ADHD in Children: Signs, Myths, and Reality for Better Understanding

ADHD — Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in children. It affects around 5 to 7% of school-age children, with a higher prevalence in boys.

It is also one of the most misunderstood disorders: sometimes overestimated (ADHD is attributed to any restless child), sometimes underestimated (especially in girls, whose presentation is often more discreet).

The three forms of ADHD

The inattentive form (without hyperactivity)

Difficulties sustaining attention, organising, finishing started tasks. The child seems "in the clouds," loses their belongings, forgets instructions. This form is often unknown because it generates no visible classroom disruption.

The hyperactive-impulsive form (without pronounced inattention)

The child moves constantly, cannot stay seated, talks incessantly, acts without thinking. This form is more visible and more often detected — but also more often confused with simple agitation.

The combined form

Both dimensions coexist. This is the most common form.

What ADHD is not

ADHD is not a lack of willpower, insufficient upbringing, or a "badly raised" child. It is a neurological difference in functioning — the ADHD brain does not regulate attention and inhibition in the same way as a neurotypical brain.

What helps

ADHD is managed not with discipline alone, but with a combination of adapted strategies: school accommodations, executive function remediation (speech therapy, neuropsychology), behavioural therapy, and in some cases, medication (methylphenidate) following medical assessment.

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