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, explains 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 or teen undergo sleep apnea testing, since this condition can replicate ADHD symptoms such as poor ability to focus on school work or pay attention in class, restlessness and being easily distracted.
Posttraumatic stress disorder. Emotional trauma from a recent crisis event can cause symptoms that mimic ADHD.
Hearing impairment. If your child doesn’t pay attention to you or to teachers, maybe it’s because they’re not hearing adequately.
Numbed hearing can result from a chronic exposure to loud sounds such as screaming and shrieking children/toddlers, wearing earbuds loud with music, being around blaring entertainment systems, motors or machines, or having a history of multiple ear infections.
Mood disorders. Feeling the blues is normal in life, but undue or relentless depression can impair one’s attentiveness.
If you suspect depression, then a medical workup is in order, since this may be caused by a medical situation such as an underactive thyroid.
At the opposite end, bipolar disorder’s “manic” phase can result in hyperactive behavior.
Generalized anxiety disorder. Could your child or teen be unsettled about things going on in their life? New school? Parents’ pending divorce? Problems with a coach or teacher?
Kids can have ongoing anxiety from stressful environments or from getting too much criticism or pressure to be perfect in a sport from a parent.
Learning disabilities. This does NOT mean a low I.Q. or that of being “slow.”
The so-called learning disability is an impairment of information processing that can affect speech, 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 do 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 difficulty 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,” continues 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 trauma to the head during sports or play? Even if it was months ago?
Only a psychologist or neuropsychologist with a specialty in evaluating the pediatric population for ADHD should conduct an ADHD assessment.
If a pediatrician or social worker has said to you, “Your child has ADHD,” this really means your child has been exhibiting a minimal number of symptoms that may fit criteria for an ADHD diagnosis.
But you should still seek a formal assessment from a psychologist or neuropsychologist with this specific experience.
