October is the ADHD Awareness Month and with that we want to bring some information about what ADHD is and how it can affect someone's life. 

What is ADHD?
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and it is defined as a mental health condition that affects  the patient's brain and therefore the patients behaviour. Patients with ADHD often present the following symptoms:
- Fidgety;
- Hyperactivity;
- Incapacity of concentrating while reading/doing homework; 
- Impulsivity;
- Easily bored;
- Distress by school work;
- Inability to sit/stay still;
- Trouble organising tasks and activities;
- Trouble listening when spoken to directly.

Sometimes parents pick up theses symptoms of ADHD in very young children, but keep in mind that even though your child may present symptoms of being hyperactive, easily distracted, impatient or impulsive, doesn't mean that the child has ADHD. Young children will slowly develop attention and self control as they grow up. As they're growing, if they cannot develop such skills and begin/continue to cause problems at school, home and with friends, it may be a good idea to talk to your doctor about ADHD. 


What causes ADHD?
There is no one cause for ADHD. It seems to be a result of an interplay between genetic and environmental factors - with genetics being responsible for over 70% of all probability.


Is it ADHD or a Vision Problem?
There are two possible scenarios - children who are misdiagnosed with ADHD for having problems at school & children who do have ADHD and need glasses to help with their difficulties.

Children who cannot see properly because of a refractive error (Myopia, Astigmatism or Hyperopia) will often avoid reading, have difficulties concentrating and studying  and have problems at school (cannot see the board or take longer to concentrate). These children may experience headaches, double vision and eye fatigue when doing these tasks, so they will avoid it at all cost and can even get agitated when we insist on them.  If you think your child might be having any of these problems, make sure to book him in for an eye examination.

Children with ADHD will have a hard time concentrating during class times or while doing their homework. You might notice that your child may lose lines when reading and has to use the finger to help him keep place, reading accuracy and speed are below his/hers chronological age, misses out words or letters while reading, homework takes longer than it should, gets rapidly tired at school and often exhausted by the end of a school day, loss of concentration or attention span, etc. When theses symptoms happen, it might indicate that despite the ADHD condition, they might also need a specialist eye examination called SchoolVision which determines the reason for those symptoms.  A SchoolVisionstudies the relationship between visual performance and the occupation of reading, therefore the test is more elaborate that a normal eye examination, taking usually 1 hour for the appointment only. Here in our website you will find a bar just for SchoolVision and a checklist you can do with your child to assess if there is any symptoms that you should be concerned about.

At Care Optics we have a SchoolVision specialist, so if you think your child may need this test, please contact us over email or telephone. We will be more than happy to book that appointment for you.


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