wtf, really?? i have been following on all your adhd posts...and do not think i had adhd but i was *always* zoned out by teachers for not paying attention, zoning out, being off on another planet (usually drawing, doing plasticine...you remember...) ANYTHING but pay attention...and i STILL do that...at work EVERYDAY...it's not good...but how do u tell the difference between someone who has adhd and who doesnt at such a young age?
my mom is a teacher and she has told me that it is very difficult to get a diagnosis before grade 1 or 2. if a child daydreams in kindergarten or displays any sort of behaviour that might not be the norm they usually aren't sent for psycho-ed evaluation until later... sometimes as late as grade 3. the reason for this (as explained by my mom) is that when a child comes to kindergarten you have to take into consideration what the child has been doing or not doing for the first 4 years of their life. if they have trouble writing or picking up on letters and sounds it could be they have a learning issue or that they come from a home where these things aren't emphasized. many children don't get read to enough and thus have a hard time learning to read. it presents a problem when early diagnosis of adhd is critical to a child's success... as this article implies... but with a public school system where it costs $$$ every time a child is sent for psycho-ed evaluations it becomes a bit of a waiting game to see if the child will catch up or if
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Yeah, I can see why that early on, it would be hard to distinguish ADHD from normal/environmentally caused lags in development. I guess that problem is an argument in favour of junior kindergarten and subsidized preschool/daycare. It's sad, though, that kids are often not even referred for evaluation until grade 3--an awful lot of emotional damage as well as educational damage can be done during that time, especially if the child is on a waiting list until grade 5 or 6.
Serena, it's not always easy to tell. On the other hand, the ADHD diagnostic criteria specify that a person has to show impairment in two different settings to qualify for the diagnosis, so a competent ADHD assessor will check for that and thus not diagnose kids whose only issue is that they're bored in school. Serena, I don't know whether you have ADHD, but I'd judge whether to get assessed based on whether this is something that shows up in multiple settings and causes you problems in life, or whether it's not that consistent or problematic (say, if it only shows up in settings where you're supposed to be trying to please an authority figure).
whoah whoah, not meant to be offensive! srsly just an honest question cos i have NO idea! and to think ive worked with a number of adhd kids for a number of years (some so severe they literally bounce from one thing to the next to the next to the next...). just cos i have no idea about the diagnosis side! lol. i didnt know about the authority figure thing either...so im reading and learning...not as in depth as yours obviously, but im following!
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i didnt know about the authority figure thing either...so im reading and learning...not as in depth as yours obviously, but im following!
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