ADHD Labeling Could Prove Detrimental to Children

One should think twice before affixing labels like ADHD to children with learning and behavioural difficulties. Any hasty judgement could give rise to various problems.

One should think twice before affixing labels like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to children with learning and behavioural difficulties. For any such hasty judgement could be detrimental to the children in question as well as their teachers, a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers says.

Dr Linda Graham, who recently received the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Award for Doctoral Research in Education, found that children who were labelled as having ''ADHD-like'' symptoms, for example, were at a disadvantage when it came to people's perceptions of them.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-Causes-Symptoms-Diagnosis-Treatment-FAQ
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological disorder that affects normal behavior and impairs the ability to concentrate.

''I have been looking at the things we say and how that affects what we do, and I have looked at the files of students who were referred to special-schools for behaviour,'' she said.

''It is especially problematic when children can end up with an ''informal'' diagnosis which becomes a kind of pop-culture explanation for why children behave in certain ways.

''I am not saying these behaviours are not real, but I am saying it is not good to use ADHD as a label to describe them, as it doesn't offer teachers and schools an adequate road map with how to proceed in helping a child through school - when a child walks in with a diagnosis of ADHD what does that really tell the teacher? Not much.''

She cited the example of one boy who had speech problems and learning difficulties from the age of six and had been described numerous times by schools as having ''ADHD-like behaviours''.

''This phrase was used to describe everything about him with the use of words like impulsiveness and inattention and hyperactivity, which turned out to be a big problem because his first school, as well as subsequent schools, became fixated on this label informally diagnosing the boy.

''As it turned out, he did not have ADHD, but was speech and language-impaired, which would also give a good explanation to why he was explosive: if he was verbally challenged by another child he would be more likely to hit out.

''However, because of the red-herring effect of ADHD, this was misinterpreted as impulsivity with terrible, long-lasting consequences for the boy concerned.''

She warned labels were deceptive and said, ''An informal diagnosis is like a signpost, saying this child is likely to do certain things, and the more dominant these diagnoses become, the less inclined a teacher might be to work out individually what will work with these kids.''

Individualized approach guided by instinctive intuition would be the right option, Dr.Graham felt.

Source-Medindia
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