How Does ADD Affect Children?

Children with Attention Deficit Disorder are often labeled as stupid or just plain "bad." This wouldn't be the case if parents and teachers would learn to recognize the signs of ADD and know how to deal with it. Here are some of the effects of the condition on kids.

Inattentiveness

• The inattentiveness associated with ADD often causes grades to fall. Children with ADD are generally very smart, but bore easily, and therefore do not fully engage in school.

Determination

• ADD children are able to focus intensely on activities that are interesting to them, making them work very hard when they are motivated, sometimes to excess.

Big Picture Thinking

• Because an "ADD enhanced" child may have multiple thoughts, problems sometimes become easy to solve, since he sees many possibilities at once. This ability spills over into creative pursuits, where the ADD child often excels.

Impulsivity

• ADD enhanced kids are often impulsive and appear to do things without fully thinking them through when they've actually considered multiple outcomes all at once. An outside observer may take this behavior as disrespectful or impudent, and the child simply cannot comprehend why what he did doesn't make sense to someone.

Self-Image Crisis

• Children with ADD are often undiagnosed, and therefore thought of as stupid or slow. Over time, this can cause serious feelings of inferiority, and before long, they begin to believe their critics. This can follow into adulthood, with serious negative social consequences.