Behind a hyperactive child there can be very delicate realities, however impressive, sometimes we focus on drug-related behaviors without first understanding what factors influence and underlie them, are there children suffering from stress, others who live in unstructured environments, and others who suffer from attachment problems?
We’ll start by pointing out that this is a very sensitive, sensitive topic for health professionals and complex for families with children diagnosed with ADHD.
- First.
- Many psychologists.
- Psychiatrists.
- And neurologists complain about this position of those who assume that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is not real.
This behavioral syndrome has a wide spectrum of manifestations and, according to Murphy and Gordon (1998), usually affects between 2 and 5% of the child population, appears before age 7 and, if not properly diagnosed, other associated problems, such as anxiety disorders and even depression, are most likely in the adult.
The existence of hyperactive and impulsive children with attention issues has been documented since the 19th century. British pediatrician Sir George Frederic Still (1868–1941) was the first to describe the disease. To this day, clinical psychologists and psychiatrists continue to advocate for the reality of ADHD.
However, there is one fact that they insist on above all: the need to make a correct diagnosis.
There are nervous children who behave in a difficult, violent and disturbing way in the classroom, as well as restless children unable to deploy their full cognitive potential because the class conditions do not meet their educational needs.
In this case, we have two very different realities that cannot be labeled in the same way under the term ADHD, and that’s where the real root of the problem comes in, not all lazy, rebellious students who bother or tend to have tantrums can fall into the same category. They will benefit greatly from a specific adaptation of the curriculum for this behavioral syndrome.
However, other children will need more help. Because sometimes, behind a hyperactive child, there is trauma; in such cases, neither school accommodations nor medicines can repair, for example, an abusive, chaotic or unstructured family environment.
Nicole Brown is a child psychiatrist who works at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, her particular case has been published in several media for a specific purpose: to raise awareness of the need to make schools, doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists more accurate, sensitive, and diagnosed.
At the annual meeting of University Pediatric Societies, Dr. Brown presented a wealth of information gathered during his years working in the psychiatric hospital, where he reported that a large number of children diagnosed with ADHD did not have the disorder, and that behind a child hyperactivity, which was often hypervigilance, stress and dissociation, that is, trauma.
These are the cases in which neither behavioral therapy nor stimulants work, they were more delicate situations, originating in a dysfunctional family or a traumatic event at some point.
Doctors Marc Ferrer, Oscar Andia and Natalia Calvo conducted an interesting study to differentiate adult symptomatology from trauma, bordering personality disorders and ADHD, it is known that traumatic marks cause behaviors very similar to hyperactivity and that as the child grows and becomes an adult, its effects are much more harmful.
It is also worth noting another aspect: parents of children correctly diagnosed with ADHD know that they are not responsible for this behavioral syndrome.
What is ahead of them, however, is a process in which they must attend (with the school) to the specific needs that these little ones require, which are usually so bright and full of possibilities.