Now ADHD?!

bumpuser511563

I visited with the behavioral therapist this past weekend. She suggested to see how DS would react to mountain dew. If DS calmed, I should look into an ADHD diagnosis. She even said she knew of other professionals that can give him medication. He is only 4!

I am scared to go down this road after we have had our PDD-NOS diagnosis as of last year. Then we all changed to the DSM5 and it is all autism.

At what age would you suggest evaluating for ADHD?

Am I crazy?

TIA

MercyGale

my daughter was recently dx with ADHD as well and she is also 4.
However, her pedi IS sending us for a 2nd opinion at a specialist since she IS so young.

On the same note, my SIL works with special needs children, and has lots of experience... DD does not sleep through the night yet, she awakes at like2 or 3 am EVERY night. She suggested melatonin to help her sleep because she could simply have a sleeping disorder, not a behavioral disorder.

either way we are still getting a second opinion. I have NO idea how to help and am struggling with this as well. Maybe we can learn together

 

Princess_Lily

I heard it 4 is too early to dx ADHD in children, and that 6yo is around the time it is dx'd. However there are "red flags" according to Laurence Greenhill, M.D., of Columbia University/New York State Psychiatric Institute (https://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/2488.html):

1.) preschool expulsion: caused by aggressive behavior, refusal to participate in school activities, and failure to respect other children’s property or boundaries.

2.) Children with extreme behaviors are avoided by their classmates, shunned on the playground. Other children are “busy” whenever parents try to arrange playdates.

In our situation, we are seeing a child psych for DS (4yo).  Now although this may seen young to many (including myself), our reality is DS has had major struggles in attending preschools (see flag #1 - this is our story), the journey started since 2011 (2.5yo). 

I think evals and treatment plans for children could vary based on the needs of the individual child.  As a child for me, (Auntie said) I "flew under the radar" because outwardly I easily blended in the classroom I knew I had to stay in my seat, but my mind was buzzing with daydreams.  By middle school, my grades were showing a dramatic decrease.  Now my parents still believe that ADHD isn't real, and I don't have it.  But I believe in my case, inattentive ADHD (aka. ADD), even if recognized by the school system, I wouldn't benefit from a medication, while it would help to stay productive, it still is considered a band-aid solution.  I needed to learn and be consistant with skills to help me.

DH on the other hand seems to be SPD and gifted.  However while he had seen psychs since young, his home life was extremely chaotic and inconsistent, therefore he learned on his own ways to cope with school (and home life), it really is a miracle that he graduated HS.

Please don't be scared of a dx, but having a dx will only be able to help your child, and get your DS the help he needs as early as possible - to give him a "head start" in the school.  The psych said that to be a proactive parent in a childs life, to get them as much help as possible, will not only help them short term - but long term as well to become successful adults.

kcisthebombdotcom

MercyGale said:

my daughter was recently dx with ADHD as well and she is also 4.
However, her pedi IS sending us for a 2nd opinion at a specialist since she IS so young.

On the same note, my SIL works with special needs children, and has lots of experience... DD does not sleep through the night yet, she awakes at like2 or 3 am EVERY night. She suggested melatonin to help her sleep because she could simply have a sleeping disorder, not a behavioral disorder.

either way we are still getting a second opinion. I have NO idea how to help and am struggling with this as well. Maybe we can learn together

 

I would request a sleep study before starting melatonin. My daughter never sttn and always awoke around the same time every night. We found out she was having nighttime seizures and when we medicated, she not only started sttn but her attention span has improved dramatically. It's hard to focus if you're not getting sufficient sleep, Kwim? She also had seizure activity during her EEG while we were watching her sleep and it was completely unnoticeable so even if your child is still while sleeping it doesn't rule out the possibility.

MercyGale

You ladies are really helpful. I am a very young mom, and I am trying to learn as I go. Her behaviors are very difficult for me to deal with, but I am trying to work on recognizing her needs and getting her to recognize them. Her pedi said I could give her a small dose of melatonin, which we have been doing for about 3 days now, but as pp have said it only helps her initially fall asleep, we are still up 2-3 times a night, and that is ok because it is the norm for the past 4 years, just so tiring!

Brewtowngrl

DS1 has Severe anxiety, ADHD and SPD.  We took DS to the neuropsych at age 4.  DH and I both had a feeling we were headed down the road we are on since DS1 was about 2.  He started walking at 10 months and by 2 he was everywhere.  Never with one toy more then a min or two.  Never ate.  He dropped his nap by 18 months and only slept about 7 hours at night.  2 is also when his brother was born and we really noticed that not all kids were like DS1.  

When DS started kindie last year he started to eat his clothes.  Not just suck on.  Then he moved on to the school supplies.  He was also getting more aggressive and it was apparent he had no impulse control. He was getting dangerous to himself, myself and his brother.  

We started OT for his SPD last winter.  He has been in therapy since June.  He is medicated.  He is not happy without it and will not let us forget to give it to him.  

There is my story.  What i am getting at is to trust your mom instincts.  Some kids are just more difficult and some need extra help with meds and/or therapy. It is hard.  It is emotionally taxing.  I never thought I would medicate my child this young.  Finding the right combo of medication has been the hardest part of parenting so far. I cried all the time this summer while trying to figure that out. It was really hard on my relationship with DH because we were so stressed.   It is hard to see your child struggle especially if they don't understand themselves fully.  A lot of docs now believe early (proper) Dx is important when it comes to ADHD,