Q: Everyone tells me that my children have ADHD. One child has trouble focusing while the other has more prominent behavior problems, yet they are almost opposite in their personalities. Is it possible that they both could have ADHD?
A: It is possible that more than one child in a family can share the same disorders. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, like other disorders, is hereditary and has a higher likelihood of occurring more often in boys than girls. Sometimes when one child in a family has ADHD, his behaviors may cause problems amongst his siblings. This may result in a brother or sister without ADHD appearing to share the same problems as the child with ADHD, when in reality they are only reacting to the ADHD child’s behaviors. We know that younger children have a tendency to copy and look up to their older siblings. Consequently, they may begin mimicking the older child’s ADHD behavior without experiencing the same challenges. Additionally, not all children with ADHD exhibit the same characteristics. One child’s challenges may be in the area of learning while another child’s difficulties may be behavioral. To truly be certain if your children have ADHD, a comprehensive evaluation must be administered to accurately diagnose the problem, if there is one.
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