In France, about 5% of children and 3% of adults have attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADD/H).
Indeed: in medical language, we do not speak of “hyperactivity”. ADHD is considered a neurodevelopmental disorder (it is therefore not a disease!) which corresponds to an imbalance in the level of neurotransmitters circulating in the brain.
Not all rambunctious children are hyperactive!
In children, ADHD combines attention deficit, motor hyperactivity and impulsivity: these 3 signs (more or less marked depending on the individual) must be present for (at least) 6 months of in a row so that a diagnosis of “hyperactivity” can be considered – in short: all unruly children are not necessarily hyperactive!
Do you think your child might be hyperactive? Your first point of contact remains your attending physician: he can then redirect you to a child psychiatrist, a pediatrician, a neurologist or even a neuropediatrician capable of identifying this disorder. From the age of 6, the diagnosis of ADHD goes through a questionnaire to be completed by the parents and (ideally) by the teacher, then by a neuropsychological assessment.
Note: ADHD is generally a family disorder since there is a genetic origin in 60% to 80% of cases.
Sources:
- Health Insurance
- I raise my child – Laurence Pernoud, ed. Horay.
- Vidal Encyclopedia
