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 is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.Like this author?
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 9 Nov 2005
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
Grohol, J. (2005). Teachers often identify ADHD. Psych Central. Retrieved on May 25, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2005/11/09/teachers-often-identify-adhd/
