by: Alex Kelly and Dr. Hal Stewart
ADHD in children is being diagnosed (and misdiagnosed) at an alarmingly increasing rate. Many of these diagnosis’ are stemming from other underlying problems. We see this in our practice often.
There are many factors to consider when a child is diagnosed, like…is the diagnosis before the age of 12, are the symptoms present in multiple settings (not just one or two), have you ruled out the ADHD symptoms are not attributable to another disorder (like sleep-breathing disorder, childhood depression, pediatric bipolar, etc.?
Source: DSM-5; Boys Adrift by Dr. Leonard Sax
As mentioned, there are many factors to consider, but let’s look at one of the most common ones.
Sleep Breathing Disorders
Often times “ADHD” is actually a symptom of a sleep breathing disorder. What happens is that the child (or adult) is not breathing properly, and therefore not sleeping properly. This puts them in a constant state of sleep deprivation, to which their brain must over-stimulate their body in order to stay awake – thus the hyperactivity symptoms. These kids are then diagnosed with “ADHD” and put on medication.
These medications are often times stimulants in and of themselves, therefore continuing to fuel the fire and create a vicious cycle. Initially, ADHD medications may appear to work. However, if the underlying problem is not addressed then you will often see the dosages needing to be slowly increased as time passes.
There are a few things you can look for at home:
- Dark circles under the eyes
- Blood shot eyes
- Forward head posture (shoulders rolled forward)
- Large tongue
- Snoring
- Bruxism (teeth grinding)
- Do they wake up disheveled and looking like a tornado hit them/their bed while they slept?
- Are they, or did they, experience prolonged bedwetting?
- Are they, or did they, experience nursing/feeding issues?
- Are they tongue or lip tied? (best diagnosed by an above dr)
- Do they have an elongated face/underdeveloped jaw? (best diagnosed by an above dr)
- Mouth breathing (watch your child during the day and while they sleep – their mouth should never be open while breathing!)
- ADD/ADHD
- Daytime sleepiness/fatigue
- Headaches
- Brain fog
- Frequent night wakings
- Restless leg syndrome
If any of the above resonate with you or your child, give us a call. We have a very thorough evaluation that can tell us if you or your child suffer from a sleep breathing disorder, and many minimally invasive treatment options.
