ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER
with or without Hyperactivity
Attention Deficit Disorder with or without Hyperactivity (ADHD) is a frequent neuro-developmental disorder affecting approximately 5-8% of children, and 4% of adults.
It is characterized by a persisting difficulty to pay attention and often manifests as:
- Attentional mistakes,
- Difficulty maintaining prolonged attention,
- Difficulty planning, organizing, or starting/finishing a task,
- Forgetfulness and tendancy to misplace or lose objects.
DAY DREAMING
When we think of attention deficit, we think of the children who are dreamy, a little bit slow to respond, who lose track of the task at hand because they are daydreaming.
A child who is often perceived as more withdrawn and introverted, rarely disruptive in class.
FIDGETING
Fidgeting associated with ADHD includes difficulty controlling
- Movements: motor hyperactivity,
- Behaviours: impulsiveness,
and sometimes also Emotions: emotional hyperreactivity.
Conversely, the hyperactive child immediately stands out from the group because of their agitation and impulsiveness.
They are most often described as the one who disturbs the group, who takes up place or who acts in a thoughtless way.
AT SCHOOL
‘I’m often restless in class and have trouble concentrating. Sometimes I get so distracted that I lose track of what the teacher is explaining, I cam also be very slow.
It’s hard to sit still because I constantly need to move. Sometimes I can’t control my impulsiveness: during class discussions, I tend to interrupt my classmates without waiting for my turn to speak. Sometimes I get carried away by my enthusiasm and reply before I’ve even heard the whole question!
Organization is also a challenge for me: sometimes I forget my homework or leave it at home. I can also have trouble managing my time during exams. This creates a lot of stress and frustration for me and my parents.
I really try to do my best, but despite my best efforts, it’s sometimes difficult to manage all these things at the same time in class.’
MY CHALLENGES
Attention and Organization
- Sustained, selective attention
- Impulsivity control
- Control of hyperactivity
- Task and time organization
