Is Immaturity Being Mistaken for ADHD?
Is Immaturity Being Mistaken for ADHD?
Youngest Kids in Classroom More Likely to Be Diagnosed
"This study shows that they also struggle more with attention and impulse control," Power says. "It also emphasizes the importance of evaluating children for ADHD in relation to peers of similar gender and age."
He says the use of parent and teacher rating scales in addition to traditional diagnostic methods can reduce the chances that a child will be misdiagnosed.
Mark Wolraich, MD, who was an author of one of these scales, believes underdiagnosis of ADHD is a bigger problem than overdiagnosis.
"Children with ADHD who slip through the cracks may have lifelong problems," he says. "Studies confirm that they don’t do as well in school, have more car accidents, and have more problems with substance abuse. This is not an inconsequential condition." Wolraich is a professor of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Immaturity Mistaken for ADHD?
Youngest Kids in Classroom More Likely to Be Diagnosed
Is ADHD Overdiagnosed? continued...
"This study shows that they also struggle more with attention and impulse control," Power says. "It also emphasizes the importance of evaluating children for ADHD in relation to peers of similar gender and age."
He says the use of parent and teacher rating scales in addition to traditional diagnostic methods can reduce the chances that a child will be misdiagnosed.
Mark Wolraich, MD, who was an author of one of these scales, believes underdiagnosis of ADHD is a bigger problem than overdiagnosis.
"Children with ADHD who slip through the cracks may have lifelong problems," he says. "Studies confirm that they don’t do as well in school, have more car accidents, and have more problems with substance abuse. This is not an inconsequential condition." Wolraich is a professor of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
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