Children’s brains are not neurologically connected or completely wired until they are about eight or nine years old. Many children can appear to have ADHD at age four or five but will eventually have better self control and be able to focus more by the time they are in second or third grade.
According to Dr. Doug Cowan, clinical director of the ADHD Library on Newideas.net, about five percent of all children have ADHD, but approximately 20 percent of two to four year-olds act like they have attention disorders. The difficulty for parents and teachers is to figure out which is which.
Diagnosing ADHD or Suspected Attention Disorders in Very Young Children
Most testing is historically based on observation; however, there are new options. There is no genetic, blood or brain imaging tests that specifically identifies ADHD. If there is a strong suspicion of attention problems outside the norm of toddler behavior, a doctor may order certain tests to evaluate other possible issues, including:
- vision tests
- hearing tests
- speech and language testing
- psychological assessment
These types of tests give doctors and parents more information about individual situations and may help identify specific issues that are causing attention problems. Results of these tests also help rule out vision, hearing, speech or developmental problems that may be mimicking ADHD.
While none of these tests will specifically confirm or rule out ADHD, they do give more information about a child’s situation, and may identify other issues that are causing ADHD behavior.
Most of the tools used for diagnosing ADD and ADHD are designed for older children, but there are tests for children beginning at about the age of four. The T.O.V.A. (Test of Variable Attention) test is a good example.
Specifically, T.O.V.A is an objective, neurophysiological measure of attention instead of a subjective rating of behavior. Just over 20 minutes in length, the test is designed to be a simple computer game format that measures a person's responses to either visual or auditory stimuli. The results are compared to the measurements of a group of people without attention disorders who took the same T.O.V.A. testing.
Testing Like T.O.V.A. is Good for Younger People with ADHD
Tests such as the T.O.V.A. have some benefits, including the following:
- has a game-like feel
- standardized
- separately measures both visual and auditory processing
- measures reaction times
- no language or cultural barriers
- supplies an intervention assessment for both school and home
Once a diagnosis of ADHD has been confirmed, treatment can begin. Most successful treatment utilizes a team approach that includes the child's doctor or doctors, teachers, other school faculty such as school psychologists and of course parents and family. Often treatment will include behavioral therapy, medication and sometimes changes in diet.
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