ADD And Flat Affect

I suggest that flat affect is an issue unrelated to ADD. It can be a part of mental illness or autism. Or it can be a result of feeling badly about ones self. Or it may be as simple as being shy or uncertain about how to act.

Both of my grandchildren have been diagnosed with ADHD and my grandson is somewhere on the autism spectrum disorder continuum and both of them are very animated.

Does he do well in school except for not participating in class? He has friends and participates in sports. He sounds OK to me. Have the teachers said why they are concerned? Perhaps it's just that they want him to participate more in class. Participation is often a part of the grade. It is important in letting the teacher know what the student knows and how they think.

I suggest that you talk with him about class participation. Ignore the flat affect comment and ask him if he knows why he doesn't participate. Does he lack confidence? Does it not seem important to him? Is he bored? Talk with the teachers and the school counselor about ways to help him participate.

If the teachers are suggesting that he has a learning disability then ask for an evaluation thru the school district.

Another thought. If he doesn't participate because he's unable to focus on what is happening that is a part of ADD. But usually students who do this are animated. They're just not paying attention and are in their own world. Are they describing that as lack of affect?

If his answers were disregarded in elementary school then why would he try now? It could be the teachers are asking him things he is not 100% sure about.
Maybe if the teachers talked to him one on one they would get to know him better instead of diagnosing him with some condition.
It could be he finds the material boring, or he doesn't want to look stupid by giving the wrong answer.
Tell them if they want him to participate to ask him questions he cannot get wrong. Build his confidence up a little.

Also try getting him involved in a sport or club. Something he enjoys. THen let the teachers know so they can ask him about life other than last night's homework.

Do have his meds checked if he is on meds. We stopped them altogether. My son was a zombie in school then unmanageable at night.

I can tell you from my experience by that age I had been told I am always wrong enough that I did nothing to draw attention to myself. Of course back then teachers didn't use terms like affect, not really sure why they do now.

So basically what I am saying is if I had to say why, I would say he wants to be left alone in the one area he is having trouble. If it makes you feel better he will grow out of it once he becomes more confident. :)

It really bugs me when laypeople like teachers throw around psychological terms such as "flat affect." Flat affect is showing no emotion, ever and is not contextual. It is literally being so disconnected from feelings that you are unable to express them. Being able to relay a really disturbing story while showing no emotion. Being able to hear something traumatic ("I'm sorry to tell you that you mother died") and just shrug your shoulders. Even when someone would normally be super excited, maybe cracking a small smile. Rarely laughing, never crying, and rarely even showing any happiness, joy, amusement, annoyance or anger.

Being bored and not participating is not "flat affect." I would push the teachers to explain further what they mean before worrying about their input. My guess is that the school psychologist or another colleague uses the phrase (perhaps correctly) and the teachers are now using it in a jargony way.

Assuming you can cross off true "flat affect" (and perhaps you can gently educate the teachers on the actual meaning of the term) then I wouldn't worry too much about that fact that he is not particularly animated or engaged in school. My oldest son, also 13, also tunes out a lot in school as part of his ADHD because he's thinking about anything except what's going on in the classroom. Sometimes kids I tutor who have attention problems or LDs pretend to tune out as a defense mechanism ("if I don't actually try, then I can't really fail").

To give you an example of what flat affect looks like in a child this age, my step-daughter - who now lives with us - witnessed domestic violence and was molested by another relative when she lived with her mother. Her mother abandoned her to us so she had to move in with us in the middle of 7th grade. In the past year, her maternal grandmother died, as did a few acquaintances and her uncle. Through all of this...no emotion. No tears. No anger. No laughter. Nothing. Just the blankest of blank looks at almost all times. Maybe a small smile, maybe a shoulder shrug but that's it. Her therapist picked up on this as a clear side effect of the trauma that she's been through and probably some related depression. I'm guessing that from your description, your son doesn't sound like this.

It's common for shy kids to present a flat affect. That is one of many normal variations on kids' personalities. It's not "wrong," and if his teachers want him more engaged, they may have it within their own reach to engage him more.

I was shy and largely disengaged from my schooling as a kid, except with certain teachers who took just a little time to chat with me and let me know they cared about how well I did. From that point forward, I'd bust my butt to do a great job for those teachers.

I don't know that every student would respond as well, but I remembered that caring years later when I tutored at-risk high-school students. I took an interest in who they were as complete people, not just as struggling students. Out of the dozens of kids I worked with, I remember only two who didn't really try. I'm not sure what would have reached them.

But I would try to find a way to suggest to your son's teachers that you hope they will personally call forth the best in your son. A friendly, face-to-face meeting is a great start. Letting a child know you are noticing and appreciating his best efforts can make a huge difference in how engaged he is. Parents who do this at home as well can multiply the effect.

Yup. VERY common.

1) Too many meds or too much caffeine = zonk & you're only half awake

NOT on meds

2) ADHD-i & ADHD-c that's what "it" looks like to other people when we're lost in our minds thinking or imagining something. Staring off into space, or at some random focus point. LOL, my mum actually had me tested for absent-minded-seizures at one point. But it's VERY common with both inattentive types and combo types. Our minds are going a mile a minute and our body just *stills*.

3) When we're controlling a particularly violent emotional surge. You MAY notice this a lot in the coming years when you and your son start to have a fight. The "shut down" / "I don't care" LOOK. Totally flat aspect. What it is, is that we feel like there's a nuclear bomb about to go off inside and so we just SHUT DOWN our outward expressions. If we DO get goaded into speaking you'll either hear the "I don't know/ don't care" thing OR the most venomous/snarky/mean things. Those are things we're trying NOT to say by being "turned off", and most of us are simultaneously trying to keep from punching through walls/ throwing furniture/ etc. ADHD coping mechanisms go out the durn window with puberty (and pregnancy) hormones. WILD mood swings and we have to relearn all the stuff we learned as toddlers. It can be a REALLY trying time for parents... because most teens don't have to struggle for self control / communication can get reeeally dicey.

My family doctor told me this about my then 15 daughter last year and said I should have her tested for Aspergers. She said this in front of her, which really hurt her and royally pissed me off. The doc sees her a couple times a year, if there was an issue the school might have mentioned it and I would have noticed it. She said the aspergers thing because my daughter is anxious and we usually look at her 'blankly' when she talks.

Personally I think that a few things can cause that "flat affect"
My kids both are AD/HD, one is bipolar2 as well. My husband is Bipolar1.
Like someone else said too much medication can cause them to seem that way. Also, if you live in a househould where there is ALOT of emotional turmoil (with all these bipolar peoples) Or you get yelled at alot for showing emotion ("get that look of your face kid!") your going to learn to have a blank face.

not that you have any of that... but if he clearly shows emotion at other times I am willing to bet he is fine.

Why, does a child have to be, extroverted, anyway?
Whether or not, the child is ADD or not?

My kids are 'shy' to various degrees and act like your son to various degrees... and they are not ADD nor anything. They are just normal their aged, kids.
Every Teacher, since my daughter attended school, said she is 'shy.' Sure, in a big group. But I KNOW... she is not. She is just... VERY observant of others and knows who she is and what she is about... and is not a copy-cat follower type kid.
These same Teachers, always comment about how 'wise' and mature she is for her age... and the best behaved.
She chooses her friends. Consciously.

No kid, has to be extroverted nor constantly 'social' or animated.

I am sorry, but I really don't see anything 'wrong' with your son.

Being "shy"... does NOT NOT NOT, equate with being insecure. My daughter, who is always told she is 'shy'... is VERY self-assured and confident and self-reliant. If someone says she is shy, she will actually say "because you don't know me. "

There are MANY "shy" people and shy Geniuses... and, they rock the world and they are happy and there is nothing wrong with that.
"Social" kids, are not any better than 'shy' kids.

What is a "flat affect"?? can you define that for us??is it more than not engaged or participating, will he answer if they say hello to him? If some one talks to him does he respond ever?

Is he medicated? I would guess that would make him act pretty flat in those situations that aren't super stimulating like playing sports.

I would ask how is at recess. If he has an iep include partici[ation as a goal.

I've never heard that term before. Is he on meds? If so, could be from that. Otherwise, it may not be an ADD thing, but just his own personality. Not all kids participate in class. He could also be going through that moody, awkward teen stage

I don't have experience with ADD, but my own son either had Sensory Processing Disorder or was just super, super shy -- take your pick. His way of coping was to act very quiet, cool, and contained. And, we had several teachers who refused to believe that he acted completely differently at home -- there was this reluctance to accept that their classrooms didn't bring out the best in each and every kid. With ADD, you may want to examine the possibility of overmedication, but aside from that, it's most likely just a (fairly healthy) coping mechanism for a kid who needs to learn to tune out outside chaos.

Best wishes,

Mira