The Top 10 ADHD Myths - Part One

Kids with ADHD just need to learn better organizational skills – Although it's true that people who have ADHD have trouble organizing their life, their activities and their stuff, the problem isn't something that can be dealt with by teaching and enforcing organization skills. The disorder is a neurological one, and it causes an imbalance in brain chemistry. Punishing a child for their poor organization skills in order to treat the disorder would be similar to combating high blood pressure by punishing the patient each time their blood pressure rises.

ADHD is caused by poor parenting – As a parent of a child who has struggled with this disorder, I have heard this myth over and over. The cold, hard truth is that strict parenting can actually make the disorder worse. If your student or child behaves inappropriately, like yelling in the library or forgetting to raise their hand, it isn't because they don't know any better, it is because the disorder makes it difficult to control their impulses. This doesn't mean that these children need to be allowed to behave however they want, but it does mean that the guidance should be tempered with understanding.

Girls don't get ADHD – Fortunately, this myth isn't as widespread today as it was several years ago. Many people used to believe that girls weren't affected by the disorder. The truth is that the disorder affects children regardless of gender. The problem is that it is often not diagnosed or treated in girls. Even though more boys are diagnosed than girls, it is mainly because girls don't typically exhibit rowdy, rough behavior as often as ADHD boys. For girls, the hyperactivity manifests more commonly as hyper-talkativeness and hyper-sensitivity. Girls who have this disorder and don't receive proper treatment have a higher risk of low self-esteem, anxiety, depression and teenage pregnancy.

ADHD is a learning problem – Attention problems and learning problems are too completely separate things. Some children who have a learning disorder also have an attention disorder, but the two don't happen side by side the majority of the time. Although the inattentiveness can make a child have trouble with things like listening comprehension, it isn't a learning disability.

Hyperactivity is the only/main symptom of ADHD – It isn't the only sympton. It is just the one that is most easily observed. Some children with the disorder don't really exhibit hyperactive behavior. There are actual several different ways that the disorder presents itself in children.

• Mostly hyperactive/impulsive – These children are more hyper and have trouble controlling themselves.
• Mostly inattentive – These children aren't very hyper but have trouble paying attention and remaining focused on a task.
• Combination of hyperactive/impulsive – These children are both hyper and inattentive. They have trouble controlling their behavior and paying attention.