BEING one of the youngest children in the class means your child could be more likely to receive an ADHD or autism diagnosis, scientists say. Younger children with birthdays just before the school entry cut off date are more likely to be diagnosed with the conditions than their older peers, University of Nottingham researchers found. Ratings from teachers and parents will often form an important part of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessments, researchers said.
Interviews with friends, family, and teachers of a suspected patient are usually conducted to gauge the severity of symptoms. The fact that more young students receive an ADHD diagnosis or medication for the condition could mean that teachers are mistaking signs of age-related immaturity for the behavioural condition, they claimed. People with ADHD may have trouble concentrating, appear restless and act on impulse.
Meanwhile, ASD is an umbrella term for a broad range of neurodevelopmental conditions that affect the way people interact and communicate with others. Senior author Professor Kapil Sayal, from the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, said: “This review shows that adults involved in identifying or raising concerns over a child’s behaviour – such as parents and teachers – may be inadvertently misattributing relative immaturity as symptoms of ADHD. "The child’s age in relation to their classmates (their ‘relative’ age) needs to c.