ADHD?

jcarleo1

Anyone have a 4 year old with ADHD if so what are you doing to help your child and yourself? I have found that yes his behaviors drive me nuts I honestly feel bad that he cannot control himself, and I just want him to feel better.

Suggestions greatly taken.

Andrewsgal

Did you get a diagnosis through a doctor? That is very very young to be diagnosing chiildren with ADHD. Please don't take this the wrong way I am a firm believer that there are a lot of kids with this disorder and need a lot of help, but i am very cauious of diagnosis this young.

jcarleo1

Yes about 2 1/2 weeks ago.

HarrietNJMommy

Andrewsgal:

Did you get a diagnosis through a doctor? That is very very young to be diagnosing chiildren with ADHD. Please don't take this the wrong way I am a firm believer that there are a lot of kids with this disorder and need a lot of help, but i am very cauious of diagnosis this young.

I was going to say the same thing. From what I know, it's not really diagnosed until close to 6 years old....... 

jcarleo1

Diagnosed by a phycologist, pedi can't diagnosed until 7. origionally thought it was sensory.

shellybird101

My DD is a little high strung and we were researching about diet and hyperness and found that after limiting her Red Dye #40 intake her moods, hyper behavior and overall behavior has improved.  I don't know if this might help your child, but it has in our DD and it at least a shot. 

https://www.sciencemag.org/content/207/4438/1485.abstract

elk571

I was a psychology major in school and our preschool has recently told us that they think our child has ADHD as well (she will be 4 shortly).  I can say that at this age, if u go looking for something you will find something b/c there is no 4 yr old who can control himself, his emotions, or grasp reasoning completely!  We tried reducing the sugar, the dyes, getting more sleep, more of a schedule, etc and it didn't seem to help.  Ultimately we decided the "ADHD" was the result of something underlying (as this diagnosis usually is now that they've discovered how over-diagnosed/medicated it is) and settled on a conduct/authority disorder that is more under the anxiety/behavioral spectrum like ODD.  I started giving her shorter directions like "pick up the blocks first and tell me when you're done" and then give her the next chore, rather than "clean your room" and it helped tremendously!  So I would suggest something like this type of therapy, maybe where u can make things a game like Simon Says, b/c the problem at this age is that if u give them a medication, even if they don't have that condition, their body will learn to expect the med and they will actually develop the condition if they didn't have it already b/c their brain is still forming...

I hope u get the outcome you're looking for, b/c I feel your pain in how frustrating it is for u both, and that kids often get labeled, judged, punished, etc at school and in public for things they can't help, and it's not fair to anyone!

m_and_m

IMO, ADHD behaviour is par for the course in this age group. I would not do any kind of medication until a much older age, if at all. There are other coping mechanisms that you can get from an OT, such as short concise directions (like PP said), pictures showing the necessary steps to do something (for younger kids a shutterfly book or whatever showing them getting ready for bed step by step- page 1 is bath, page 2 is drying off, page 3 is jammies, page 4 is brushing teeth, etc is one example that helps them understand exactly what is going on and what is next), very regular meal and snacks (low blood sugar can make it worse), etc.

For example, if my nephew (he's now 11, but this specific scenario has been going on since he was 6) needs to clean his room you can't tell him "Clean your room and we can have some ice cream after". He wants to do it, he wants the reward, but he just can't. But if you tell him to make his bed, then come back for the next step he can do that. Then you tell him to put all his dirty clothes in the hamper, then all the toys on the bed, blah, blah, blah. It's more work on our part, but otherwise he gets overwhelmed and distracted by everything. He also learns better when he's active and when he can split things up into very small segments. My brother sets a timer for 5 minutes- 5 mins of spelling, 5 minutes times tables, 5 minutes playing, wash, rinse, repeat.

If I ask DD to pick up all her toys, or even to pick up her play food it just doesn't compute. I have to tell her to pick up all the vegetables, then all the fruit, then the bread. I've seen other kids who can manage it just fine, but she just looks at you blankly.

We have a strong family history of ADD- my mom, my brother, me, 2 of my brother's 3 kids. The adults use a combination of coping mechanisms and meds, the kids have a controlled diet and help from an OT. Can you ask for a referral?