How young was your child when you suspected ADHD?

[WhiteHorse]

All the websites I have visited on it talk about a school aged child. Mine is 3.5. I have never dealt with this so I may be way off. What are the signs that your child may be heading in that direction?

My littlest son is intense. He is so distracted that he can't eat - it's 2-3 bites and he's off. We have been battling with his low weight for 2 years. Over the last year or so we have struggled with crazy behavior/ aggression. I am giving him a break from Singulair which he was on for several months, but his behavior doesn't seem drastically improved (slightly but still has unpredictable flares of aggression and still can't sit still for 5 seconds)  I was so hoping it was the medication, but I am trying to evaluate his behavior and keep an open mind.

[bec]

We are still in the process of getting a diagnosis, but I can tell you what drove us to search out a diagnosis.  Katie has always been distracted, in her own world, and fidgety.  She would definitely fall on the inattention end of things.  Things have been coming to a head, though in school for the past year and a half.  Her inability to concentrate is really impacting her in most areas of her life.  She struggles at home with homework, and listening to her parents, paying attention to directions.  She is struggling at school in the same areas.  She is struggling socially because she isn't able to track conversations well.  So, while she has always sort of been this way, it is definitely coming to a head and she is, currently, in the beginning of a downward spiral. 

[Ellen Griswold]

I certainly suspected when he was QUITE young.  Maybe 3, certainly by 4.  However, we chose to not pursue a diagnosis until age 7.  We also decided to give medication for 3 reasons: 1) it was effecting him academically, 2) it was effecting him socially, and 3) it was effecting his self-esteem.  It has made all the difference for him and us.  Good luck!

[Guinevere]

Honestly, I've known that my oldest DS likely had ADHD since he was around 3-4 yrs. old. When we would go to playgroups or to appts. of various sorts, he was always "that" kid who ran around like crazy, climbed everything in sight, got into everything and buzzed from one thing to the next like a hummingbird flitting from flower to flower. Back then, I focused mostly on his hyperactive tendencies, but those actually improved a great deal with age and by the time he finally received the official dx at the age of 11, he was dx with ADD inattentive type only.

I think the reason most of the literature is devoted to older, school-aged children is because that is the critical point when a child's lack of focus and attention start to have a significant negative impact on their life AND when their behavior starts to really fall out of the norm for their peer group. Let's face it, noticing a toddler or preschooler be all over the place isn't unusual, but seeing that same lack of control in an 8-year-old while the rest of his/her peers are sitting quietly working, well, it stands out, you know? Also, while ADHD toddlers and preschoolers can be downright exhausting for their parents to deal with, there aren't too many non-home situations where a child of that age is expected to perform or achieve. The school years, though, carry more weight and greater expectations, and not being able to focus during that time frame can bring with it some longer-lasting negative effects: poor grades, social problems, behavioral issues, poor self-esteem.

For our family, although I knew DS had ADHD, I wasn't moved to seek out a dx and official treatment (DS now takes meds) until his academic life really began to suffer, and with it, his self-esteem. Up until then, the behavorial strategies and dietary supplements, etc. that we had been doing were enough to get him by. In other words, we weren't anxious to move to meds until they were clearly needed. But I will say that DS on meds has been a revelation: not only is his schoolwork significantly improved, but he is happier, and vastly more competent in all areas of life. He describes it as being "the best version of himself" when on meds.

Hope this helps a bit...

Kind regards,

Guin

[WhiteHorse]

I just read an article about the correlation of infant "fussiness" and ADHD in later childhood. Interesting, and yes we did have extreme difficulties with feeding and sleeping, etc. when DS was a baby. I would have bookmarked the article but I had to get off the computer to attend to DS. Constant interruption has become my entire life.

What did you do to help your preschoolers? I need some ideas (not wanting to medicate) that might help us get through the day. I am trying and trying to understand how to snap him out of it, but nothing seems to work when he is "in the zone" of throwing things across the room, hitting me, screeching at the top of his lungs, destroying the house.... I cannot just pick up and go somewhere and sometimes it is raining and we can't go out. The hyper stuff is not ALL THE TIME, but when his mood is this way it can last for hours. Like today, DH had to take over, I am not capable of handling him when he is like this. Poor kid just runs around and is literally PANTING because he can't stop himself. Its like he is on meth or something.

[Monkey Keeper]

My DD2 is 3y4m and recently was evaluated for sensory issues by a school psych.  While they said it was too early to diagnose attention disorders, she had a lot of behaviors consistent with one. Incidentally, she was a very high needs/fussy infant and still is a poor sleeper.  The school psych had some advice for us regarding getting her the right sorts of sensory input during the day--carrying heaving things, using a "fidget seat" or rocker when needing to remain seated, using heavy blankets to help with sleep, jumping on a trampoline. 

If you do some research on sensory seeking kids, you may find some tricks that will help you help your son cope. It's really frustrating to have to deal with a preschooler who seems out of control a lot of the time.  

[ExOfficia]

I started to suspect something was off with my daughter around the time she turned 3.  She'd always been "that kid" to a certain extent (she was definitely more hyperactive than other girls, but not necessarily boys) and more significantly, her speech development was delayed compared to her friends.  I took her for a speech assessment, and she turned out to have a minor speech delay.  The SLP, while of course she couldn't diagnose anything, felt that she showed some ADHDish tendencies (she only said this because I asked) that were possibly impacting her speech and language development.  She did a 3 month block of therapy and was then totally up to speed in her speech.

That all said, she wasn't formally assessed by a psychologist until she was in grade 2.  She ended up being diagnosed as ADHD (primarily hyperactive), and gifted.  Up to that point she was doing great academically, as the giftedness was more than compensating for her attention issues.  We had her assessed because of her behaviors- she'd become more and more unmanageable. 

Since then, she's been on medication.  It's helped, though now that she's approaching puberty I'm thinking it might be time to have her meds reviewed, as she's having difficulties again...

[nola79]

In between 3 and 4. He is now 8 and on medication. It makes a huge difference in his behavior. We started medicine at 5 almost 6.

[Emmeline II]

ADHD is a possibility. Though ds was "difficult" from an early age, I don't think we seriously considered ADHD until K -- unfortunately.

I would search "developmental behavioral pediatrician" and your city.

[blessedwithboys]

OP, my now 16yo ds was "hyper" from birth.  He was high-needs, fussy, didn't sleep well, etc.  By the start of school it was soooo obvious that he could be dx with ADHD.  His ped even offered to trial ritalin without a formal dx.  I declined.

As the years went on, it got worse.  I changed his diet and gave him more outside playtime and it got a wee bit better, but never "perfect".  Because I was able to adapt our lifestyle to his needs, I never felt negligent in not medicating him.

Earlier this year, ds was dx with narcolepsy.  Apparently, lack of restorative sleep was driving him to hyperactivity.  So now I am on a PSA mission to offer the possibility of sleep disorders to mamas who wonder about ADD/ADHD.  If possible for you, please consider getting your kiddo an eval by a sleep specialist before going down the ADHD road.  Best wishes!