How to Evaluate ADHD in Babies

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects 3 to 5 percent of children in the world, causing heightened inattentiveness, impulsivity and energy. These symptoms lead to the child having trouble learning due to a short attention span and difficulties behaving appropriately in certain situations. Diagnosing a child with ADHD is an often controversial topic because many children may be mistakenly diagnosed with the disorder. To evaluate a baby with ADHD is a much more difficult task because they have not yet fully developed. According to some studies, however, there are ways of evaluating a baby's chances of developing the disorder.

Things You'll Need

• Research tools (internet, magazines, newspapers, etc.)

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Instructions

• 1

  Know the conditions under which your baby was born. A Danish study performed by Dr. Karen Linnet showed that babies born prematurely were 70 percent more likely to develop ADHD as children. Also, babies whose mothers used drugs, drank alcohol or smoked cigarettes during pregnancy have a higher risk of developing the disorder.

• 2

  Identify whether your baby is getting enough sleep at night. Myomancy.com cites a Danish study that looked at 27 babies with sleep disorders and found that, when they turned five years old, one in four of them had developed ADHD.

• 3

  Pay close attention to your baby's habits. Is he temperamental? Does he dislike cuddling? According to Dr. James Chandler, these signs could mean that your baby has a higher chance of developing ADHD, though "many children that will grow up to have ADHD show no abnormalities at this stage."

• 4

  Assess how much time your baby spends watching television. The American Academy of Pediatrics has found that watching television as an infant can lead to ADHD in childhood. Dr. Dimitri Christakis found that every hour spent in front of the television led to a 10 percent increase in the infant's chances of developing the disorder.

• 5

  Stay active in researching ADHD. Research into the risks and causes of ADHD is ongoing, so it is important to stay up to date on the topic. Realize that though many studies suggest that babies can show signs of ADHD, it is hard to evaluate a baby's symptoms when the disorder does not fully develop until they are children.