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Child Development & Early Education vocabulary · Special Needs and Inclusion

ADHD

Meaning in child development & early education, with examples

/ˌeɪ diː eɪtʃ ˈdiː/abbreviationCommon term

In child development & early education, ADHD means: Short for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a neurodevelopmental condition involving ongoing difficulties with attention, very high activity levels or acting on impulse.

In Turkish: DEHB, dikkat eksikliği ve hiperaktivite bozukluğu

How it is used

Diagnosed by specialists such as paediatricians or child psychiatrists, often not until school age, because high energy and short attention spans are normal in young children. Early years staff describe behaviour rather than suggest a label.

Example sentences

  1. A diagnosis of ADHD is made by a specialist, not by nursery staff.

  2. Children with ADHD may find it hard to sit through a long story.

Common collocations

  • diagnosed with ADHD
  • ADHD assessment
  • symptoms of ADHD
  • attention span
  • executive functionA group of mental skills that help us plan, focus, remember instructions, control impulses and switch between tasks.
  • autism spectrum disorderA lifelong developmental condition that affects how a person communicates, interacts with others and experiences the world, often with focused interests and sensory differences.
  • special educational needsLearning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for a child to learn than most children of the same age, so that extra or different support is needed.
  • self-regulationThe ability to manage your own feelings, attention and behaviour, for example calming down after being upset or waiting for a turn.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Special Needs and Inclusion

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