The importance of early diagnosis
If your kid has ADHD, it means there were some hints present before the diagnosis, right? The answer is probably yes, but it’s a bit complicated.
Difficulty of early diagnosis of ADHD
ADHD traits, such as inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity, are characteristic of children and toddlers, making it harder to draw the line between neurotypical and neurodivergent development. Compared to autism, which has some evident signs, it’s no surprise that the mean age of diagnosis is different for both conditions. In autism, the diagnosis usually happens at the age of five, while for ADHD, it happens at the age of seven. To be more exact, according to data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (2019-2020), in the US, 8.9% of kids from 3 to 17 years old have ADHD, but only 2.1% are diagnosed in preschool, usually the more severe cases.
This means that, even though it can be harder to identify the signs and symptoms, there is room for ADHD to be diagnosed in preschool like autism. In practice, even if the child can’t be diagnosed at a significantly lower age, there might still be some cues that can indicate ADHD and warn you to be aware of that child's development.
Early signs of ADHD
But what signs and symptoms should I be looking for? In some cases, literature is not consensual because some studies show that kids with ADHD show impairments in fine motor skills (observable in tasks that require hand coordination) while others say they have overdeveloped motor skills. One can hypothesize that the second case is common in an impulsive/hyperactive subtype since their eagerness to stay active can positively affect the development of their motor skills. Another cue that is mentioned with some frequency is language difficulties such as poor vocabulary and grammar compared to kids of the same age.
Now, in relation to symptoms more commonly associated with ADHD, we reviewed a video made by Meghan Miller where she highlighted some behaviors that you should watch out for:
- Inattention
- Hyperactivity
- Impulsivity
- Difficulty remembering rules
- Excessive running and climbing (their internal battery doesn’t end, and they can take fewer naps than other kids)
- Difficulty keeping their hands to themselves
- Difficulty attending during circle time
- Inability to stay seated
- Blurting out
- Minimal progress in learning letters and numbers
- Loudness/noise-making
- Difficulty waiting and getting easily frustrated
- Difficulty following directions
- Jumping off furniture
- Running out into traffic
In an article by Brites and others (2023), it was highlighted that these kids have high irritability, present incessant crying, and “excessive restlessness that bothers and restricts leisure and structured activities in groups.”
Causes, demographics, and other factors
ADHD is believed to have a strong genetic influence, and parents with ADHD are 50-80% more likely to have a kid with ADHD than neurotypical parents. It also seems more probable if the mom has ADHD in comparison to the dad. In very brief terms, it is usually associated with low levels of dopamine in certain parts of the brain caused by a defective gene (the longer explanation is quite boring).
However, environmental factors can play a big role in the development of ADHD since it is more common in populations of lower socioeconomic status. This can be aggravated by the lower accessibility to information and therapy. In these populations, behaviors like tobacco and alcohol consumption during pregnancy and the use of illegal drugs correlate with a higher incidence of ADHD. One interesting fact, which may be related to these behaviors, is that kids with ADHD are two times more likely to be born prematurely in relation to neurotypical kids. Other factors include living in environments with greater emotional instability and maternal stress.
Why is it important?
But why is it important to be aware of early signs? When we talk about early diagnosis, we are, in fact, talking about a way to enable the start of early intervention. It has been shown that unmanaged ADHD can negatively impact the life of these individuals, concerning their social, academic, professional, and romantic life. Apart from that, it can also negatively impact their families. That’s why parents play an important part in therapy and are advised to have an active role. They are encouraged to learn about their child’s needs in order to be more understanding, to learn how they can aid them, how to deal with frustration, and the importance of changing family dynamics, etc.
Adults who were diagnosed with ADHD later in life reveal that they were often misunderstood and labeled as lazy, disruptive, or even stupid. Imagine you’re a kid doing your best, but in an academic context, you notice that you struggle a bit more. To make it worse, instead of having someone to help you understand why that is, you get uncalled-for criticism. The impact on self-esteem and self-efficacy can be very negative. Therefore, early diagnosis can help these kids get an earlier sense of who they are, and why they are different, and help make sense of how they experience the world (this happens gradually and gets more complex over the years).
Ultimately, having a diagnosis is also a way to have access to adapted education. Some small examples are having more time to do the tests, having a separate room to do it, sitting at the front in the classroom, etc.
Conclusion
To finish, as we said, the early diagnosis of ADHD is not a simple process, nor are the signs and symptoms always evident. Even so, it seems like there is still some room to make it viable and promote early intervention with the intent of improving the quality of life of these individuals.
