Teachers often identify ADHD

By John M Grohol PsyD
November 9, 2005

Right about now, parents are attending fall teacher conferences. And many are squirming uncomfortably in little chairs, hearing something like:

Johnny seems to have trouble paying attention.

Daniel often disrupts the class.

Hannah isn’t finishing her assignments.

Or more bluntly: I think your child has ADHD.

Most parents know attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is common. The best estimate is that 5% to 8% of children are affected. Most parents also know increasing numbers of children are treated with medications for ADHD — a fact that makes many uneasy. Adding to that uneasiness: recent news that one attention drug, Strattera, is linked with increased suicidal thinking in a few children.

No wonder many parents respond to a teacher’s concerns with alarm or denial. “They shoot the messenger, blame the teacher, blame the school. They think there’s a conspiracy by the drug companies. They just don’t want to hear it,” says Edward Hallowell, a Sudbury, Mass., psychiatrist who is co-author of two popular books on ADHD.

Of course, teachers aren’t always right. They know a lot about children but are not qualified diagnosticians. But they often are right. And experts say a teacher’s concern should always prompt action.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues, and the intersection of technology and psychology since 1992.