Part of the issue with ADHD, that often gets overlooked, isn't just hyperactivity or attention problems - it's an overall delay in executive function skills. Kids with ADD/ADHD have difficulty following multi-step directions and have difficulty considering the consequences of their actions prior to acting, among other things. Kids with ADD/ADHD are often impulsive in odd and sometimes dangerous ways. Both of my kids will do things like- attempt to get into the tub while still dressed, attempt to put on shoes before socks, sit down to eat without getting a fork/spoon, take a drink out of the fridge and set it on the counter and then walk away, etc, etc. Just this morning I watched my son start to put on a pair of shorts before taking off the pair he was already wearing! My husband is forever carrying the remote around the house, setting it down, and then having to search high and low before he finds it again (I once found it in the freezer!)
Length of attention span, IMO, is the least important aspect to ADHD. Some kids just develop that slower than others. It's the impulsivity and inattentiveness that has been the biggest factor in my husband and children needing treatment.
Last edited by epoh; 10/02/13 12:16 PM.
