Pulled from a tunnel and into the light

Wei Ling observes that many parents neglect signs of ADHD, and take their children to hospital after teachers have suggested them several times.[Photo by Jiang Dong/ China Daily]

After nearly 30 years battling an unseen foe, a Beijing man has emerged greatly troubled but victorious.

"Tao, put that ruler down."

"Jing, stop playing with Xiuli's hair."

"Feng, put your iPhone away." 

Is this just another bunch of Chinese 8-year olds acting the way children always have, and always will, when their interest in a classroom lesson is flagging, or is there something more sinister at play?

Someone who knows a lot about a chronic inability to concentrate and about looking for and finding the causes, says: "It was as if, after years of self-inflicted torture ... after all the anguish and self doubt, I finally had an explanation for everything."

The Beijing man, 34, who has asked to remain anonymous, says he finally found out what was wrong with him four years ago, three years after he graduated from university.

For him the symptoms were clear cut: He could never concentrate on what he knew he should be doing, and he was easily distracted, which he had found held him back from studying and getting work done. He had concluded that he was simply a chronic procrastinator, but gradually realized there must be much more to it than that.

So he forced himself to do extensive research online, looking into certain psychological traits and using these as a benchmark, comparing them with bad habits he had had as a child. Soon it emerged that he might have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, in which there is a habitual pattern of inattention that can be accompanied by hyperactivity and impulsiveness that interferes with functioning or growth.

He went to Peking University Sixth Hospital, one of the country's top clinics treating mental disorders, where, much to his relief, an ADHD specialist confirmed that his suspicions were correct.

Since then he has been taking medication and undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy and says he now has much more control over his life. His disorder cannot be cured, but the symptoms that affect life and work can be managed, he says.

No reliable figures on the current prevalence of ADHD in China are available, but in other countries a figure of as high as 13 in 100 children has been reported, says Wei Ling, a child neurologist at Peking University Third Hospital, widely regarded as one of the best general hospitals in China.