ADHD has many symptoms. Some symptoms may look like normal behaviors for a child at first, but ADHD makes them much worse and occur more often. Children with ADHD usually have at least six symptoms that start in the first five or six years of their lives. Children with ADHD may:

• Get distracted easily and forget things often
• Switch too quickly from one activity to the next
• Have trouble with directions
• Daydream too much
• Have trouble finishing tasks like homework or chores
• Lose toys, books, and school supplies often
• Fidget and squirm a lot
• Talk nonstop and interrupt people
• Run around a lot
• Touch and play with everything they see
• Be very impatient
• Blurt out inappropriate comments
• Have trouble controlling their emotions.

Myth: Stimulants can lead to drug addiction when the child gets older.

Fact: Stimulants help many children focus and do better at school, home, and play.
Not having bad experiences in these areas while a child is young may actually help keep the child from having addictions and other emotional problems when he or she is older.

Myth: Doing better while taking a stimulant medicine proves a child has ADHD.

Fact: Stimulants may help many children to focus and pay better attention, even if they do not have ADHD. The change may just be easier to see in children who do have ADHD.

Myth: Medication should be stopped when the child becomes a teenager.

Fact: Not so! About 8 out 10 children who needed medicine as a child still need it when they are older. Five out of 10 will need the medicine as an adult.

Give your child guidance and understanding. Your child’s pediatrician can show you how to help your child make positive changes. Supporting your child helps everyone in your family. Also, talk to your child's teachers. Some children with ADHD can get special education services.