Among schoolchildren, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is the most common diagnosis by child psychiatrists today. This disorder has been controversial for many reasons, one of which is the frequent over-diagnosis of ADHD.

Some teachers, in-home tutors and parents see children who display too much energy or talk too much as disruptive, which leads them to think that those children have ADHD or ADD. Precociousness used to be an adorable quality in children. However, this same quality now elicits suspicion and disapproval.

ADHD has three subtypes:

• Subtype I – predominantly hyperactive-impulsive
• Subtype II – predominantly inattentive
• Subtype III – combined hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive

A child with subtype II ADHD may sit quietly, but may not be paying attention to what they are doing. Because the children get along well with other children and do not display behavioral problems, parents, teachers and some in-home tutors often overlook this subtype of ADHD. Children who commonly receive an ADHD diagnosis have subtype III, which shows six or more symptoms of inattention and six or more symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity.

Subtype I and Subtype III are what we understand as ADHD and Subtype II is actually ADD, or Attention Deficit Disorder. All types exist along with other behavioral problems or learning disorders.

More than thirty years ago, the existence of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder were unheard of. Today, these three disorders were the bane of many children who had to take medication, undergo counseling, and go to special classes that help them cope with schoolwork. As a result, in-home tutors and one-one-one tutoring sessions for these children have become more important than ever to help them cope with life, their surroundings and their studies.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Since its discovery in the 1970s, ADHD continues to be the most studied and diagnosed psychiatric condition in children. Doctors diagnose ADHD more commonly in boys than girls, though this may be due to subjective bias from teachers. The frequency of diagnosis and the mode of treatment for ADHD made it a controversial disorder in children.

Children with ADHD struggle with their homework, often lose their things, and have difficulty following instructions. They fidget and squirm, which shows they cannot stay in one place too long. Constant motion and talking non-stop disrupt their day-to-day activities as well as the work of their classmates and family members.

Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)

Relatively new to modern psychiatry, Central Auditory Processing Disorder or CAPD is an umbrella term for a variety of disorders affecting the way a brain processes auditory information. The children do not have any hearing impairment; they find it difficult to recognize and interpret sounds of speech.

Doctors often misdiagnose CAPD as ADHD, Asperger syndrome or other forms of autism. Although the problem exists in auditory processing, this disorder extends to reading because the written word is just a visual notation of verbal language. In effect, children with CAPD have difficulty reading and writing as well as comprehending speech.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

The most recent of the three disorders, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, is predominantly a behavioral problem. Because of the ongoing pattern of disobedience, hostility and defiance, children diagnosed with ODD have difficulty with authoritative figures, such as teachers and parents. Most children with ODD grow up as juvenile delinquents with anti-social behavior.

Temper tantrums, stealing, bullying and vandalism are some of the key symptoms of ODD. The child’s behaviors often disrupt his or her daily activities as well as those of others around them. They may deliberately disturb the work of other people or blame them for failures.

Children with ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) find studying a difficult task because of the intensity of focus required. Children with ADHD find it hard to stay put and focus. They have an extremely short attention span and often get distracted. The nature of their condition prevents them from directing their attention to one idea for a long time, which does not help the learning process at all.

Having ADHD negatively affects the scholastic performance of the child. In fact, poor scholastic performance can be a sign of undiagnosed ADHD. Since children with ADHD have difficulty focusing on one activity, they have that tendency to switch from one activity to another. This leaves a lot of work unfinished. These children also find it hard to focus on instructions, posing problems with following them.

Parents do not have to fear lack of education for their children diagnosed with ADHD. If a child’s poor scholastic performance is due to ADHD, then parents have many options in helping the child. The condition just needs a large amount of effort and understanding from both the parents and the educators.

If parents want to continue sending the child to a regular school, they can pair present therapy methods with special education programs and in-house tutoring. The tutor, trained in ADHD therapy methods, can guide the child in doing school tasks and homework.

Although parents have the option to home school their children with ADHD, this option would eat up a big chunk of the parents’ time, which is a problem for working parents. Hiring an in-house tutor is the best option, especially when the tutor received training in handling kids with learning disabilities. A professional tutor can work one-on-one with the child with lessons and materials specifically designed to suit the child’s special needs.