Answer to Parent Puzzler: “Bouncy” Boy

Here’s the answer to Wednesday’s post about Stephen:

I asked Stephen’s parents, principal and two teachers to fill out questionnaires about Stephen. All suggested that he might have ADHD but I wanted to be sure. I asked his parents to have him evaluated by a psychologist for any learning issues as well as any signs of depression.

The reason I asked for the evaluation was simple. Often, learning issues and depression can look just like ADHD in boys.  After the evaluation, we discovered that Stephen had dyslexia, not ADHD. After he had three months of help from a tutor who specialized in helping children with dyslexia, guess what happened to his attention, bounciness and desire to leave class all the time? You guessed it, they improved.

So- before your son is given medication for ADHD, please be certain that he doesn’t have any learning difficulties or depression.