ADHD: Does my child have the disease? This may indicate
According to a study, one in five families has a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In nine percent of cases, there is a medical diagnosis of the chronic disease, in eleven percent a corresponding amption, according to the study by the Heidelberg Sinus Institute.
How ADHD manifests itself
In childhood, the disease manifests itself in inner restlessness, urge to move, concentration problems and difficult social behavior. The disorder, popularly known as fidget syndrome, persists throughout a child's life and causes major adjustment problems during the transition from adolescent to adult, says Eckhard Barth, chairman of the Federal Association for the Promotion of Children, Adolescents and Adults with Partial Performance/ Perceptual Disorders (BAG-TL/WS). But even seniors still suffer.
Sinus used data from an online survey for the study, commissioned by BAG-TL/WS, in which 1 in the summer of 2021.000 mothers and fathers participated. According to Sinus, the results are representative of German-speaking parents aged 30 and over with at least one child under 18 years of age. In Barth's view, doctors are walking responsibly. Not in a hurry to deal with the diagnosis. Teachers, on the other hand, tended to refer affected children to special or Waldorf schools, where the lessons were more stress-free. Barth thinks the phenomenon also needs to be looked at in teacher training.
Although ADHD is one of the most commonly identified psychiatric childhood disorders, information about it is not widely available. When surveyed, only 10 percent rated themselves as "very informed" on this topic another 51 percent consider themselves to be "rather informed". "The level of information on ADHD is thus expandable from the parents' point of view", emphasizes Barth.
Offers of help often unknown
Many different support services exist for ADHD sufferers and their families, but few parents are aware of them, according to the study. Of 17 offers presented in the survey, only four are known to at least half: Medication (66 percent), child and adolescent psychiatry (65), behavioral therapy (57) and family support (57).
Symptoms:What is the difference between ADHD and ADD?? On the integration of those affected in school. Society is still lacking. 80 percent of parents think that ADHD sufferers are ostracized, another 74 percent that children with ADHD have a harder time making friends. As many as 15 percent of parents prefer their children not play with children who have ADHD. But parents also show compassion towards those affected. Nearly all respondents find that children with ADHD do not reach their potential.