Common Causes of Young Children’s Behavior Problems
Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): ADHD has four core symptoms – distractibility, short attention span, impulsiveness and hyperactivity. Children who have ADHD are often first diagnosed when they start daycare or school because they don’t cooperate with their provider or teacher. The lack of cooperation occurs over and over again, not just once in a while, and typically worsens as the child gets older.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD): A child who has ODD is often irritable, grouchy, easily annoyed, or angry. The child argues with children and adults, doesn’t follow rules, blames others for his or her mistakes, carries grudges, and tries to get back at others.
Intellectual or learning problems: When a child is just starting school, he or she may have trouble understanding what is being taught. Sometimes this occurs only with certain subjects (reading, writing, arithmetic), suggesting a learning disability may be the cause. If the learning problems are across-the-board, for all subjects, the child may have a developmental or intellectual disability.
In order to determine what your child needs, the cause of the problem has to be found. I have assessed children for those problems, and for other developmental, behavioral, emotional and academic problems, for forty years. I offer full assessments of children from early infancy through adolescence. Contact me to find out how I can help you.