How To Recognise ADHD
This article was written in partnership with The ADHD Foundation Neurodiversity Charity, outlining some ways that you may be able to recognise ADHD in children and young people.
Here are some ways ADHD can present:
Trouble staying on task - “Why do you never finish anything? You just don’t care. It would be much easier for you to just finish the task.”
Poor organisation - “Why do we take so long to get out of the house in the morning?”
Poor sense of time - “What have you been doing all lesson? You have spent 30 minutes and have only written the title and date.”
Poor internalisation of rules - “How many times have I had to tell you that you can go out after your tea”
Time moves too slowly - “This game is taking too long to play. Let’s do something else.”
Poor sense of self-awareness - “What were you thinking? Did you not ask yourself what would happen if you kept jumping off the top of the stairs?”
Poor reading of social cues - “Can’t you see that the other kids think what you are doing is inappropriate behaviour”?
Hyper-focusing - “Can’t you see that the other kids think what
you are doing is inappropriate behaviour”?
Push away those who want to help - “Dad, go away! Stop checking my work! Leave me alone! Get away from me!”
Inconsistent work/behaviour - “Why did we have such a great day yesterday and today is awful?”
Frequently overwhelmed - “How come you can spend hours on computer games but when I ask you to do your homework on the computer you find this so difficult?”
Children with ADHD can become very critical of themselves. It is instinctive for children to want to learn and to please the adult. When they say “I don’t know why I didn’t do as I was told.”: often they genuinely did not know.
They know they create difficulties but they do not choose this behaviour, but rather act/speak impulsively without thinking about the consequences. If behaviour management isn’t approached correctly, the child with ADHD will internalise into their self-concept that they are ‘naughty’ and will act out according to the identity they have been given by the adult.