I Think My Child Might Have ADHD: What Should I Do First?
If your child has difficulty staying focused, getting started on tasks, staying organized, managing impulses, or regulating emotions, you may be wondering whether ADHD could be part of the explanation. You may also be unsure whether the difficulties you are noticing are typical for their age or whether an evaluation would be helpful.
ADHD can look quite different from one child to another. Some children are noticeably active, restless, or impulsive. Others are quiet, do well academically, and seem to manage school expectations while experiencing considerable difficulty with attention, organization, or everyday responsibilities.
If you suspect your child may have ADHD, a helpful place to begin is by talking with them about their experiences, gathering information from their teachers, and discussing your concerns with their pediatrician. You can also begin making changes at home or school to better support their needs. If difficulties persist or you want a more comprehensive understanding of your child's development and learning, an ADHD evaluation may be helpful.
This is the first article in a three-part series about recognizing possible ADHD, understanding the evaluation process, and navigating school supports.
What Are Some Signs of ADHD in Children and Teens?
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects attention, executive functioning, and the regulation of activity and impulses. Executive functioning refers to the mental processes involved in getting started, planning, organizing, remembering information, managing time, and following through with tasks.
Some common experiences among children and teens with ADHD include:
Difficulty getting started or finishing tasks. A child may understand what they need to do but struggle to begin, especially when a task is uninteresting, lengthy, or overwhelming.
Forgetfulness and disorganization. They may frequently misplace belongings, forget assignments, lose track of instructions, or have difficulty managing multiple responsibilities.
Inconsistent attention. They may become deeply absorbed in activities that interest them while finding it difficult to maintain attention during less engaging activities.
Restlessness or a need for movement. Some children are constantly moving, fidgeting, or talking. Others experience restlessness internally, which may be less noticeable to people around them.
Impulsivity. They may interrupt conversations, respond before thinking something through, or have difficulty slowing down enough to consider their options.
Emotional regulation and transitions. Some children with ADHD experience strong emotional reactions, have difficulty managing frustration, or find transitions between activities particularly challenging.
Not every child with ADHD experiences all of these difficulties. Emotional regulation and transitions can be challenging for many ADHDers, although these experiences alone do not establish an ADHD diagnosis.
Children with ADHD also have areas in which they are highly capable, engaged, and successful. Their ability to regulate attention and manage tasks can vary considerably depending on how interesting, engaging, or demanding an activity is, as well as the structure and support available.
How Can I Tell if My Child's Difficulties Might Be ADHD?
All children have difficulty with attention, organization, emotional regulation, and impulse control at times. These abilities develop gradually throughout childhood and adolescence, and there is considerable variation among children of the same age.
When considering ADHD, it is helpful to look at how often difficulties occur, how they compare with those of same-age peers, and how much they affect the child's daily experiences.
For example, forgetting an assignment occasionally is common among elementary school students. Consistently forgetting assignments, losing materials, or requiring extensive adult assistance to manage responsibilities that classmates are generally handling with less support may suggest a need for further understanding.
It is also important to consider the amount of effort a child is putting into meeting expectations. Some children are keeping up academically because they have developed elaborate organizational systems, rely heavily on reminders from adults, or spend considerably more time completing assignments than their peers.
Other children manage relatively well in structured environments but experience greater difficulty when they must organize their time or manage responsibilities independently.
A child's grades and outward behavior do not always reflect how much difficulty they are experiencing.
Start by Talking With Your Child
One of the most helpful first steps is to learn more about your child's own experiences.
Children may have difficulty explaining why certain activities are hard, particularly when they have been struggling with those activities for a long time. They may simply describe themselves as forgetful, easily distracted, or someone who dislikes schoolwork.
Ask which parts of their day require the most effort, what happens when they try to start or finish something difficult, and what makes those situations easier.
For example, a child who frequently leaves assignments unfinished may explain that they understand the work but cannot seem to get themselves started. Another may describe becoming distracted by everything happening around them, while another may feel overwhelmed when they have several responsibilities to manage at once.
Their perspective can provide information that adults might not recognize from observing their behavior.
These conversations can also help identify changes that would make everyday expectations more manageable, regardless of whether ADHD is eventually diagnosed.
Talk With Your Child's Teacher and School Support Staff
Your child's school can be an important source of information and support.
Teachers see children in an environment with academic, social, and organizational expectations. They can provide information about how your child's attention, task completion, activity level, and executive functioning compare with those of other children their age.
When speaking with your child's teacher, it can be helpful to ask about specific areas of concern. For example, does your child seem to understand assignments but have difficulty completing them? Do they need frequent reminders to begin or remain engaged with their work? Are they having difficulty keeping track of materials or managing transitions?
You can also share what you are noticing at home, including difficulties with homework, morning routines, managing responsibilities, or emotional regulation.
What if my child seems to be doing fine at school?
Some parents are surprised when teachers report few concerns, particularly when their child experiences significant difficulties at home.
There are several reasons this can happen.
The school environment may provide structure, reminders, predictable routines, and immediate feedback that help the child manage expectations. Some children also put considerable effort into staying attentive, organized, or regulated throughout the school day and have much less energy available when they return home.
Other children may perform well academically while experiencing difficulties that are less visible to teachers, such as internal distractibility, anxiety about forgetting assignments, or the effort required to maintain their performance.
ADHD diagnostic criteria require symptoms to be present in more than one setting, but those symptoms do not need to look identical in every environment or be equally apparent to every observer.
For example, a child may experience difficulties with attention and organization at both home and school, but those difficulties may be less noticeable in a classroom where teachers provide frequent reminders, predictable routines, and organizational support. Understanding what helps the child manage different environments is an important part of determining whether ADHD is present.
When parent and teacher perspectives differ, exploring those differences can provide valuable information about the child's needs and the supports that are already helping them.
What Can Schools Do to Support a Child Who May Have ADHD?
Schools can often provide meaningful support before a child receives a formal ADHD diagnosis.
Depending on the child's needs, classroom supports might include breaking larger assignments into smaller steps, providing written instructions, checking that assignments are understood, helping the child develop organizational systems, or allowing movement breaks.
For some students, additional support with planning, prioritizing assignments, or getting started on work can make a substantial difference.
The most helpful strategies are individualized and developed with an understanding of what the child finds difficult. Involving the child in identifying useful supports can also help ensure that the strategies are practical and comfortable for them to use.
Many schools have a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) or another student support process through which teachers and school staff collaborate to identify needs, implement interventions, and monitor progress.
A school psychologist, school counselor, school social worker, or other support professional may be involved in this process.
It is helpful for parents and school staff to communicate regularly about how supports are working. If a strategy is not helping, the team can consider whether the difficulty has been accurately understood and what changes might be more effective.
When Should I Request a School Evaluation?
If your child is experiencing ongoing difficulties that may be related to a disability and affect their educational needs, you can request a special education evaluation through the school.
In Minnesota, parents have the right to request a special education evaluation at any time. Schools cannot require a child to complete an MTSS or intervention process before considering whether an evaluation is needed.
If you believe your child may need special education services, you can submit a written request for an evaluation to your child's school. Briefly describe the difficulties your child is experiencing and explain why you believe an evaluation is needed.
The school must consider the request. If the district agrees that an evaluation is appropriate, it will seek parental consent before proceeding. If it declines the request, it must provide written notice explaining its decision.
A special education evaluation considers whether the child meets eligibility criteria under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and requires specially designed instruction.
Some children with ADHD may benefit from school accommodations through a Section 504 plan, even when they do not qualify for special education. A formal medical ADHD diagnosis is not required for a school to determine Section 504 eligibility.
Children who are earning good grades can also qualify for Section 504 protections when their disability substantially limits a major life activity, such as concentrating, learning, or thinking. Academic success alone does not rule out the need for accommodations.
For more information about parental rights regarding special education evaluations, visit the Minnesota Department of Education's Procedural Safeguards resources.
We discuss school evaluations, special education eligibility, IEPs, and 504 plans in greater detail in Part 3 of this series.
When Should I Consider a Clinical ADHD Evaluation?
A clinical ADHD evaluation may be helpful when your child's difficulties with attention, executive functioning, impulsivity, or other aspects of daily life are persistent, require considerable effort to manage, or are affecting their well-being.
You do not need to wait until your child is failing academically or experiencing major difficulties at school to seek an evaluation.
A pediatrician or another qualified healthcare professional can be a useful starting point. Depending on the child's needs, they may conduct an ADHD evaluation or recommend a psychological or neuropsychological evaluation.
An ADHD evaluation considers the child's developmental history, experiences across different settings, and how their attention and executive functioning compare with developmental expectations.
It is also important to understand whether other factors may be contributing to the difficulties. Anxiety, autism, learning differences, sleep difficulties, and other developmental or emotional concerns can affect attention and executive functioning. More than one of these conditions can also be present.
A comprehensive psychological or neuropsychological evaluation can be especially useful when there are questions about multiple aspects of a child's development or learning. In addition to considering ADHD, the evaluation can provide information about cognitive abilities, academic skills, executive functioning, emotional well-being, and other areas relevant to the child's experiences.
The findings can help families understand their child's strengths, why certain activities may be difficult, and what types of support could be most beneficial at home, at school, and in everyday life.
Understanding Your Child's Needs
When a child is experiencing difficulties with attention, organization, emotional regulation, or everyday expectations, understanding what contributes to those experiences can make an important difference. Children who have struggled without understanding why may have developed negative beliefs about their abilities. Learning more about their neurotype, strengths, and support needs can help them develop a more accurate and compassionate understanding of themselves.
At White Bear Psychological Services, we provide comprehensive ADHD evaluations for children and teens in White Bear Lake, serving families throughout the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. Our evaluations consider attention and executive functioning alongside cognitive strengths, learning differences, emotional well-being, and other relevant factors to understand each child's individual needs.
If you have questions about whether an evaluation may be helpful for your child, you can contact White Bear Psychological Services to learn more.
Continue Reading This Series
Part 2: What Does an ADHD Evaluation for Children and Teens Include?
Learn how ADHD is evaluated, what information clinicians consider, and how a comprehensive evaluation can help families understand their child's strengths and support needs.
Part 3: ADHD and School Support in Minnesota: IEPs, 504 Plans, and Evaluations
Learn about school evaluations, special education eligibility, accommodations, and the types of support available to students with ADHD.
