ADHD?

docmay25

I used to come on here all the time, but it has been a couple years since I have been here.  I stopped having questions because I stopped trying to get help and resources for my son and started managing it on my own.  I just felt like after years of testing and asking for help, feeling like my concerns were not being heard, I gave up. Not on my son, just on getting help from doctors.  

I always knew there was something different about my son my didn't know what it was.  Doctors said there was "something" but it wasn't an obvious diagnosis of one specific thing.  He has always had sensory issues and I have believed since he was 3 that he has ADHD.  He is now 8.  He was diagnosed 2 years ago with Disruptive behavioral Disorder because they felt they could not give him an AdHD diagnosis.   They won't give him an adhd diagnosis because his teachers report that he does fine in school.  We see the complete opposite at home. I understand that school is very structured and he has always had amazing teachers. This helps him do well. 

We are thinking of having him tested again because all the strategies that we always used at home are not working anymore.  The doctor told me that he probably does not have adhd if he does not have problems at school. Is this true?  My husband has ADD and he managed thru school fine.  

 Any advice, guidance you can offer would be great.  

docmay25

Thanks Auntie.  Always interested in your insight.  The Disruptive Behavior Disorder diagnosis just doesn't sit well with me because from everything I read, it doesn't sound like him.  I don't have an issue with his behavior. He doesn't act out, would never hurt or be mean to anyone and does his best to behave and follow the rules.  It is his attention and hyperactivity that is the issue.  He wakes up at 6 am every morning and is "go" from the minute he wakes up. He can't follow directions. When I give him a 2 step direction, by the time he gets upstairs, he forgets what he was supposed to do next.  This is largely because between me giving him the direction and him going to do it he gets distracted by at least 5 other things around him.  He is also very impulsive.  

I see some of this in his school work.  He is extremely bright and tests above his grade level.  But...his writing is messy because he rushes.  I can sometimes barely read it.