what is adhd.

During childhood, most children exhibit high-energy behaviors, daydreaming, or impatience at some stage during their development. However, if your child can never sit still, repeatedly struggles to pay attention, or frequently shows impulsive and often inappropriate behaviors, they could have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

According to Center of Disease Control; ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that often first appears in childhood and continues into adulthood, and is sometimes referred to as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). 11% of American children between the ages of 4-17 have ADHD and the average age for ADHD diagnosis in kids is 7 years old, with boys being 3 times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with the condition.

When ADHD is undetected, children often get wrongly labeled as the class clown, troublemakers or lazy, but this is due to a lack of understanding about the condition. There is also a stereotype that all kids with ADHD are exceptionally hyperactive, however not all children with ADHD will display a heighten level of hyperactivity because symptoms show up in various varying degrees.