Is Your Child Hyperactive? Inattentive? Impulsive? Distractable?: Helping the ADD/Hyperactive Child [Paperback]

Evan, five years old, hardly stands, much less sits, still for more than a few moments. Jessie is eight -- she's adorable...she never finishes anything on time...she's a dreamer. Cal is fifteen -- he is so impulsive that his parents worry he'll try drugs on a whim.

What do these kids have in common? Do they remind you of your own children?

The most talked-about childhood syndrome of the eighties and nineties is ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). This developmental disorder disrupts a child's life and often results in low self-esteem, poor grades and even social and emotional problems. These problems usually are not outgrown -- without help. But does your child have ADHD?

ADHD is characterized by the following groups of behaviors:

Inattention

-- making careless mistakes

-- difficulty sustaining attention

-- problems with listening

-- failure to finish schoolwork or chores

-- difficulties organizing

-- trouble sustaining mental efforts

-- losing things

-- being easily distracted

-- forgetfulness

Hyperactivity/Impulsivity

-- fidgeting/squirming

-- trouble staying seated

-- inappropriate running/climbing

-- difficulty playing quietly

-- being on the go/driven

-- talking excessively

-- blurting out answers

-- difficulty awaiting turn

-- often interrupting

All children display many of these behaviors at some point. But-according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, Fourth Edition, for a child to be diagnosed with ADHD, six or more of these symptoms of inattention anl#%