Not All Kids With Attention Problems Have ADD/ADHD

Not all kids with attention problems have ADHD. We test kids of all ages because parents are concerned about their child’s lack of attention or high activity level. ADHD occurs from mild to severe and it can be diagnosed in children as young as five.  The most common age range for testing is 6 to 16.

Problems that Look Like ADHD

ADHD has imposters. Testing provides answers so you have understanding to know if your child’s attention difficulty is due to behavior or a weak processing system. Attention is highly related to memory, processing speed, and language processing.  Your child’s attention struggle could be a weak memory system. Think about yourself.  If you place your car keys in a different spot each time you return home, you frequently might be searching for them.  That’s a memory weakness and not an ADD moment.  Thus, if your child has difficulty remembering verbal directions you might think he is not paying attention when the root cause is not remembering what you said.

Other kids have slower cognitive processing speed so they hear but it takes extra time to register and process.  In our fast-paced society people have limited patience for dawdling so kids that process slower are frequently being told to hurry up.  Some kids have underlying language processing weakness so they hear your verbal directions but, despite their best effort, the words don’t always make sense.  These weaknesses can mimic attention problems.

Solutions

We can match the correct support when we test and identify your child’s root problem. If your child’s memory is weak you can strengthen it through activities or strategies. If attention is the cause then you can consider nutrition, supplements, or discussing medications with your medical doctor. If it’s language processing then it could be helpful to work with a speech therapist.

We help parents help children and offer ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, learning disability, anxiety, and IQ testing.  Call to discuss your child (561) 625 4125.