4YR OLD AND ADHD??

lmparker06 · November 2012

My 4yr old child started K4 this year. His teacher says he is very figity, temper, unwilling to participate. He will kick and yell at other kids. She thinks he should be tested and put on Ritaln. I think too extreme. Anyone have this problem??

bearkatjen · November 2012

While the temper and acting out may not be normal, 4 years old is too young to be diagnosed for ADHD, and belligerence isn't really a sign of ADHD. This child sounds angry. I'd start with a visit to your pedi to see if he or she thinks your child should see a child psychiatrist to see why your son is acting the way he is.

The pre-k teacher is WAY out of line to suggest any sort of medication.

lmparker06 · November 2012

Thanks, that is what I thought way too young

ldcoffel · November 2012

I have a problem with what she said...

I am pretty sure you can't diagnose that until 5 years old. And as a teacher, she is not a doctor and should not be diagnosing, nor prescribing anything.

If she has concern, she might want to have him evaluated and refer you to your doctor.

Aren't all 4 year olds fidgety? If I were you, I would call my pedi and get her advice on how to test. I don't have a lot of experience with this, but I bet some others do.

lite-bright · November 2012

If your child is aggressive to the point that he is regularly kicking and screaming at other children and disrupting the classroom with his temper and unwillingness to participate, something is wrong. He should certainly be evaluated.

It may be ADHD, it may be some other type of developmental disorder or sensory issue, it may be that he's having some emotional issues that he needs help dealing with -- but it is not out of line to suggest that a child who can't handle a classroom environment be evaluated to try to figure out why. Fidgety is one thing, but the whole picture does paint one of a child who is having real difficulty for some reason that needs to be addressed.

She was out of line in suggesting specific meds -- she's not a medical professional, and there are lots of options before reaching the point of meds -- but that's about it.

JCM · November 2012

How about trying a different pre-school (or class)? Maybe this one/teacher is not the right fit for him. If you do, and he seems to have the same problems then seek professional advice.

DD was in pre-school last year and for 6 weeks straight her teacher called me every time she was at school (she went 2 days per week) to tell me she was distracted and wouldn't listen, blah, blah, blah, etc..... Fast forward to this year a new school, new teacher and she LOVES it and I haven't received a single complaint regarding her behavior.

This teacher seem completely out of line for suggesting his treatment path & I would most certainly speak to the director of the pre-school facility when giving my notice to remove him. Try changing his environment instead dx'ing him with something that will label him for life!

KatieandMark06 · November 2012

My daughter is extremely wild and hyper. She has hit boys, is sometimes mean to other kids and other times she outright just doesn't listen at preschool/daycare and at home. She also can have a horrible temper at times. I have thought about medicine and ADHD and all that I just think that 4 years old is too young for medicine and all of that. If DD is still like this at 5 or 6 I may be more concerned

jlw2505 · November 2012

A teacher is not able to diagnose a child with ADHD and while they see lots of kids and might have a good idea of the kids that have it - they can not diagnose it. Do you see the same behaviors at home as you do in school? Are you concerned? If yes, talk to your pedi about it. Many will not do a formal in a 4 year old but its worth getting the conversation started if you are concerned. It could also be that your child is 4 and in a school setting and just acting like a 4 year old.

My now 6 year old has sever ADHD. She was in FT daycare since 12 weeks old and then starting a FT PreK program when she was 4. She turned 4 in June and starting PreK in Sept. By the time fall conferences rolled around in early Nov, we knew she was very behind her peers (she also has a speech delay and has been in speech therapy since she was 3) and we started the conversation of holding her back a year for kindergarten. When I say she was behind, it was both educational and socially. She was always a very active kid, had tantrums at age 4 that were worse than any 2 year old and lasted a very long time, she could not calm herself down. That spring, we decided to hold her back and also touched base with our pedi who suggested we do an official eval. We referred to our healthy systems behavioral center that works with kids (under age 18) in all areas of behavioral and development delays/issues. We had an initial meeting in May (met with the psychologist and complete a ton of paperwork). Based on the mountains of forms and that 1 meeting (DD was at the meeting) we were referred for a formal eval which took place that August. It included a speech eval, a general overall eval of health, an educational eval. The team included a Behavioral Pediatric MD, a Pediatric Pyscholigist, a speech therapist and a OT. It was 2 days. We completed more paperwork and her PreK and speech therapists also completed forms.

After those sessions, at age 5 and 2 months, she was diagnosed with an Articulation Disorder and ADHD and we chose to put her on medication after a lot of research and conversations. We had already been trying behavior modification methods which we still to do this do with her (and adjust as she changes and matures) .

FOr my DD, the medication has changed her life. She repeated PreK and is now in kindergarten and when I look at her now compared to her at age 4, I don't even realize it it the same child. Her life is so much better.

I wanted to tell you all that because it is not an easy process but one that is worth it to go through to help your child. If you feel their is any concern, call your pedi and see what she thinks and go from there. I would not take the comment of one teacher - we saw the behaviors in my DD at home, at school and in all parts of our lives.

jlw2505 · November 2012

JCM:
Try changing his environment instead dx'ing him with something that will label him for life!

Having an ADHD label or other learning disability label for the rest of your life is not a bad thing unless you personally make it that. The label is there for a reason, so the school knows that your child has a special need and might need some extra help - nothing else. It is only a bad thing when people stereotype people. My 6 year old has ADHD and to me that is just part of who she is - nothing more. Yes, she may need to work harder than her sister at other things but you know what, my 6 year old is the sweetest child in the world, she loves to help others and is an amazing kid all around. Yes, due to her ADHD, she struggles at times to pay attention and struggles with her some other things but its not a bad thing.

Echowysp · November 2012

-auntie-:
Suggesting medication is professionally inappropriate for anyone associated with a school including teachers, aides, counselors, adminstrators, SLPs, PTs, OTs and even school psychologists. Unless they left their medical practice for the wildly lucrative preschool earning potential<saracsm>

In some children ADHD can be dx'd as young as age 3, but most psychologists and developmental peds are still waiting until a child is 5/6 before going there.

If you are in the U.S., you can ask your local school district to evaluate your child for all areas of suspected disability. Figity and not participating could be ADHD, but typically aggression suggests more going on.

If the school psych has their clinical license, as I do, they can broach the topic of different medications. They shouldn't ever say that a child "needs" medications, but they are allowed to discuss what the meds are and so forth.

That said, the teacher is way out of line and actually could be reported to the district.

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