Are there early intervention strategies for ADD?

Re: Are there early intervention strategies for ADD?

• MoMandA

  November 2012

  We have had luck with a one teacher per 2 students gymnastics class. And we are about to start earbonics, but mine has a speech delay too. Have you gotten an EI evaluation. Some of the behaviors that you are worried about could be helped with OT and an OT could conduct an evaluation for a sensory processing disorder.
  

  

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• groovygrl member

  November 2012

  bubba2b:

  https://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/2488.html

  Thanks for this...when I read things like this article, I think that DS is not following this pattern at all- he is not at all aggressive (quite the opposite when around other kids, he is quite friendly but relatively passive, the only kid he will really push around or grab toys from etc is his sister for the most part), is not bouncing off the walls or hyperactive really, he can focus on some things (trains, books)...so we often wonder if it is just maybe he is a little immature for his age or compared to other boys his age. I guess though, like anything, there are varying degrees of this and other things that could be going on. He has gotten much better since this summer so we think that will continue with age, but I just want to be prepared & also to help him in any way we can if things don't improve. Thanks!

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• groovygrl member

  November 2012

  -auntie-:

  groovygrl:

  I'm curious. My son is 3 and a month or so ago we went to a psychiatrist for an anxiety evaluation and she acknowledged that he has some anxiety probably from recent adjustments (moved states, new daycare, new routine, etc etc) but she also planted the seed that a lot of the behaviors we brought up are seen in kids who eventually have an ADD/ADHD diagnosis though she couldn't make that diagnosis at this point. (eg easy frustration, lots of sleep troubles, trouble PTing, nail biting/fixations, lack of focus for a lot of activities that some other kids his age seem to be able to do though not a total lack of focus (he can read books for a very long time on his own or with us and will engage in certain games/activities like Zingo but not really other games for example), daycare reports that he has trouble staying in his assigned center and always wants to go back to the trucks, etc. 

  It's pretty rare to see a child under psychiatric care at age 3; most kids don't exhibit that level of anxiety so young. Most kids with those sorts of adjustments get over the changes fairly quickly; this is a common age for siblings to be born or moms to return to work, for families to move, etc.

  In the anxious kids I know, if there isn't a major change to focus and act out around, they will get stuck on smaller changes and transitions.

  FWIW, you described my son- who has Aspergers- at 3. Fairly inflexible in his thinking, wildly anxious (to the point of dictating directions in the car to avoid things that scared him), hyperfocus on topics that he enjoyed (his special interest was/is trains; he read a book on them once from Harrisburg PA to Columbus OH without putting it down when he was about 3. He was also a skin picker, challenging sleeper, etc.

  DS does also have an ADHD dx, but in the preschool years I didn't see it. His flavor of ADHD was always more about impulsive speech/behavior and poor executive function than hyperactivity. As a little kid he seemed sort of laid back to the point of lazy.

  When you say fixations, what are you describing? Does he have a passionate interest in trucks or does he get stuck?

  So I was trying to look into some early intervention strategies to try to help him and all I could find was recommendations to do things like read (which we do extensively already) or do activities that require focus for bursts of time... 

  Any recommendations? I work f/t so special classes & things like that which generally occur on weekdays are not an option. We tried soccer this fall and originally put him in the independent class for 3-4 yr olds but that was a quick fail with him running out crying so we moved to the one with parents in it, and while it has progressively gotten a little better each week, he still rarely listens to the teacher for any amt of time and the parent who is there w/ him constantly has to redirect him to the instructions.  

  At three, especially a slightly immature three, I'd avoid group "lessons". I'm not a fan of group activities for sports until older. A private swim class or hippotherapy would be a better fit. It's sometimes not enough to put a child in an activity to provide a chance to learn social skills and group behaviors. It might be better to start smaller and focus on rote instruction and then put him in a place where he can practice.

  Probably the one thing you could do would be to provide clear structure in his day. It sounds like you chose a preschool that has a structured routine. Maybe get techiniques from there to bring home.

  Thanks!

  I am using fixation probably a little too seriously, for awhile he was nailbiting & chewing his fingers & straws (not ALL the time, mostly at home, I had daycare watch out & they said they didn't see it very often, it usually occurred when he was distracted like watching tv or reading books) but seems to be doing that much less, replaced with shoving both finger  up his nose simultanously, like all the time. He always says "i won't do it again mommy!" but we are working on that (I had him wear mittens for an hour yesterday and he didn't even take them off, it was like he wanted to try to stop the habit too...) 

  The train/truck interest is definitely not an obsession, it is just something he will play with independently for maybe 20 min at a time, so just an example that he is able to focus on certain things. He moves on to other things as well, plays w/ all different things in his playroom & plays all sorts of games & imaginative stuff w/ his sister. The psychiatrist fully evaluated re ASD type behaviors in a written assessment and in questioning us & him pretty thoroughly, so I'm really not too concerned about that but I suppose who knows how things could play out.  

  I agree about the group classes based on our soccer experience...I have been trying to get them into private swim lessons (he's a twin) at our gym but am on the wait list. I have also thought about gymnastics for them maybe w/ small groups b/c he has excellent balance, can do forward rolls really well, etc and I thought it would be a setting that allowed for individual activity versus always having to do something as a group... 

  We've worked a lot on structure but still need to do more... the kitchen timer has been a savior, he totally 'listens' to that and transitions much more easily when we use it, he even asks for us to set it sometimes.  

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