If your child’s been diagnosed with ADHD, consider a misdiagnosis; so many other conditions can masquerade as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
“I would say that many of the kids I see come in with that diagnosis,” says Claudia B. Rutherford, PhD, a Massachusetts-based licensed psychologist specializing in the psychological and neuropsychological testing of children and adults.
Dr. Rutherford says that the diagnosis of ADHD in her patients “turns out to be incorrect” many times, “and I know that many clinicians feel it is over-diagnosed.”
ADHD Misdiagnoses
Sleep disorders. About 25 to 30 percent of children diagnosed with ADHD actually have untreated obstructive sleep apnea, points out Steven Y. Park, MD, otolaryngologist, author of Sleep, Interrupted: A Physician Reveals The #1 Reason Why So Many Of Us Are Sick And Tired.
Have your ADHD-diagnosed child undergo sleep apnea testing, as this condition can replicate ADHD symptoms such as restlessness, poor focus and being easily distracted.
Posttraumatic stress disorder. Emotional trauma from a recent event can cause symptoms that mimic ADHD.
Hearing impairment. If your child doesn’t pay attention to you, maybe it’s because they’re not hearing you.
Numbed hearing can result from chronic exposure to loud noise like screaming and shrieking children/toddlers, wearing loud earbuds, being around loud entertainment systems, motors or machinery, or a history of multiple ear infections.
Mood disorders. Feeling the blues is normal, but undue depression can impair attentiveness.
If you suspect depression, a medical workup is in order, since this may be caused by a medical situation like underactive thyroid.
At the opposite end, bipolar disorder’s “manic” phase can result in hyperactivity.
Generalized anxiety disorder. Could your child be unsettled about things going on? New school? Divorce? Problems with a teacher?
A child can have ongoing anxiety from stressful environments or from receiving too much criticism from a parent.
Learning disabilities. This does NOT mean low I.Q. or slow-wittedness. It’s an impairment of processing that can affect speaking, reading, listening and learning math.
Auditory processing deficits. Dr. Rutherford says, “Kids with central auditory processing disorders have trouble performing well in the classroom.” They thrive better with one-on-one teaching.
“They can display symptoms that can easily mimic the inattentive type of ADHD,” says Dr. Rutherford, “such as having trouble following directions in a series, showing comprehension problems during conversations, or poorly discriminating between similar sounding words.”
Speech-language delays. “I see numerous kids with a question of ADHD and turn out to have undiagnosed receptive speech-language delays,” adds Dr. Rutherford.
“These are kids who may have had chronic ear infections or were slow in mastering language acquisition.
“They are behind in the ability to understand spoken language; if this is not diagnosed, it is easy to assume the child is simply not paying attention.”
TBI (traumatic brain injury). Has there been any recent head trauma during play? Even months ago?
Remember, ADHD is a group of symptoms, and there is no definitive diagnostic tool that confirms this as a bona fide condition.
If a doctor or social worker has told you, “Your child has ADHD,” this really means your child has been exhibiting a minimal number of symptoms that fit criteria for an ADHD diagnosis.
