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Have you ever asked yourself if it is normal that your child is not paying attention to a certain task you have given? Is this normal for a child their age? When can you expect them to start paying more attention?

Maybe you have spent a few nights on Google – looking at photos, watching videos, and reading articles that explain your child’s behavior and what they could mean. 

For sure, you have also come across the acronyms ADD and ADHD at one point too. There are lots of definitions online, but what do they really mean? Where did it start? How do children get it and how do we make it better for a child who has it? 

ADD and ADHD are more than just labels for your child and a box for them to fit into.

As a parent, it is normal to worry and wonder about your children and their wellbeing. This is something that comes with human nature and we cannot avoid it, that’s why we often turn to the internet for answers to our questions.

It is such a great resource, but all the different studies conducted and definitions being stated can make it rather challenging for a curious parent such as yourself. 

Let’s be honest – the world is so busy today and it’s easier for everybody to just say “this is what the kid is doing” to justify why kids are unable to focus on tasks at hand, but that’s not always the reason, and your child is probably not the only one experiencing this. A lot of people in the world have attention and focus issues, but does that necessarily mean they have ADD or ADHD too.

They might just be bored by what’s laid out in front of them, they might not be challenged, or they simply find other things in the room more interesting. And that takes us back to our question – what is ADD and ADHD?

ADD and ADHD are basically the same thing, only named differently over the years. 

To put it in simpler terms, ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) are the same condition, most commonly seen in children, and usually pertaining to the lack of focus and overflowing energy.

How does this happen? The seven senses. 

We are all familiar with the five basic senses – sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. These are the senses that help us take information in and bring them to the brain for our bodies to function well, but there are two others that help in a more physical aspect and those are the vestibular system and proprioception.

The vestibular system is responsible for the perception of our body towards movement and balance, while proprioception is the sense that is responsible for identifying movement.

From birth to three, children are making 1 million new neurological connections a second. They learn many new things all at once and the brain does its best to take all the information in through all the seven senses. 

There could be so many things going on in their brains that often overwhelm the senses, causing neurological or physical development to speed up or slow down.  Similar to a broken volume control, their senses get turned up too high or too low and the brain would be receiving too much information, or not enough information at all.

That is where ADD and ADHD come from – the high volume of information that gets to your brain through the seven senses or the lack of it. 

Your brain is designed to pick up and process as much information as possible to function normally.

When it is not getting the right amount of information from the first five senses, it will find ways to get it through the other two, getting the child’s body worked up and appearing hyperactive. That is ADHD.

This explains why when a child appears bored, they begin to shift their attention towards something else, or they begin to get more active. That could mean that the brain isn’t receiving enough information from what is in front of them and they are resorting to their movement senses to find it. 

When the brain demands more information because of a broken volume control for the senses, the body picks up the slack through movement. 

They begin to start talking more, using their hands, biting their fingernails, tapping on surfaces, stomping their feet – they might have to just constantly move their body because they are looking for that input to continue to fuel their brain. 

ADD, however, is a little bit slower compared to ADHD. It is the same condition, in the sense that there is a lack of focus because of the broken volume control for the senses that give too much or not enough information to the brain, but it does not necessarily fall back on movement. 

They simply take their time in processing all the information they find around them, meaning that the information gets transmitted to the brain, only not fast enough for them to maintain focus. 

These conditions form in children from as early as conception. 

There are three forms of stress – physical, chemical, and emotional. 

These three specific forms of stress and some other things may have contributed to your child’s development while they were in the womb and their environment within the first three years. 

There might have been a birth intervention, some nursing challenges after birth, hyperactivity during their toddler years, potty training problems, and the list could go on. 

Does this sound familiar to you? Do you think your child has ADD and ADHD? How do you move forward if they do?

If you are a curious parent and you would like to know more about ADD and ADHD, its causes, neurological process, symptoms, and approaches, how neurological-based chiropractic care has been proven to show drastic improvements in brain input, vestibular function, focus, and overall quality of life. Call us today for an appointment with one of our highly trained doctors or consultation with Dr. Christie

Your child’s wellbeing is important and learning to adjust to their differences is the best gift you can give them. I hope to see you soon!