hypoactivity in ADHD

I’ve had students who present as does your son but don’t recall they were diagnosed AD(H) D but rather ADD. I wonder why his diagnosis includes the H if he doesn’t need to be moving around or isn’t physcially restless.

My students with the H component are often hard to keep in their chairs during class. They want to keep getting up or they roll a pencil around their desks or kick their neighbors chair or rock in theirs.

Why would your son’s teachers disapprove of his behavior? He sounds like the perfect gentleman to me.

My son has ADHD inattentive sub-type and can appear hypoactive and dreamy. He also has poor gross motor skills, which contributes to the hypoactivity. However, when he takes stimulant medications much of the hypoactivity disappears. Even without meds, physical activity, even five minutes of stretching, can help. This might seem a little off beat, but has your son been checked for a thyroid problem? Low levels of thyroid hormone can look like inattentive ADHD. In the end, he may just be a ponderer rather than a quick thinker. My husband is much like that and I think it is one of his finest qualities.

Andrea

Most doctors use the term ADHD to refer to all types of ADHD, and break it down into subtypes (primarily hyperactive, primarily inattentive, combined type).

My 10 year old is ADHD-inattentive. Before Ritalin, he would get “lost in space” and stare at the blackboard, etc. instead of doing his work. Unfortunately many folks have no idea that ADHD exists WITHOUT the hyperactivity component, and since these kids often aren’t behavioral problems they are easily overlooked and told that they are lazy, or not living up to their potential, etc.

Although the Ritalin addresses my son’s inattentiveness, he still moves at his own pace…a slow one!

Your son might be too quiet because his is in his own world. He probably does better after gym because he is able to move around; exercise releases something (endorphins?) that aid in concentration.

JulieinSCSara wrote:
>
> I’ve had students who present as does your son but don’t
> recall they were diagnosed AD(H) D but rather ADD. I wonder
> why his diagnosis includes the H if he doesn’t need to be
> moving around or isn’t physcially restless.
>
> My students with the H component are often hard to keep in
> their chairs during class. They want to keep getting up or
> they roll a pencil around their desks or kick their neighbors
> chair or rock in theirs.
>
> Why would your son’s teachers disapprove of his behavior? He
> sounds like the perfect gentleman to me.

Is your son bothered by his pondering style? If it is more than just that, and is getting in his way (such as incomplete school work, significant difficulty starting up projects due to the amount of warm up time required etc.) then it might be worth doing something about. I don’t know if this would help, but recently read about a program called “The Alert Program for Self-Regulation.” Sorry, don’t have their web address here, but they are based in New Mexico. This is a program that considers the regulation of activity level as one aspect of sensory integration. It seems that the premise is that while we all have our own natural tempo, we are able to gear up when we need to for activities that require speedier responses and we are able to slow down when need be, such as at bed time. However, some people seem stuck in a tempo that is poorly paced with life demands— some kids are perpetually in “high-gear,” others in “low-gear.” I believe the focus of the program is to experiment with different activities (especially those that provide proprioceptive input which ironically seem to help people achieve both a calmer state or a more alert, active state)and see which ones help the child or adult achieve a state that enables them to function well for the demands of the activity. The developers are occupational therapists— don’t know if this is a program that could be done at home with a parent using the manual or if it needs to have specialist input. Good luck!

I have some information about hypoactivity, which I gathered from Sally Smith’s book, NO EASY ANSWERS: THE LEARNING-DISABLED CHILD AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL (@ 1995):

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Many Lab School girls have been hypoactive, ADD daydreamers with speech and language problems. (p. 30, Chapter 3: “No One Cause, No One Answer”)

___________________________________________________________

Dr. Russell Barkley, a specialist on ADHD, has reported that 20 to 30 percent of children with attention deficit disorder are not hyperactive. Dr. Barkley suggested that ADD without hyperactivity be renamed FOCUSED ATTENTION DISORDER [NOTE: where author used italics, I’m using caps; K.G.] (FAD). Even though DSM-IV did not include this category, we, at the Lab School, see these children all the time. They are characterized by HYPOactivity—excessive daydreaming, poor memory, vagueness, social reticence, and very little involvement with playmates. Hypoactive youngsters seem to have a lower-than-average activity level and react slowly to everything. Well-behaved and well-controlled, they pose little trouble for parents and teachers. They may daydream quietly in a corner for hours. But hypoactive youngsters who have learning disabilities withdraw because they cannot process what is going on. With their attention scattered elsewhere, they may not even be AWARE of what is going on, including in the classroom.

Whereas the hyperactive child cannot tolerate any frustration and impulsively throws a book, swears, stomps away from the game, or slams the door the moment he can’t do something, the daydreamer can either tolerate far more frustration without falling apart or further detaches himself from the scene.

“Earth to robot,” Luigi taunts Mark, whose mind always seems to be on another planet. “Mark is in another world, and I can’t pull him out,” exclaims his teacher, who is frequently more frustrated with students like Mark than with the hyperactive ones, whom she can reach when they are paying attention. (pp. 42-43, Chapter 4: “Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)”)

___________________________________________________________

Teachers of learning disabled youngsters often live in dread of transitions, for trouble erupts at those times. Those are times of shifting gears, accommodating to change. Putting away what he has been doing starts the storm. The hyperactive child frequently explodes; he shouts, swears, and throws down his work. The hypoactive youngster or the one who doesn’t overreact tunes out or daydreams at this time, and needs constant reminders to get ready. Many learning disabled children seem not to hear the directions. (p. 70, Chapter 5: “The Need to Learn How to Learn”)

___________________________________________________________

Hyperactive, hypoactive, and normally active learning disabled youngsters may all have attention-span difficulties. (p. 229, Chapter 12: “Parents, Teachers, and IDEA”)

___________________________________________________________

HYPOACTIVITY: Underactivity, sluggishness, failure to respond when response is appropriate. Like hyperactivity, it stems from immaturity of the central nervous system. (Appendix 1: “Glossary,” p. 315)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well, that’s all the information on the subject I was able to find in the book. I hope it’ll prove helpful.

Yours truly,
Kathy G.

Lisa wrote:
>
> I have been able to find loads of information for parents
> whose kids are hyperactive, have co-morbid behavior
> disorders, and “other” types of behavior disapproved by
> teachers. What is harder to come by is information for
> parents of kids who are hypoactive. My son is 13 and has
> been diagnosed with ADHD but his teachers biggest compaint is
> he is too quiet. He is very polite, a good friend, they say,
> but why is he so quiet. He has been evaluated to rule out
> depression and the pysch said he is not depressed. My son
> seems to only have 1 speed—Slow. He is very compassionatte,
> has a strong sense of justice, and does not like that some
> kids feel they are better then others. He causes so little
> trouble in school behavior wise, he went unnoticed for a long
> time. He has tried a few medications but nothing seems to
> work to help him focus. He says what does help is teachers
> who are “energized”. He seems to do better in the class
> immediately following gym and band. Has anyone else had any
> experience with this type of ADHD?