Almost every child has focus issues. It comes with the territory.  In Britain, if a child is having trouble at school, they test a child first for dyslexia.  In the US, we test first for ADHD.  As a parent, you realize that every child is different, and we all know the stories about how many of our most creative, productive people were severely annoying as children.

Some children are highly hyperactive and clearly need some help.  Other children are more medium-hyperactive, which is where things start to get murky. Some kids are OK at home but have problems at school.  Some kids are OK in both places but have problems listening.  I would far rather have titled this section "Problems focusing" but unfortunately, the diagnostic term ADHD has taken over, so we'll start there.

It takes all sorts of brains to succeed in this world, and what we call the "ADHD" brain has also been referred to as the "hunter" brain or just a "different" brain.  I come from the engineering world, where logic and pragmatics rule, and it doesn't make sense to me that we just target everyone with a different brain and give them drugs to fit in.  So lets take a close look at things.

If My Child Has Trouble Focusing, What Should I Know?

The symptoms of what we think of as ADHD can be caused by many other things, including neurodevelopmental immaturity. If your child has trouble listening, paying attention, sitting still, playing well with others, or focusing, look below for a top-level overview to things that you should test, rule out, and treat.
If you are having across-the-board problems with your child, get parenting help.  Learn different behavioral techniques. Even if you just buy a book and take a look at it.  There are many books, programs, and forums.  We detail the best we could find in the ADHD/Behavioral Thought Leaders page.  Studies have shown that a specific framework of expectations, rewards, and consequences can do as much good as medication, in the long run. And teaching your child how to work within the world is invaluable.
Save your child's self-esteem.  Run interference with your child at school.  Work to educate your child's teacher on the fact that some children's brains are different and that your child isn't acting the way they do just to irritate the teacher.  Look for "islands of competence" and for things that your child does right every single day - and tell them that they did well.
Take care of yourself.  Make it a priority to get yourself a break now and then, even if it's just a half-hour walk.  Studies have shown that poverty
Where Do I Start?

If you take your child in to a psychiatrist who tests for ADHD, they probably will find it.  It's really not all that hard to test ADHD-positive.   Typical protocol is to then prescribe a drug, which will affect your child.  And you're all set!  Well... not exactly.

It's hard to find a doctor who will actively work with you to make sure that your child's development is on track before medicating.  As a matter of fact, parents typically decide beforehand what they want to do: medicate or not, and then they choose a doctor.  It's ridiculous, because a pragmatic approach would be to work through several steps, making sure that the child's development is where it should be, and then, if the child has no problems with allergies, vision, auditory, brain development, tactile, balance, and proprioception, then to start looking into drugs.

Of course this is a more complex and more expensive way of dealing with the problem.

This website will walk you through things that it makes sense to verify are working correctly in your child before medicating.  (Although if  your child is in profound distress and professionals have advised you to do so, please go ahead and medicate -- just take a look at these issues as well.)

Test to rule out allergies and sensitivities (which have been proven to affect focus and activity level).
Rule out sensory issues, such as hearing, vision, speaking, balance, and so forth.
Give your child a full movement exam, because some developmental issues show up in a movement exam that aren't apparent in any other tests.
Consider working with a behavioral specialist to drastically change how you parent your child.  This is hard because you, the parent have to change, but parenting techniques can get very different responses.  Behavioralists emphasize setting very clear goals, being very consistent about consequences, and making sure to compliment your child when they do well, follow rules, pay attention, and so forth.
Although drugs can give you and your child immediate relief from ADHD symptoms, they don't help the brain grow past developmental issues.  And new studies are starting to show that drug effectiveness wears off over time -- and that in the long run, therapy as effective, if not more,  in changing behavior.

What Causes ADHD? - goes in side column

For example: Let's say that your son or daughter is diagnosed as ADHD.  What causes ADHD?  It's really *not* a smiting blow from the heavens, you know.  It's a condition, and one that's caused by something.  Here's a very nice overview to the possible causes of ADD from the nice people at Developmental Delay Resources.
According to the DDR link, some of the causes of ADD might be:Biochemical/nutritionalGeneral sensory (e.g. immature sensory system)AuditoryVisualEmotional

What Causes ADHD? Or Is That The Wrong Question?

Symptoms

Here's a good summary of ADHD diagnostic criteria from the Mayo Clinic.

Testing

Several different tests are given for ADHD.  Here are some examples of psychiatric evaluations

What Causes ADHD

Several different tests are given for ADHD.  Here are some examples of psychiatric evaluations

Things I have learned about ADHD

Some children's brains just mature later than others.  That link is to a NPR article about a scientific study showing that some kids mature later.  Here's another article showing that the brighter the kid the longer the cerebral cortex takes to mature.



Symptoms

What do I need to know about Symptoms



Treatments

Can you give me an overview of the types of treatments?

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Who are the parents who have researched and put up significant resources in this area?

Thought Leaders

Who are the thought leaders for this disorder?









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See Also:
Sensory Integration
Memory Problems
General Education Problems
ADHD
Social Skills





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