Many times I wonder how it is possible to increase the diagnostic figures of children with hyperactivity problems and other behavioral disorders.
Many complex factors contribute to this increase, but certainly one is the responsibility of parents who say "My child is hyperactive" and seek a medical solution to their children's behavior, when we really are not facing a problem that needs medical treatment.
It is not really rare the week I hear of children (even, of babies !, on occasion), "Is that he is hyperactive" or "I think he has hyperactivity", statements frequently accompanied by "I can not with him", "No for not a moment ”,“ It's driving me crazy ”…
It does not mean that all these parents are going to take their children to the doctor, nor that all who go are diagnosed as such, but some will do so later.
AdvertisingHyperactivity and attention deficit disorder (ADHD) is the most common childhood neurological disorder. The variables to estimate the prevalence rates have to do with the diagnostic criteria, but also with the population that goes to the doctor to be evaluated.
According to the Spanish Federation of Associations for Assistance to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a wide variety of disorders can be confused with ADHD, up to about two thirds of children referred for consultation because they are thought to be hyperactive.
Hyperactivity is confused with other disorders
But, with what do parents confuse this supposed hyperactivity, much of which will end with unnecessary treatments?
Among that variety of disorders, it stands out that between 20% and 30% of children have affective disorders and anxiety Affective disorders are developed in the place where affection is to reach us, mainly our home, our family, our parents.
It is worrisome, not because the habitual behaviors of young children want to be confused with symptoms of a disease, but so often there are other “underlying” problems that arise in the family and that derive from a lack of affectivity or dedication .
These shortcomings, such as the fish that bites its tail, make the behaviors that are confused with ADHD intensify, making us believe that we have no responsibility for it as parents, that it is the children's fault, that there is a medical problem that needs to be treaty.
Therefore, before saying so lightly that "My child is hyperactive" we should ask ourselves these two questions: Is it not a "normal" behavior? Do I not have, as a parent, any responsibility in this behavior?
Does my child not behave "normally"?
If hyperactivity were characterized by the appearance of green dots on the face, we would surely not be reflecting on this issue.
But ADHD symptoms are not very different from any "normal" child, and those of us with children over two years of age, we realize immediately: they are children of easy tantrums, they constantly seek attention, they do not seem to have a notion of danger, they have an insatiable curiosity and excessive motor activity, they are impulsive, disobedient or defiant .
Therefore, when distinguishing between a child with the disorder and another without it, it is important to take into account the amount and intensity of the symptoms and their permanence over time and in different situations.
Wanting to encompass all children in the same "normal" supersede is not possible, and if my neighbor's son is an example of tranquility and is able to endure all the food without getting up from the table, I cannot pretend that my son too it is because "it is what it touches". Every child is a world, both in their behavior and in their evolution.
In knowing how to appreciate and understand their diversity, in accompanying them in their growth, helping them to develop as people without trying to change them but trying to evolve and mature healthily, therein lies the work that we should be awarded as parents.
The fact of classifying our son with a medical term to try to "organize" or introduce it in a "normal" order does not think it is beneficial, because the child gets used to hearing it and pigeonholes himself, reproducing the words of his parents.
If it is already rare to hear parents claiming that their children are hyperactive when you see them playing with your daughter and do not appreciate anything out of the ordinary, more weird and sad it turns out to me that a three-year-old child tells you “I am hyperactive " But still it is worse for a child to be diagnosed and unnecessarily medicated.
There are also real hyperactive children. Of course, true cases of hyperactivity need an accurate diagnosis and treatment, although the diagnostic criteria are not always agreed upon, and research is continued tirelessly on improving the treatment and adapting the medication to each particular case and seeking alternative solutions to Use drugs only in severe cases.
But here we talk about children who perhaps a few years ago or with parental involvement would never have been called "hyperactive" or medicated as such.
Do parents have something to do with the supposed hyperactivity?
If we do not spend the time that our children require, if we contribute to family detachment, if we do not pay attention to them, we will probably be making our children's behavior "abnormal."
But they are not hyperactive, but they feel alone, unattended, and are demanding our attention. It is the accentuation of habitual behavior in most children (being "moved", having tantrums ...), but not true hyperactivity.
The causes of “true” hyperactivity are complex and largely unknown, although it is known that biological and psychosocial factors intervene in them that lead to irregularities in the production and function of neurotransmitters. A detailed and individual study of each case is required to make the correct diagnosis and treat it properly.
Lack of time, patience and the relegation of educational responsibilities Due to other obligations, many times the behavior of a child who decades ago was simply unruly, moved, restless, today wants to be diagnosed and treated to avoid "the problem." Delegate our responsibilities as parents to others.
It is not an isolated phenomenon, because to the tendency of “blaming the other” is added a generalized medicalization of our life, of society, which often sees disease where there is none.
In short, it is about a search for a medical solution to our disability as parents, to our exhaustion and lack of resources. But before sending our son to the consultation we should reflect on all this and ask ourselves "Is my child really hyperactive?"
