Sometimes, parents are left wondering if their kids have ADHD based on their behaviors but they’re not sure. Is that a normal thing or are we just expecting too much from our kids?
It’s understandable that we assume that they have ADHD when they show inattentiveness or they get unfocused when we’re trying to talk to them. But how do we know if it’s still normal behavior and when it’s already considered as ADHD?
And that’s what I’m here to do. I’ll point out the differences between the two and help you understand your kid’s behavior better.
Have you ever wondered if your kid has ADHD or is it normal behavior?
Sometimes, your kids can be a little rambunctious and they may have a hard time listening. They may only be able to focus when they're playing video games. Maybe your kid does have ADHD or maybe it's normal behavior. Maybe it's a developmental phase.
ADHD is one of the most common mental health conditions affecting kids not only in the United States but also in the whole world even though the US has the highest rates of ADHD in the world.
In fact, the rates for psychiatric medication for ADHD have completely skyrocketed during the pandemic. Many people struggled with focus, having kids at home and dealing with all these things.
What’s normal for the brain?
What we know about the brain is that when you’re more structured, you’ll be more organized and you’ll hold and process information better and easier. Simply put, your working memory is going to be stronger and everything will be more organized.
The usual attention span of a two year old child is around 4 to 6 minutes and generally, every two years after that, it can increase by about 6 or so minutes. And so, the attention span that a 10 year old can hold is for about 20 to 30 minutes.
When we are enjoying ourselves, we have way better attention.
There’s an estimated amount of time for the attention span of a person depending on the age. Consequently, this estimation can be longer or shorter depending on whether or not your child likes what he or she is doing.
This is because when we are enjoying ourselves, we have better attention since the brain is more stimulated. On the other hand, when it's boring, the brain isn’t stimulated and so your attention may be diverted to another or you get distracted from time to time.
Certainly, our kids with ADHD are more kinesthetic visual learners and they are generally not auditory learners. So how do we know it's a problem? Just like if it's anxiety or depression, if your focus is getting in the way of your daily functioning, it's more likely to be a problem.
Do we have high expectations for our kids’ behaviors?
Because parents want the best for their kids, they set expectations for their kids but sometimes, their expectations are just too high to fulfill. Sometimes, their expectations are even ridiculous.
In fact, the most ridiculous expectation I’ve ever seen for a child's behavior is when I had an encounter with a mother who was very upset that their four year old couldn’t make her bed perfectly. In what world does a child 4 years of age be able to make their bed?
So when we think about our kids and what they're doing, let’s carefully think about the expectations we’re setting out for our kids. Are they too high? Is the task clear? Have you made the implicit what you assume they know, explicit? Do they really know what to do?
When we are seeing a pattern of difficulty, we have a problem.
Another signal for us to know that there’s already a problem with our kid’s behavior is when we see a pattern of difficulty. We have to look closely and check if there’s something already going on with our kids.
And so, it’s necessary to do analysis in the Brain Behavior Reset (BBR) Program since there’s QEED or brain check that needs to be done to avoid guessing games with regard to the real condition of your kids. We are able to identify if your kid has ADHD, head trauma, anxiety or even learning disability.
What do you do if your child is compensating?
What you should do if you think your kids may be compensating is to follow those things and be super clear. Make sure to make everything explicit, give them practice and see what happens.
Reach out to a mental health professional because they can help you narrow down some of these behaviors and explain everything to you without feeling like you have to medicate your kid.
I do not believe in medicating a developing brain. They have real potential damage to the brain and we want to make sure we are starting with behavioral support, parenting support and natural alternatives like our supplement line that's going to be coming out soon which is called neurotastic which is my own formulation to help the brain focus.
Is It ADHD Or Something Else?
If your child is struggling in ways that make you wonder if they have ADHD, I've developed a quiz to tell you if your child has ADHD, or if it's something else that should be on your radar. It's FREE to take the quiz, and you can get your results immediately.
➡️ “Is it ADHD or something else?” Take the quiz.
➡️ Join our FREE Natural Parenting Community to receive science-backed resources for your child and family. Join here.
➡️ Get help from Dr. Roseann and her team. Apply here.
