Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be hard to diagnose due to so many other conditions that can produce similar symptoms and your doctor will want to rule them out. To complicate matters, it’s not uncommon for children to have one or more of them in addition to ADHD. Read through the list below to see what else could be affecting your child’s behavior:
1. Learning Disabilities
Like ADHD, learning disabilities can cause children to appear inattentive and restless in the classroom and to be delayed in their academic development. It’s important to determine the reason for the child’s inattention. Is it because he’s unable to pay attention or because he doesn’t understand the material? In other words, a child with ADHD will slip behind in school not because he’s incapable of learning but because he’s too distracted to focus. A child with a learning disability will eventually tune out and possibly misbehave because he can’t comprehend the material.