Academy advises docs to diagnose ADHD earlier

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The American Academy of Pediatrics is changing its guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of those with ADHD, from preschoolers through high schoolers.

Until now, children ages 6 through 12 were the focus of diagnosing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. That's being expanded to ages 4 through 18.

At an Indianapolis area church Monday, students from the private Hutson School in Indianapolis were being mythbusters for an audience of other students, friends and family, putting on a play to set the record straight about their own learning disabilities, including dyslexia and ADHD.

"Oh they can learn. They are very, very bright kiddos," said Janet George, who along with school psychologist Martha Robinson founded the Hutson School in Indianapolis 10 years ago because their own children had ADHD and other learning problems and schools didn't seem to understand how to teach them.

George and Robinson said the new AAP recommendation to begin looking for learning disabilities earlier makes sense.

"Neurologically, we've learned that really by age 9 we need children to be reading, because that's when the brain is most able to adapt," Robinson said.

The point of the Hutson School play is that students with ADHD learn differently.

"Parents say they're not paying attention. Well that's not true. They're paying attention. They're paying attention to you. They're paying attention to the traffic, or the lights, or the fans, or the shoestring," George said.

So students with ADHD need a structured learning environment with some leeway.

"Our children can chew on gum. They can suck on suckers. Those are OK things to do. Use squeezy balls, sit on discuses or on other kind of balls," George said, referring to activities that can help kids with ADHD focus in the classroom.

More controversial is the use of medication. The AAP recommends waiting until children are older.

At Hutson School, leaders said that’s a decision made by parents and a child's physician.

But, Robinson said, "At some point, the research does show that medication coupled with behavior interventions is the key, and that medication piece has been shown to be very effective."

Leaving the problem undiagnosed and untreated is the worst choice, George and Robinson said. Often students in that situation get frustrated and find themselves in trouble as they get older, simply because they weren't taught how to learn. And that trouble, which often includes drug use, said Robinson, can end up costing all of us down the road.