment knowing whether your child has ADHD. In fact, that's often the reason families seek an assessment in the first place.
If you're noticing a pattern of difficulties but aren't sure what is causing them, a comprehensive assessment can help make sense of the picture — including your child's strengths, learning profile, attention, behaviour and everyday functioning.
At thegrowspace, we take a whole-child approach to assessment, helping families understand not only whether ADHD may be contributing to difficulties, but what those difficulties mean for their child's learning and everyday life.
Wondering, “Does my child have ADHD?”
You don't have to work it out on your own.
If you're concerned about your child's attention, learning or behaviour, get in touch with thegrowspace to discuss whether an assessment could help you understand what's going on and what to do next.