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Section
2 Question
2 found at the bottom of this page On the last track, we talked about the eight common ADD symptoms. These eight symptoms are inattention, impulsivity, difficulty delaying gratification, emotional overarousal, hyperactivity, noncompliance, social problems, and disorganization. On this track, we will be discussing five Idiosyncratic, Unique Patterns of children with ADD. These patterns may cause the diagnosis to be missed in a genuine ADD child. These factors include good social skills, a high IQ, shyness, no siblings or one-on-one preschool situation with parents, and ADD without hyperactivity. In the second part of this track, we will also talk about the misdiagnosis of ADD for Learning Disabled. The first pattern causing an ADD child to be misdiagnosed is good social skills. ADD children with good social skills get along well with their peers. As you are aware, the ADD symptoms are moderated just enough for the children to become social assets. For example, a child with ADD may be seen as having leadership abilities instead of bossiness tendencies. The second pattern that may cause an ADD child to be misdiagnosed is a high IQ. For children with ADD and a high IQ, school is an arena where they can not only succeed but may actually enjoy life. Because the ADD child with a high IQ receives positive reinforcement from his or her parents and teachers, he or she can often control inappropriate behavior in the academic environment. However, as you can probably guess, once the ADD child with a high IQ gets home from school, he or she often displays a number of hyperactive symptoms. Like the first two patterns of good social skills and a high IQ, the third pattern of shyness can cause a child with ADD to be missed. While most ADD children seem uncaring about others and socially boorish, the shy ADD child will be extremely concerned about others’ opinions. For this reason, like the ADD child with a high IQ, the shy ADD child will inhibit their hyperactive behavior in public but show the ADD symptoms at home. The fourth pattern that causes an ADD child to be missed is a lack of siblings or having a one-on-one preschool situation with parents. For these ADD children, the symptoms of ADD do not appear until they begin school. The lack of ADD symptoms is often tied to the lack of competition with siblings. Having reasonably competent and attentive parents can also produce fairly normal behavior for a while. It is not until these ADD children start school and are introduced to competition that they begin to display ADD symptoms. Finally, the fifth pattern that can cause an ADD child to be missed is ADD without hyperactivity. Without hyperactivity, many other symptoms of ADD, like emotional overarousal, are moderated better. However, the child with ADD but no hyperactivity will still exhibit some symptoms of ADD. In these cases, as you know, diagnosis must focus on the existence of a major concentrational difficulty. As you know, concentrational difficulty is often displayed through persistent passive noncompliance and disorganization. In addition to the five Idiosyncratic, Unique Patterns that cause ADD children to be misdiagnosed, there is also the possibility that the child with ADD will be misdiagnosed as Learning Disabled. While ADD and LD often overlap, there are children who have one handicap but not the other. I have found that there are four ways to discriminate ADD from LD. The first way to determine if the child has ADD or LD is to look at his or her developmental history. By age two or three, most LD-only children will not show many ADD symptoms, such as hyperactivity, impulsivity, or emotional overarousal. Second, check the child’s IQ. If the IQ and achievement are compatible and the tests are considered valid, LD can often be ruled out. For example, If the IQ is below average and the achievement is below average, the child may simply have LD. However, if the IQ is above average and the achievement is below average, the child may be ADD. Third, consider past comments by teachers. If during the early school years the comments were consistently about distractibility and short attention span, the child is likely ADD-only. Fourth, a medication trial can often eliminate many ADD symptoms. If the child with ADD is medicated and then shows no academic handicaps or underachievement, he or she is likely ADD-only. So if they have no handicaps or underachievement, the child is only ADD as opposed to ADD with LD. Medication cannot remedy a true learning disability. Do you have any clients who may have been misdiagnosed? On this track, we talked about the five Idiosyncratic, Unique Patterns of good social skills, a high IQ, shyness, no siblings or one-on-one preschool situation with parents, and ADD without hyperactivity. We also discussed the misdiagnosis of ADD for Learning Disabled. On the next track, we will talk about how education about
ADD and counseling for children with ADD and their parents can work together.
We will talk about three examples of combined education with counseling.
The three examples of combined education with counseling are 1. the “no-fault” notion
about cause, 2. the Symptom Rating Scale, and 3. self-esteem reevaluation.
QUESTION
2 Answer Booklet for this course Forward to Track 3 Back to Track 1 Table of Contents Top |
