Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex mental health disorder that can affect your child’s success at school as well as their relationships. The symptoms of ADHD vary and are sometimes difficult to recognize.
Many of the individual symptoms of ADHD are customary for any child to experience. So, to make a diagnosis of ADHD, your child’s doctor will need to evaluate your child using several criteria.
ADHD is generally diagnosed in children by the time they’re teenagers, with the average age of diagnosis being 7 years old. Older children exhibiting symptoms may have ADHD, but they’ve often exhibited rather elaborate symptoms early in life. (For information about ADHD symptoms in adults, this article can help.)