Distraction is not my fault - A must-read for parents of children with ADHD

Author: Liu Xiangping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: Zimo is a first-grade elementary school girl. According to her parents, before the age of three, Zimo's physical and psychological development was no different from that of her peers. However, after starting kindergarten, her teachers often reported that Zimo couldn't sit still, had difficulty participating in group activities, and frequently interrupted others' conversations. From this point on, Zimo also exhibited similar behaviors at home, and they became more frequent. Now, Zimo performs well in all her subjects, but she still has problems with attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, which are particularly noticeable and frequent when she is listening in class or doing homework. The teachers worry that if this continues, her academic performance will decline.
Xinzi is 13 years old and is currently in the first year of junior high school. She has always been a very quiet and quiet girl who doesn't like to talk. She never causes trouble in class or breaks any classroom rules. However, in the lower grades of elementary school, she often failed to complete her homework on time. When the teacher asked why, she said she didn't hear the teacher assign the homework. Over time, the teacher thought she was lying and reported it to her parents. The parents scolded her many times, but it had no effect. They had to help her call other classmates every day to ask about the homework, and since then, she has been able to complete her homework on time. She does homework very slowly but very carefully. After entering middle school, her academic performance is not very good. The teacher reported that although she is quiet in class, it seems as if she is not listening. When the teacher asks her questions, she often answers irrelevantly, causing the classmates to burst into laughter. The parents took her to the hospital for a check-up, but no abnormalities were found in her brain or intelligence, which left her parents very confused and troubled.
Children like Xinzi, they do not have impulsive behavior, and their activity level is not very high. Their problem seems to be "too slow to react." However, this can also affect their learning and social interaction. Wang Bo is a fourth-grade boy. According to his parents, he has been a crying and noisy child since infancy, more energetic than other children in kindergarten, always climbing and running around, and never able to sit still. In elementary school, he always made small disturbances in class, constantly distracting other students—sometimes making faces at classmates while the teacher was writing on the blackboard, or folding paper planes and throwing them around. The teacher scolded him many times, but it had no effect. Even when he was not disturbing other students in class, he was not listening—drawing pictures, playing with an eraser, or even playing with his own fingers. The teacher kept complaining to the parents, so the parents took him to the hospital for a check-up, but the results showed no abnormalities. Moreover, Wang Bo's parents are both college graduates, and the family education environment is good. Wang Bo's intelligence and understanding are not a problem, but his academic performance is terrible.
The three children mentioned above, although their behaviors are different, all have problems with attention. They cannot concentrate when studying, some also have symptoms of hyperactivity (like Wang Bo) and impulsivity (like Xinzi), so we call them all children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Children like Xinzi, who do not have symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity, also suffer from attention disorders, which are called