Poor sleeper, "boundless energy", little focus - ADHD?

malcivar

So I've been reading some posts and it's been feeding a little fear I have growing in the back of my mind.  DH has ADD and I'm thinking our little guy maybe might have it too.  Just reading some posts here about poor sleeping being a possible indicator and he DEFINITELY has sleeping issues.  Not sure how much of it is his age and how much of it is a problem.  He will go to bed in his bed but then at about midnight or such, he'll get up, seemingly afraid because he'll be crying and come into bed with us.  We usually just give him a quick diaper change and put him back to bed - sometimes this works.  Other times, like last night, he'll spend HOURS awake and talking, usually just repeating stuff he's heard on Super Why but it goes on for hours.  I think last night it was almost 3 hrs.  

I work so I don't have the chance to go observe him at school but whenever I have gone in to visit he is all over the place, hopping from one place to the next, climbing things, jumping.  He's like this at home.  Unless he's in his high chair or dead tired, he's jumping and climbing and if you try to get him to stay still, it just won't happen.  Like if we sit him at his little table, he'll squirm and try to get up repeatedly.  At school, during circle time, there's usually an assistant either right next to him, putting him back in his chair or holding him in their lap.  

So now I'm wondering - could he also have ADD/ADHD?  

kcisthebombdotcom

It seems like many kids who exhibit adhd symptoms are misdiagnosed with ADHD when they really have sleep problems. See below. https://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/06/20/does-your-child-really-have-adhd

If your child is over 3.5 and still not sttn, you should consider a sleep study. Getting your child more quality sleep may make the symptoms you're seeing dissipate.

malcivar

-auntie- said:

This is the lil' brother?

It's hard to say. It could just be that he's an active little boy. Toddlers are quirky, busy creatures. Or he could have some neurodevelopmental issues- the boundless energy, poor sleep could be a clue that an ADHD dx is in his future as these do run in families. The echolalia in the night could be a situation where the sib of a kid on spectrum has a common ASD trait.

No, this is the older one.  Chris already has an ASD dx and I'm wondering if ADHD might not be knocking on the door or already let itself in through the window.

Funny that you bring up the sib of a kid on the spectrum with a common ASD trait.  Our littlest one ADORES his older brother and will try to do everything Chris is doing - and sometimes that's not a good thing.  Like recently, he sees his brother spinning - and laughing while he does it - so he started and DH FREAKED - said he was stimming.  I don't think it was.  I think he just wants to do everything his older brother does because his older brother is the coolest kid that's ever existed.  KWIM but that being said, any suggestions around handling this (lil brother imitating big brother)?

malcivar

-auntie- said:

It's hard to say. Sometimes LOs will imitate and older sibling on spectrum- and sometimes they are doing so not so much in imitation as their own desire to spin because they have some sensory quirks of their own. This is a common theme of parents who younger kid is showing true signs of ASD and is being evaluated- the parents will suggest it's all imitation of the older sib just as they wrote off the poor social skills with kids as being a function of being an only child with no real exposure to other kids. The latter is unlikely and not worth worrying about just because he's looking up to Chris.

What often happens is that lil'bro will "outgrow" his brother in terms of social and emotional maturity sometime around the point where he is 1/2- 2/3 his older sib's age. At the point, they'll be something of an unsettled time where the little one realizes his brother isn't anywhere near as capable as he is and the older brother will feel threatened over his role as the eldest being usurped. It can be very sad all around, especially if Lucas is a socially successful kid who attracts friends and Chris is jealous of how easy things are for his brother.

One thing you can do, and probably already are, is to make sure Lucas gets lots of time spent with typically developing peers in order that he can hone his social and play skills. And if Lucas is imitating stims, you can certainly attempt to fade or redirect them. 

Yes, in some ways I already see him outpacing his brother which is sad but I don't think Chris notices just yet.  It will definitely be more pronounced a few years down the line when Lucas has friends and maybe Chris doesn't.  Welcome to my childhood.  I can only do my best to not repeat my mom's mistakes which was to pretty much ban any kid from the house who didn't include my sister in our activities.  I always found that a bit unrealistic especially since we didn't go to school together so on top of being different, she was a stranger to this visiting child.  Anyway, maybe with the fact that there's so much more integration these days, maybe Lucas's friends will be a little more understanding and inclusive (or maybe this is just an unrealistic dream).  

There is one thing.  Chris used to do this thing as a baby which we later learned was "becoming rigid" which I've now seen Lucas do a couple of times, usually when he's frustrated about something (like mealtime), however I'm not sure what's just a kid being frustrated and what's "becoming rigid".  Does that even have a technical term?