EP. 39 | Let's Talk About ADHD: Top Questions Parents Ask

Listen in and get answers to the top ADHD questions parents ask! Plus, don't miss our discussion on how lifestyle choices can impact your child's ability to thrive.

Could understanding the early signs of ADHD change the way you see your child’s behavior? Join me as we tackle the most common ADHD questions parents ask, unraveling the complex world of ADHD. We’ll explore how symptoms present differently in boys and girls—while boys may show hyperactivity and impulsivity, girls often display more subtle signs like inattentiveness, making them more likely to be underdiagnosed.

What’s the typical age for diagnosis, and how can you tell if it’s just normal childhood energy or something more? We’ll break it all down for you, helping you identify key markers to look out for early on. Beyond behaviors, we dive into how brain function and environmental factors, like diet and exercise, can influence symptoms, giving you practical tips to support your child’s focus and overall well-being.

From understanding the role of genetics to the importance of nutrition for brain health, this episode is packed with insights for parents. If you’re curious about ADHD evaluations or simply want to boost your family's health, this episode is a must-listen!

TEDx Talk: "We must change the way we treat Children's ADHD".

Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform and check out the video version on our YouTube channel!

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Episode Transcript

Dr. Hokehe Eko (00:00):
Hi parents.
Today I'm going to be talkingabout what are the early signs
of ADHD, and I'm going topreface that by saying you know,
adhd can manifest differentlyin boys versus in girls, and so
we'll talk a little bit aboutboth, all right.
So ADHD stands for AttentionDeficit, hyperactivity Disorder

(00:20):
yes, it's a mouthful, butbasically what that stands for
is, if we were to break it down,basically it simply means that
there's a deficit or there'sless attention.
So where there's an issue withpaying attention, with
hyperactivity, right, and yourchild may have one or the other,
and sometimes your child mayhave a combination, right, of

(00:43):
both things.
So what do we look for whenwe're concerned about a child
possibly having ADHD?
In boys, this is more likely.
What happens, right, mostlikely boys will be hyperactive,
will be more impulsive, will bemore disruptive in class,

(01:05):
things like that, and even athome, because an important thing
is that these behaviors shouldbe happening both at home and at
school or somewhere outside ofthe home, right, and so that's
what we tend to see more in boys, but in girls, and lots of
research is showing now thatgirls may be underdiagnosed a
lot, because there's some girlswho will show symptoms of

(01:28):
hyperactivity, of course, butmostly in girls.
You'll see symptoms ofinattentiveness and what you
mostly see is more anxiety, moresocial anxiety.
So they tend to keep tothemselves.
You may see depression, becauseADHD has a lot of comorbid, so
basically means it shows up withdepression and anxiety as well,

(01:53):
and so you want to be on thelookout for those two behaviors,
especially in girls.
If they are withdrawn and wenot want to be around other
people, things like that shouldclue you in, and maybe they're
not doing so well in school orthey could be doing well in
school.
So really, what I always say toparents is if there's even a

(02:13):
question in your mind aboutcould this be ADHD, it's
important to get your childdiagnosed or at least evaluated,
which brings up the secondquestion I get more often is
what age do you diagnose ADHD at?
That's a great question.
So ADHD is typically notdiagnosed before the age of six.

(02:36):
And why is that?
It's because we want the childto be of school age.
Remember earlier I said thatit's important to note that the
behaviors are occurring both athome and outside of the home,
preferably like in a schoolsetting, so that way you can
tell that the behavior is acrossthe board and it's not just

(02:57):
happening in one place versusthe other, and so that gives you
an indication that, like, yes,there's probably a problem here
and it's not something I shouldignore, right?
And so the next question Iusually get is how can I tell if
my child's behavior is justnormal energy or ADHD?
Great question why we don'toften diagnose children before

(03:23):
the age of six, becausefour-year-olds are playful,
they're rambunctious, they canjump on things and are for
three-year-olds.
So how do you differentiatethat from a child with ADHD?
That's why we wait a few moreyears to see how the child
matures, what happens with thechild and how they interact with

(03:45):
the world, with the environment, before we say, okay, it's more
likely that your child has ADHD, right, because it's important
to make that differentiation.
And so one of the ways we oftendescribe the energy level of
children with ADHD is like theyact like they are run by a motor
, right?
It's like it never shuts off.

(04:06):
It's like they're always on thego from the minute they wake up
, with no nap during the day,all day until bedtime, and it's
hard to shut them down forbedtime.
It's something a lot of parentsoften say as well.
It's like their brain isrunning and running, and running
and it's like they want to keepbeing active, and so those are

(04:28):
some things that might clue youin.
Right To say, hmm, is mychild's energy level more than
usual?
But, like I said, it dependsalso on the age of your child,
right, you want to really becareful about that.
I've had parents tell me oh, myone-year-old has ADHD, and I'm
like, nope, one-year-olds arerun all over the place exploring

(04:51):
their newfound freedom andtheir environment.
That's what they're supposed todo.
So we don't label them or wedon't diagnose them with ADHD
that early.
Next question can my child growout of ADHD?
That's a great question.
So what is ADHD?
Adhd is a brain-based disorder,right.

(05:12):
It affects mostly the frontallobe, which is right here, and
that's the area of the brainthat deals with regulation of
emotions, how you make decisions, organizational skills, right?
So if you heard the termexecutive function, yes, that's
a major skill that is affectedin children with ADHD is that

(05:35):
they may struggle withorganization.
They may struggle withcompleting tasks, they may
struggle with rememberingmultiple step tasks, so like,
for example, if you tell yourchild close the fridge, take out
the trash and put on your shoes, they may do the first one or
the second and not remember thethird.
That could be an indicationthat there might be something

(05:56):
going on.
So to answer the question of isit lifelong and that answer is
something that's still beingresearched I mean, there are
adults that have ADHD as adultsabsolutely, and it may change
depending on the individualright as they grow.

(06:16):
I've met people who were onmedication for ADHD as children
and as they've grown olderthey've learned skills to cope
with any difficulties they mayhave with organization or
hyperactivity or inattentiveness, and those are things that you
work on.
So to some degree it is present, even in adulthood, but to the

(06:38):
severity of it that depends onthe child and the individual.
So the next question is whatcauses ADHD in children?
Excellent question.
So there isn't one cause forADHD.
Instead it's multifactorial.
And what do I mean by that?
There are multiple factors thatresearch has shown in recent

(07:01):
times to affect the way thebrain functions right, which
results in behaviors that we nowcall ADHD.
So before I continue that, Iwant to talk about what ADHD is
not.
Adhd is not a parenting disorder, so it's not because of bad

(07:22):
parenting and I've seen thatover and over, and that's a myth
.
Adhd is not caused by badparenting.
Adhd is not caused by, oh, mychild is just a bad kid.
Adhd is not caused by, oh, mychild is just a bad kid, right,

(07:42):
because that's how children usedto be labeled if they didn't
act within the setting or theydidn't act like other kids.
Adhd is not because your childis just being lazy and they
don't want to do the work.
They really, really, reallyneed the help to learn how to
organize their areas, organizethe work that they have to do,
organize their lives justorganization in general.
That's something that's lackingin a lot of children and a lot

(08:06):
of adults, frankly, with ADHD,and so that's important.
That's something important tonote.
It's not because you're a badparent.
It's not because your child iswoefully not listening to you.
It's not because your child isjust a bad kid.
It's actually a combination offactors.
One of them is the environment.

(08:27):
I did a TEDx talk on ADHD and ifyou haven't listened to it,
please go listen to it.
It's on YouTube.
I will put a link in this videoas well, where I talked about
how it's so important that welook at the environment.
We look at what the child iseating.
We look at any trauma that'soccurring in the child's life

(08:48):
because, believe it or not,trauma can show up exactly with
the exact same symptoms as ADHD,and you can medicate that child
, and if you don't address thetrauma, the behaviors will
persist and will only worsen,despite behavior.
Nutrition is another importantfactor, right, because so much

(09:10):
research and we can linkresearch in this episode as well
to show that things like reddyes, yellow dyes, just food
coloring in general, just byitself makes changes in the way
the brain functions anddefinitely can create the

(09:31):
hyperactive behaviors orinattentive behaviors.
And so that's just one.
But then the other things thatin my work with children at Glow
Pediatrics that we focus on.
We focus on looking at how dowe improve the health of the gut
, because the gut and the brainare connected.
The gut has been called, or isbeing called, the second brain,

(09:55):
and so the way I like to thinkof it is whatever you put in
your mouth is going to yourbrain, right?
The first one and the secondone, or both?
Right, both of them, andliterally you are what you eat.
So if your child and you, theadult, is eating the wrong thing
, guess what?
You're literally setting yourbrain and your gut on fire, and

(10:16):
inflammation plays a major rolein behaviors like hyperactivity
and inattentiveness.
I have seen it over and overagain in my practice that when
we make changes in children'snutrition and lead them towards

(10:38):
healthier nutrition, take outinflaming foods, replace it with
healing foods and just work onthe gut and the brain together.
I have seen children go fromhyperactive to being able to sit
still in their seat and learnbetter.
I'm not claiming to cure ADHDor cure autism, but, my goodness
, I have seen that so much thatit does make a huge difference
what your child and what you areeating, right.

(11:00):
And the other big thing, theother big factor, is genetics.
Research shows that more than50% of adults with ADHD, their
child also has ADHD, and sothat's something that's passed
on and that's not a point of ohmy gosh, guilt.
I did this, no, you didn'tcause your own genetics, right?
We are created beings and so itis what it is right.

(11:24):
So the key, the question toalways ask, is how can I improve
my environment, how can Iimprove my nutrition, how can I
improve the exercise, how can Iimprove my brain health, my gut
health, so that, overall, me andmy children thrive, and so if
you're looking for apediatrician who does just that,
if you need an ADHD evaluation,reach out to us.

(11:45):
If you need help with movingyour child forward and yourself,
like becoming healthier,working on your gut health and
your brain health, reach out tous.
We're here and we're happy tobe of help, and so we'll link
some resources in the notes, andso please take advantage of

(12:06):
that, and we're here to answerany questions you may have.
So have an amazing day.