The week of September 14, 2009 is designated as AD/HD Awareness Week by CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in order to celebrate the progress that has been made in raising awareness and also evaluate how much work lies ahead.
CHADD helps educate the public about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is asking for help to increase awareness about the importance of identifying and treating it early in life. Early diagnosis is important for many reasons.
- For starters, it enables parents to develop a plan to address challenges that their child is having.
- When a plan is developed, it can also help maintain the child’s self-esteem.
- A child can also learn to better self-advocate for themselves and develop coping strategies that will help them as they go through school and their working careers.
- Many adults who have been diagnosed later in life wish they had known what was wrong earlier.
- Please share your thoughts about early diagnosis by leaving a comment.
If you are concerned that your child may have AD/HD, you owe it to yourself and your child to find out more. You have made a great start by doing some on-line research. I encourage you to check out CHADD’s website if you haven’t already done so and talk to your child’s doctor to determine whether a diagnosis is appropriate. If your doctor is not well-versed in AD/HD, it will be helpful to meet with a child psychologist or neurologist as they are likely to know more about the disorder and effective treatments.
To help raise awareness, CHADD will hold a radio news tour during the week of September 14-20. Board president Marie Paxson will take to the airwaves to share her experience as a mother of two grown children with AD/HD, and CHADD members across the country will hold community events and share science-based information with their neighbors. Please look for local events in your area.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.