When ordinary distraction is something more: diagnosing ADHD

Posted: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 12:00 am | Updated: 2:32 am, Tue Mar 19, 2013.

(BPT) - What parent hasn’t had to call a child’s name more than once to get his attention? Or wondered how she can still be “bouncing off the walls” at the end of a long, tiring day. Moments of intense activity or occasional inattention are typical kid behavior, but for some children the problem is extreme and impairing. How can parents tell if their child’s energy or distraction is ordinary or something more?

In the past decade, the number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) rose 24 percent, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, the pediatric journal of the American Medical Association. The disorder is both over- and under-diagnosed. Because the symptoms overlap, ADHD can often be mistaken for other disorders such as anxiety, depression and oppositional defiant disorder.