- Does my son have ADHD?
QUESTION:
Dear Dr. Heller,
Please help! My seven year old son is causing disruptions in the classroom and I am continually getting phone calls from his teacher about his behavior and inability to stay on task. I feel like a broken record at home, he doesn’t follow directions and constantly claims that he didn’t hear me. We have had his hearing checked twice and his pediatrician said his hearing was perfect. If he is doing something he likes such as digging in the dirt with his cars or playing video games, he will sit for hours. Homework time is a nightmare and though he has excellent grades, his teacher claims that all of her attention is directed to him in the classroom in order to keep him on task and following directions. Is this Attention deficit disorder? He is currently being tested for the gifted and talented program at his school. Could this be the cause for his distraction (boredom?) Please email soon we need to know where to begin.
ANSWER:
What you described is consistent with ADHD. Since it’s generally genetic the biological parents should look for the diagnosis also. The official criteria can be found at http://pks.947.myftpupload.com/AD-H-Dcr.htm. This should be extraordinarily helpful.
Hyperfocusing is the term for when he sits for hours doing something he enjoys – it may seem like he wouldn’t notice a bomb going off when he’s hyperfocusing.
