Often, school is the first time parents and caregivers suspect that their child may have ADHD - but how can you be sure when young children are just learning how to manage the classroom experience?
While many traits such as inattention, distractibility, being fidgety, tantrums and oppositional behaviour are common for preschool children, these behaviours in a child with ADHD are more extreme and often more frequent.
Most often, young children with ADHD will stand out in a group of children. Their behaviour may suggest that they are younger than their peers. However, each child with ADHD is unique and will express themselves differently.
ADHD Behaviours Vary
What makes ADHD so tricky to diagnose is that behaviours vary from person to person and partially depend on the class environment, personal factors like how much sleep a child got last night, and the task at hand. Behaviour expressions that could be symptoms of ADHD may:
Range from very mild to very severe
Vary in severity throughout the day
Vary entirely from day to day
Vary due to home factors and personal factors
Vary according to the present activity or mode of instruction
ADHD or Non-Compliance?
There is one general rule that you should apply to your observations in the classroom or out of it:
Symptoms will always become more apparent when the environment and/or tasks challenge the child's impaired skills
Example Behaviors
Below is a very small selection of behaviours that might help parents and professionals decide if a child could be showing signs of ADHD. The big list of presentations of ADHD in young children is available in PDF format below.
Attention Regulation: Inability to focus for more than a few minutes
Hyperactivity: Frequently needing to get up and move around
Impulsivity: Grabbing toys and learning materials from others
Executive Functioning Impairment: Confuses the order of steps in a task
Emotional Dysregulation: Emotional displays are longer or more intense than their peers
Physical Development: Sensory issues that make it difficult to learn
Questions to Ask
Are the child’s expressions similar to other children their age?
Do their expressed behaviours appear to mimic those of a younger child?
Do the behaviours change in different settings? (symptoms will increase when placed in an environment that challenges their impairments)
Are your behaviour expectations (ie the behaviour that you are NOT seeing) on track for a child of this age?
Download CADDAC's free resource PDF "Presentations of ADHD in Early Childhood"
