Comments on: Does My Child Have ADHD?

By: Jodi

Jodi — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:47:01 +0000

Very insightful article. We are about to embark on an evaluation for my Kindergarten-aged daughter, who has been struggling with some emotional and behavioral issues since she was about 2 and a half. Because she has always had a great attention span, none of her pre-school teachers ever considered ADHD before. Everyone assumes that if a child can pay attention, then they don’t have ADHD.

However, my daughter is clearly hyperactive/impulsive. We cannot take her anywhere that requires her to sit still….not to the movies, not out to dinner, etc. And, even when she is doing a “quiet” task, like coloring or playing on the computer, she is not sitting, she is marching in place. Her K teacher noticed quite a bit of foot stomping and hand banging…something she was misinterpreting as possible sensory disorder. That was quickly ruled out by the school’s OT, and we are now realizing those symptoms are the result of a child who is knows she is supposed to sit still and is desperately trying to do so, but needs to release that energy somehow.

She also finds it extremely difficult to follow instructions and obey rules. Her teacher and I don’t believe she is being deliberately defiant….she is never hostile or angry when she fails to comply with a request. For example, if I tell her to stop jumping on the couch (which happens all the time, no matter how many times I have told her it is forbidden) she will agree and stop. Then 5 minutes later she is right back doing it again. And so it goes until I finally send her to time out.

But, perhaps her most obvious symptom is a lack of coping skills and an inability to regulate her emotions. She will cry inconsolably, for extended periods of time, over the smallest things….losing a hair clip, when a kid cuts her in line for the swing, and other easily-fixable problems. Here’s an example, she frequently leaves her lunch box in her locker at school. The school is right around the corner, so we just hop in the car to get it. No problem, right? Yet still, each and every time she gets home and realizes she forgot it again, she has a meltdown.

Meltdowns are also quite frequent in the classroom and during homework. She is fine until she makes a small mistake, or gets to a question she can’t answer. Then, her frustration level goes through the roof and she has a meltdown. So, needless to say, she is starting to fall a bit behind.

I finally called her pediatrician, who spent over an hour on the phone asking me a bunch of questions. We had joked about her being a “handful” at prior well visits, but I never went into too much detail with him. He was the first one to ever throw the idea of ADHD out there, and said now that he knows all the facts, this sounds like a classic case. And, we were referred to a pediatric developmental/behavioral specialist for an assessment.

On the one hand, I am thankful that we are finally going to get some answers. On the other hand, I have to wonder why none of those who have been put in charge of her care have ever considered this option? She went to pre-school for 3 years, with 3 different teachers, and has been in K since early September. Shouldn’t those who work with young children be better informed about the possible “red flags” for ADHD?

By: Meredith

Meredith — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 13:46:34 +0000

My 5 year old son has been diagnosed with ADHD… and after a year of struggling on whether or not to try meds… we started this summer. First with Ritalin, but he had horrible side effects. Now, he’s been on Adderall XR for almost a month… starting the first 10 days on 5mg, and now taking 10mg a day. It seems to help a little bit within the first few hours. But after 3-4 hours on it, he gets REALLY “sped up” and intense. It’s like we’re giving him speed. He has a little appetite loss too (some days worse than others) and mood swings/hysterical crying some days, but not every day. It’s just not doing what I thought it would do. My hubby and I both thought that it would calm him down, relax him, and make him be able to sit still better in Kindergarten, which he starts in 2 weeks. It DOES seem to help with some of his wild/destructive/impulsive behavior. Yet, it seems like we are trading one sort of behavior for another. Instead of the wild/impulsiveness, we now have a super-sped up hyper & intense child… who sometimes gets really upset/has a bad reaction & mood swing over little things that would not normally upset him. I thought that if a child has ADHD, that stimulant medications would calm them down/relax their brains… whereas, so far with our son, both Ritalin and now the Adderall seem to be speeding him up.
I’ve talked to the doctor about his experience on the Adderall… and she wants me to continue watching him and seeing how he does in school in a few weeks. As a mom though, I hate to see him with ANY negative side effects of a medicaiton… esp since he is so young.
Yet, every morning when we give him the Adderall, he seems to do better within a half hour… and settles his wild/impulsiveness. Then, when we get to the afternoon/evening, is where we run into all of the negative side effects… “being sped up” too fast/too intense/mood swings/hysterical crying, etc.
What do you think about this?

By: Polly

Polly — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:46:38 +0000

You may not need another opinion, but I'd suggest considering a re-evaluation every one to three years for any child with ADHD. As your child develops some of his symptoms may improve, while others may get worse. Regular monitoring and re-evaluation will help you to know what his current strengths and weaknesses are. Your psychologist should be able to provide the re-evaluation and give you advice about alternatives to medication. For great tips try the book Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents (Revised Edition) by Russell Barkley. Best of luck! Taking Charge of ADHD: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents (Revised Edition)

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 19:59:32 +0000

We brought our son to 2 different neuroligists. The first one spent 20 minutes with us, asked for no additional information (connors, vanderbuilt,report cards) and said that he has some anxiety and handed us a list of psychologists. The second neurologist asked for everything (connors, vanderbuilt, report cards, info regarding his social interactions , spent nearly 3 hours with us and concluded with a diagnosis of ADHD combined type. Our schools child study team did an eval and along with the diagnosis, created a 504 plan. We are now bringing our son to a psychologist for CBT and have also seen a nutritionist (he has a great diet). The neurologist prescribed a med but we are so hesitant to go down this path. Our son also bright FSIQ 129, but marked deficiencies in his digit span and coding 25 and 50 percentile, respectively. We keep coming back to the same question. Is he really ADHD? Should we go for yet another opinion?

By: Polly

Polly — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:42:13 +0000

I would absolutely have him evaluated by a licensed child psychologist in your area. He may have ADHD or he may not, but at least you’ll find some answers to why he has been struggling and what you can best do to help him! Best of luck!

By: Shannon

Shannon — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:55:34 +0000

My child has been struggling in school for the past few years, he is in the 5th grade. On all of his progress reports and report cards state “does not pay attention in class, shows disruptive behavior, always fooling around, now he is at the point of failing. He cannot stay focused with small tasks and sometimes has an I don’t care attitude. None of his teachers have ever mentioned the possibility of having ADHD, but I am starting to believe that he just may. Should I have him evaluated, I am at my wits end and just don’t know what to do.

Thank You For Any Help

By: Polly

Polly — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:23:36 +0000

Try going back to your child's doctor and explain your situation. It sounds like you need your doctor to help get the ball rolling. Just don’t give up. It might take talking to a few different people before you feel like you’re making any headway, but you’re doing the right thing by trying to have his symptoms checked out by a professional early on. For more on ADHD, check out Education.com’s ADHD section. Best of luck!

By: jade

jade — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:29:34 +0000

my son is 7yrs old the teacher has told me that my son has symtoms of adhd so i went to see my doctor who also agreed wit me and referred me to cams but they wont see me to i seen a parent support worker which i am doing but everytime i try talk to her bout finding out if my son had adhd she tells me that it wont change his behaiviour and that is what she is helping me with i do not know where to go from here because untill she does a report for me i cant get to see cams i feel stuck and do not know where to try next

By: Polly

Polly — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:52:52 +0000

I would try talking to the school counselor at your son's school to see if they can conduct his evaluation for ADHD. Otherwise, a child psychologist in your area would be able to help or try making an appointment with your son's pediatrician. I understand your frustration, but don't give up. It might take talking to a few different people before you feel like you're making any headway, but you're doing the right thing by trying to have his symptoms checked out by a professional early on. For more on ADHD, check out Education.com's ADHD section. Best of luck!

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:32:10 +0000

Hello,
my son is 6 and has always been hyperactive, although he can be a handful we have never sought medical advice. Recently my son’s school teacher gave me a special education needs form as his hyperactivity and his lack of concentration is affecting his school work, he is receiving one to one help at school at the moment and this is to be reviewed in 6 months time. Obviously this has concerned me a great deal and I went to visit my GP about getting my son assessed for ADHD he was really unhelpful he said that maybe my son was not that clever and that’s why he was getting bored at school and he would not refer us until he had a letter from the school. I feel like I’m going round in circles. I don’t want to wait 6 months in limbo and with my son getting further and further behind at school.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Becky