The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay
Children with ADHD are more apt to have a bright future if they’re diagnosed in their early elementary years rather than as high schoolers, a new study says.
“ADHD diagnosis during the first years of school was associated with better school performance, more academic track choices and lower probability of school dropout,” concluded the research team led.
Early diagnosis gives children a leg up by giving them access to support, ADHD treatments and special accommodations from schools like extra time during tests, said Dr. Victor Fornari.
“These interventions are so important because often the child will feel as though they don’t have the capacity when actually indeed they may have fine intellect, but their poor attention span will limit their academic accomplishments,” Fornari added.
Overall, any child with ADHD had poorer educational outcomes than those without a diagnosis, researchers found.
However, kids’ school performance differed significantly by age at diagnosis, with those diagnosed early in their education doing better than those diagnosed around age 16 or later.
“The poorest educational outcomes were observed among those who were diagnosed with ADHD toward the end of compulsory education,” researchers wrote. “Those who were diagnosed toward the end of compulsory education had the least amount of time to benefit from the diagnosis and improve their school performance” prior to graduation.
Source: HealthDay
https://www.healthday.com/health-news/child-health/early-diagnosis-key-to-adhd-childs-academic-success-study-finds