hyper child... any help?

taboullio84 · November 2014

My 5 year old is seriously super hyper... Even moves around while he eats.. Teacher brought it up to me that I might want to talk to his Dr. The Dr said he's young and the teacher is just stressed . I was thinking about cutting out all processed food.. ( I never let them eat candy ) sigh ..
If you went through this..

1) what helped?
2) when should I worry?

Thanks ladies.

FYI besides being hyper I feel I repeat myself over and over. It's like he instantly forgets. He's extremely polite and sweet.. Just goes full speed all day. And he is child #4 the others are nothing like this.

taboullio84 · November 2014

Sorry if that is jumbled.. I have a migraine.. And he is trying to climb walls.

carolyngrace · November 2014

If you're really worried and it seems like it will affect his education get him professionally evaluated by a psychiatrist. It doesn't mean he will be put on meds, they can recommend a lot of good behavioral interventions to try first. Good luck! (p.s. not a mom of a hyper child, but someone that works with them).

taboullio84 · November 2014

Thank you. I guess I'll ask around.. See who's the best with children.

willowprincess · November 2014

It's not going to hurt to get evaluated. So if you are worried, I would go that route. But also know, that some kids are just more hyperactive than others. All three of my kids are CRAZY! They move non-stop all day. My close friends have kids that are much calmer. Just personality differences.

Good luck, and I hope you can at least get some specific strategies to help.

stinybean · November 2014

You might want to look into getting him into sports like karate or swimming. These are areas that some of my kindergarten students have gotten into. They help the child use up the extra energy. This can also help with concentration.

Bluediamondgirl · November 2014

As a teacher, please get him evaluated! If the school has brought it up to you, it's out of the ordinary. Like PP said, it doesn't mean he'll necessarily be put on medication. There are many other options to try, but don't totally discount meds either. I've seen many kids that have responded very, very well to medication. You could also ask the school counselor or psychologist for recs for doctors to see

willowprincess · November 2014

Bluediamondgirl said:

As a teacher, please get him evaluated! If the school has brought it up to you, it's out of the ordinary. Like PP said, it doesn't mean he'll necessarily be put on medication. There are many other options to try, but don't totally discount meds either. I've seen many kids that have responded very, very well to medication. You could also ask the school counselor or psychologist for recs for doctors to see

Not necessarily. There are a surprising number of teachers who recommend evaluations and I have no idea why. (I was an EIS)

blu-eyedwife · November 2014

Is he sensitive to stimuli too? I know a child who "can't sit still" literally, when eating or doing anything and he was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder. It's probably not something a pediatrician would be able to diagnose right off the bat, but getting an evaluation by an OT or behavioral therapist can help diagnose or rule out.

cmcards83 · November 2014

I've read quite a few things recently about diet and hyperactivity. Food additives such as food coloring, flavors, and preservatives have been shown to cause symptoms of hyperactivity.

I obviously don't know what your son's diet is like but it's something you can look into that's doesn't require doctors or drugs.

https://healthychild.org/the-kids-are-not-alright-food-additives-and-childhood-behavior/

taboullio84 · November 2014

Thank you ladies... I'm going to spend this weekend putting together meal plans that might help. For the most part we eat healthy.. But I'm sure once I go through everything there are things that need changing. I'll look into who he can get checked out by if it doesn't change.

mandybacken · November 2014

I have a husband who was on Ritalin at a young age. Our 5 year old daughter inherited his nonstop energy. we are avoiding medicating her because he felt like he had to be medicated to be normal. So far it is ok - she doesn't listen for crap and gets in trouble a lot but it is manageable. Luckily her kindergarten parent teacher conference went well; I was nervous for that. I think she will learn to cope with it as she ages and your son will too. She is sensitive to sugar and caffeine.

sscott2111 · November 2014

If you wanted to pursue an evaluation in the future, I would see a psychologist who can complete a psychological assessment. In my experience, pediatricians can drop the ball on making referrals for emotional/behavioral concerns. Also, psychiatrists do not do testing and I think it's important to have an accurate diagnoses if any at all, especially before talking about treatment.

I hope things improve with diet changes, hyperactivity can be stressful.

ftm0413 · November 2014

Hello,

I want to second the suggestion that he may have sensory processing difficulties. I am an occupational therapist and my doctoral emphasis was in pediatrics. My primary setting is pediatric home health. While most or my patients birth to three, I do have a handful that sound very similar to you son, and I work with my younger patients to prevent their sensory difficulties from turning into disruptive behaviors in the future.

There are many factors that could be attributing to the increased arousal that is hindering his ability to functional properly at home and at school. Your OT will ask numerous questions about his past development and prior progression of developmental play skills. For example, many children with ADHD and other learning disorders did not learn to crawl properly so the increased activity is a due to poor connection between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. In this case your OT will use a series of movement activities during therapy to work on this connection. Or, it may be that his entire central nervous system is seeking vestibular or proprioceptive input in order to achieve the same level of homeostasis that we can achieve just sitting on a couch. If he seeks activities like climbing/pushing/pulling you can give him ‘heavy work’ activities prior to sedentary tasks to prevent his need to move. Your OT will be able to diagnose specific areas of difficulty and work with your son to teach him how to regulate is activity level. She will also be able to provide you (and his teacher) with an abundance of strategies (e.g. compression vest, fidget strip under desk, sensory diet, etc.). Finally, she can give strategies for his poor auditory processing, so you don’t have to keep repeating yourself over and over.

It’s important to determine if his hyperactivity is sensory related as soon as possible. This is because you never ‘grow out of’ sensory issues (think fingernails on a chalkboard – that auditory hypersensitivity. Do people ‘grow out of’ hating that sound?). If he is in public school, there is an OT there and she might be willing to help. However, if he does not qualify for special education he will not be able to receive school-based services. This is where a home or outpatient therapy can be very helpful. And OT is fun! Therapy sessions are play-based and tailored to fit your child's needs.

It doesn’t hurt to have him evaluated. In most cases insurance covers 100% of an OT evaluation and this can be done in a clinic or at home. I would just make sure that the therapist has experience or is certified in SPD. Feel free to message me privately if you have questions or would like help setting him up with an OT evaluation in your area.

taboullio84 · November 2014

jhswife said:

Hello,

I want to second the suggestion that he may have
sensory processing difficulties. I am an occupational therapist and my
doctoral emphasis was in pediatrics. My primary setting is pediatric home
health. While most or my patients birth to three, I do have a handful that
sound very similar to you son, and I work with my younger patients to prevent
their sensory difficulties from turning into disruptive behaviors in the
future.

There are many factors that could be attributing to the
increased arousal that is hindering his ability to functional properly at
home and at school. Your OT will ask numerous questions about his past
development and prior progression of developmental play skills. For example, many
children with ADHD and other learning disorders did not learn to crawl
properly so the increased activity is a due to poor connection between the
right and left hemispheres of the brain. In this case your OT will use a
series of movement activities during therapy to work on this connection. Or,
it may be that his entire central nervous system is seeking vestibular or
proprioceptive input in order to achieve the same level of homeostasis that
we can achieve just sitting on a couch. If he seeks activities like
climbing/pushing/pulling you can give him ‘heavy work’ activities prior to
sedentary tasks to prevent his need to move. Your OT will be able to diagnose
specific areas of difficulty and work with your son to teach him how to
regulate is activity level. She will also be able to provide you (and his
teacher) with an abundance of strategies (e.g. compression vest, fidget strip
under desk, sensory diet, etc.). Finally, she can give strategies for his
poor auditory processing, so you don’t have to keep repeating yourself over
and over.

It’s important to determine if his hyperactivity is
sensory related as soon as possible. This is because you never ‘grow out of’
sensory issues (think fingernails on a chalkboard – that auditory
hypersensitivity. Do people ‘grow out of’ hating that sound?). If he is in
public school, there is an OT there and she might be willing to help. However, if he does not qualify for
special education he will not be able to receive school-based services. This
is where a home or outpatient therapy can be very helpful. And OT is fun! Therapy sessions are play-based and tailored to fit your child's needs.

It doesn’t hurt to have him evaluated. In most cases
insurance covers 100% of an OT evaluation and this can be done in a clinic or
at home. I would just make sure that the therapist has experience or is
certified in SPD. Feel free to message me privately if you have questions or
would like help setting him up with an OT evaluation in your area.

He was advanced for everything. Talking.. Crawling.. Sitting up.. He reads books..
( he's in prek.. Turned 5 on the 12th) he does his work in class.. And listens he just moves all the time. She did say she has to repeat herself sometimes. So I brought him for his ears. During the ear test he told the nurse " I already did this at school, I don't want to do this again. " like he has to explain himself before he refuses to do something. I did get him to finish by cutting him some eyes. Smh

He plays sports.. Is amazing, listens to his couch.. So I don't get it. Seems like he stays bored.

My oldest two are in gifted programs.( my daughter reads at a high school level.. Speaks 3 languages she is 10) So I see the same thing that they had. Bored... But they wouldn't move around like he does. I need to get it figured out so I can research it and help him out.

ftm0413 · November 2014

I sincerely apologize if you thought I was questioning his intelligence. ADHD is just often grouped into similar categories as learning disorders. I did not mean to indicate that he is behind in school, and that’s why it’s unlikely that any school services (like school-based OT) would be available to him. The majority of kids with sensory issues have average, if not above average intelligence and that’s why they often get overlooked in an educational setting.

I completely agree with your decision to look at diet and other aspects before medicating. There is an abundance of research on food dyes and gluten on children with hyperactivity.

From what you’ve said I agree that he is ‘bored.’ That’s where stimulants like fidgets at his desk, oral-motor input, and other sensory strategies are shown to help. Here are some parent-friendly links on examples of activities you can try at home when he is “trying to climb the walls.” But like I said before, my practice are is primarily birth to three and I specialized in neurodevelopmental treatment. It’s been a while since I worked with school-aged kids so the research may have changed. You just sounded a little overwhelmed so I thought I’d offer my two cents. I did not mean to offend you.

Hope your migraine is getting better J

https://www.sensorystreet.com/uploads/Heavy_Work_Activities_List_for_Teachers_-_Elizabeth_Haber_and_Deanna_Iris_Sava.pdf

https://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/schynoweth/files/Heavy%20Work%20Activities%20for%20Small%20Places.pdf

https://www.pinterest.com/auntgeorge/ot-proprioception/

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Jtdd · November 2014

My son is 6 and sounds very similar! He's always falling out of his chair at meal time cuz he just can't stay still. We haven't done any testing with him and probably won't. My husband has ADD and he recognizes the same kinda thought patterns that my son seems to have. Honestly ADD can be a great gift when you learn how to harness it in a productive way. One of the things I've learned from my husband about the not listening thing is that your often talking too slow, their thoughts are going a mile a minute and if your going too slow for them they loose interest. Also it always surprises me how much my husband and son actually hear when it doesn't seem like they do, for example I'll tell my husband something and then like 10 minutes later he'll be like oh ya so you were saying... It kinda goes into his brain and then pops back up when something triggers the memory. Making sure school work is challenging enough also helps to keep his focus because when it's too simple he rushes throught it and often makes mistakes cuz his brain is like 2 steps ahead of him. We have him in a French Emersion school so that helps. And as far as the hyper active thing they just need lots of opertunties to get their energy out. Unfortunately a lot of schools don't cater to this, I've heard of some outdoor schools that do a lot of hiking and outdoor exploring which sounds really cool if you live in a larger city you may have some options like that.

KonaCoffeeBean · November 2014

JimBobCooter said:

DS's first kindergarten teacher told us we needed to have him medicated. We changed him to a new school after xmas break, for several reasons, and brought this up with them when we enrolled him. The school psych and the teachers kept and eye on him and then diagnosed him as being a five and a half year old boy. What he needed was a teacher who was able to think outside the box and not expect all children to be robots. He has been nothing but a model student since we changed to a school that understands this and works around who he naturally is.

This is not to say that there isn't a time and place for intervention and meds, but IMO we are far too quick to diagnose children as hyperactive because it is more convenient for us if they don't behave like children. As others have said, kids have different personalities and there is a very wide range of normal behavior. But you are in the position to know your child best. If you think his behavior and energy is really beyond the range of normal, definitely seek an evaluation for him. It isn't going to hurt.

One of the books I read with DS was Raising Your Spirited Child. Gave me lots of insight into his energy and personality quirks. He has also done tae kwon do for three years now and the disciple and focus it has taught him have been wonderful. Others have also offered great suggestions.

ETA: And ditto looking into sensory processing issues. My DS probably falls into the mild end of this category.

Wow. A teacher an MD, that's impressive. I would absolutely lose my shit if a teacher told me that my kid needed to be medicated. Good for you for finding a better school for your son.

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