4 Yr Old Might Have ADD?

I have experience where Add is concerned. My neice is Add and struggled with school for a few years. They didnt catch it in kindergarden because she went to a catholic school where they didnt have a strict regimen each day. But in first grade my sister decided to put her in the public schools, and the heart ache began for both my sister and my neice. My neice used to fidget too. Play with the eraser, the tissues, the ring on her finger, not being able to focus or concentrate, by the end of 1st grade they wanted to hold her back. We knew she was smart, but she was struggling, even at home, homework took forever, and she was cry because she didnt want to do it, she could never sit still and she would have frequent outbreaks of temper tantrums, she had no control over her emotions. All of this time she was failing in school. After taking her to a few doctors, trying a few programs for add children, we as a family decided to try medication, and "see what happen", let me tell you, it took 3 different medications before finding the right one, with the right dose. She is now in the 4th grade. Want to know what happen, Last 9 weeks, she made honor roll ( all A & B)... A child who they dubbed as bad, a child that was failing... They just received this past 9 week report card, do you know what she got ? All A 's !!!!!!! If you could see how proud she is. I wasnt exactly excited about the idea of medication for my neice, but I too thought maybe it was worth a try. I am so proud of my neice, the accomplish ments she has made over the past couple years, to over come her obstacles, and how proud she is of herself. Good Luck to you.

Get Meridian (Electro Dermal Screening) it has saved mine and others childrens lives! You can ask alternative Doctors for advice, one is Dr. Everhart. Meridian Testing is the answer.

We too suspect that our son (who is also 4) has ADD. We've mentioned this to his doctor just so he is aware of our suspicions. However, our approach (as well as our doctor's) is to wait a couple more years before beginning any testing. The problem is that many of the ADD symptoms are indicative of 'pre-school age' behavior.

We've chosen to make some behavior/lifestyle adjustments/modifications at home - making our house as ADD-friendly as possible, making sure his sugar intake is minimal, he's getting the most amount of sleep possible, and reducing the amount of chaos in his life as much as we can.

I'm with you on the gut feeling thing though. My husband and I both see many 'signs.' My husband is in the 99th percentile for ADD and didn't get diagnosed until after we were married. He doesn't want our son to go through his education undiagnosed if he does in fact have it. We'll wait a couple of years, get him tested, and go from there.

Hang in there. I pray you'll sense what direction to head in from here.

T. E.

Hi, I think you're my twin. My son is 4 1/2 (May baby) and we're going through something similar. Actually I was just getting ready to post when I saw this. Do a search online for the Vanderbilt Teacher Rating Scale and Vanderbilt Parent Rating Scale. These are the forms widely used as a first step. He scored high in both Inattentiveness and Hyperactivyt/Impulsivity. My son is in the Preschool program our school district offers, as a peer model (some model he turned out to be...:0) So he has gotten a lot of help already with a great well informed teacher and occupational therapist help. We just turned these scales into our pediatrician and are waiting to hear back. Alot of things that I thought were normal for 4 years olds really aren't. My son cannot sit still, even when watching Tv and has a very hard time focusing and listening to directions, etc. I think that you did the right thing pulling him out of Kindercare (I won't go into my list of issues with these Day Care Chains) and it sounds like you've got him in a good place with smart people. I would call your pediatrician and ask about the steps for screening him. This is, from what I've read, just the right time to catch it early (I think I read that the average age of dianosis is 59 months, or just under age 5) A good resource my sons teacher pointed us to is www.additudemag.org. It's the website for ADDitude magazine and had lots of good info on line. Good luck to you - I'm interested to see what others have to say here :-) I disagree about waiting, if you can get him treated now before he starts school and falls behind. There are options like occupational and behavior therapy that can make a difference in his (and your) quality of life.

My son is ADHD. He used to fidget, and he use to be hyper,..BUT..he was young as well. However, the shoe lace thing, sounds more OCD to me. Is there a CHildrens Hospital close to you? They have a Behavioral Health Center that is PHENOMINAL! I wouldnt jump to any conclusions though...may just be his "testing" of new teachers at a new facility. Teachers, even some doctors are quick to place labels on children because it is so easy..but if you dont notice things occuring at home, then I'd just have him get a check up, explain the situation to your dr and se what he/she says. Good Luck. Let everyone know how that goes.

4 years old is young to diagnose with ADD... it's not unheard of, but it's young. There are various tests that can screen for it, forms that are filled out by both you and the teachers who are seeing the behavior. The most common thing to remember when diagnosis any kind of "disorder" like this is that is must interfere with daily life... with a child that young, it's hard to tell how much is "interference" and how much is the perceptions of teacher/ daycare providers.

Still, getting him checked and evaluated is a good idea. However, my .02, go to a child psychiatrist, not a pediadrician... I mean a pediatrician is a great start, but a psychiatirist is going to have a lot more focused training in this area and be able to give you more accurate information.

Hello,

My advice? Its normal. My son who is now 9, had many problems in preschool we actually had to change schools and his odd "behavior" similiar to what you are describing continued until around 2nd grade. I think people are too quick to say their kids have add or adhd b/c of intolerant and impatient teachers. Boys are hyper in general and do weird things sometimes. So what? My 9 year old grew out of this phase and is now fine. I am just glad I never listened to the teachers and their garbage since it was them, not my son. While i do believe some children truly do have the adhd disorder, I think there are entirely too many kids misdiagnosed and medicated for no reason and it is a travesty in our society wiht long term affects. Be patient, and unless he is hurting himself or someone else, leave it alone and defend him. I switched daycare three times, not b/c of his behavior but b/c unforunately, when you deal with impatient folk, they will label the more annoying kids and then they are in trouble all the time for absolutely nothing. I hope this helps~ T.

I would definitely suggest having your pediatrician test him for ADHD. We had the same problems with my son. Many schools are hesitant to test for ADHD until the child is a bit older. My son went through a year and a half of Kindergarten (they held him back) before we changed schools. After about a month at the new school, they suggested that I have my son checked. I took him to our pediatrician who confirmed that he did in fact have ADHD, which is common in the boys in my family. He prescribed an ADHD medication, Concerta, for my son as well as a few other suggestions. I now give my son one pill every morning and after school is a strict schedule: homework, one hour of play time, chores, dinner, more playtime, bath, reading, then bed. Unless we have something special to do, it is the same thing every day. Another trick we use is to award him with poker chips for things like extremely good behavior, well done chores, etc. Each chip is worth a quarter at the end of the week he can choose to either spend what he has earned or save it to buy something bigger. Honestly, he is a wonderfully behaved 7-year-old boy now. He brought home his report card yesterday and I was amazed to see that he got almost exclusively "Excellent" marks, including one for exhibits self control!

Don't just assume the worse right way.... This could be his way to get the attention he wants, children are very smart!!! And, at this age they get distracted very easily and do tend to fidget a lot..... I have 3 children and one of which does have ADHD... If it would make you feel better talk to your doctor, but it may be nothing at all....
I've noticed teacher expect a child to sit perfectly still, and do every little command they say (I won't say all, but a lot that I have dealt with lately)!!!!!
But, at this age they have a lot of energy!!!!! I wish we all had as much energy as they do!!!!!

HI I JUST JOINED THIS AND WAS LOOKING OVER THINGS WHEN I CAME ACROSS YOUR BLOG. I HAVE A 4 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND IT SOUNDS VERY SIMILAR. I JUST PULLED HER OUT OF WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A GREAT PRESCHOOL. ALMOST EVERY DAY THEY WOULD TELL ME WELL SHE DID THIS AND THAT. I FELT LIKE I WAS 2 FEET TALL. I KEPT ASKING MYSELF WHAT ELSE CAN I DO TO CHANGED HER BEHAVIOR, BUT I'VE TRIED EVERYTHING IN MY EYES.. I BELIEVE SHE DOES HAVE ADD BUT WHEN I TELL OTHER PEOPLE THIS SOME OF THEM SAY THET SHE'S JUST BEING A KID???WHEN IS ENOUGH REALLY ENOUGH....A GREAT MAJORITY OF THE TIME SHE HAS NO ATTENTION SPAN UNLESS SHE IS REALLY INTO IT. AT DAYCARE SHE CONTINUED TO ACT OUT TOWARDS HER TEACHERS AND SO ON. THE THINGS THAT THEY SAID SHE DID THERE SHE DOES NOT DO AT HOME, BUT I DON'T DOUBT THAT SHE DID THEM. I'M REALLY JUST STUCK AND COULD USE SOME MORE ADVICE FROM OTHER PEOPLE THEN MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY...

Wow. Are you sure you didn't just describe my daughter?

She was diagnosed with ADHD last year. She's a good kid, but she had no self-control or self-awareness of her condition. We decided to give medication a try, and I'm so glad we did! It didn't turn her into a different child. It just gave her the boost she needed to monitor her own behavior.

We use Focalin XR in a single 10 mg dose per day. We chose Focalin because it's not Ritalin. It is one of the drugs that composes Ritalin, but it has far fewer side effects than Ritalin does. The only side effect we've noticed is a decrease in appetite. Once the dosage wears off, however, her appetite is back and she eats normally. This dosage wears off in about 8 hours. (She is 7 years old, stands 4'6" tall and weighs 59 lbs.)

Talk to your pediatrician and see what he/she says. I don't enjoy medicating my child, but I cannot deny it has helped her. She is now performing at or above grade level in all subjects and her teachers now describe her as good-natured, well-mannered, and a model citizen.

Best of luck to you!

Hi J.,
Your son may not be able to control his actions because of some nutritional deficiencies and possibly ingredients in his environment that are irritating to his system. These are fairly easily corrected. I'd love to share with you what others have done.
S.

If you have concerns my first suggestion is to speak with your child's doctor. Discuss your concerns in detail and even bring in copies of teacher responses if you can find them. At that point you and your doctor can decide if your son should be sent to a developmental specialty clinic. The Children's Hospital Dv Clinic is WONDERFUL if it's not too far of a drive. The one in Dayton, well I wouldn't suggest it. They would run a series of tests on your son that would help them to pin point any attention or hyperactivity problems, as well as other learning and developmental problems. I'm not one to jump to self diagnosis on things like this. Your son's behavior sounds as if it may be a good idea to at least make an appointment to discuss this with his doctor. It could be ADD/ADHD or another issue but it could simply be his age and his disinterest in what's going on at daycare.

I went through the exact same fears before I got my son diagnosed. It is better to be informed than scared. You can call your sons Dr and see if he/she can help you if not they might know someone that can. Or you can take him to a a family treatment center that deals with families and kids in trouble. Thats what we did and now hes on meds and doin better some days. Its hard to find the right Dr at first sometimes but trust me if he needs the help and you find the right Dr you will never regret your decision to get him "help".

I work in a pediatrics office and we get questions like this all the time, and yeah it probably is his age. He may be bored with the "curriculum" also and trying to find other things to do. I would def. talk to your dr. but also let it ride a couple more years

You should probably start with your pediatrician. I'm not really sure if they diagnose ADHD and ADD in kids that young though, but it sounds like you have some ligitimate concerns.

My son has ADD. We didn't diagnose him until he was in the 2nd grade. If your son had the hyperness w/it it would be ADHD. But I would call your Dr. I don't think they like to say a child has ADD or ADHD at that age. They will probly tell you it may be his age and you'll have to wait till he's older to find out. I could be wrong tho. Definately call your Dr. and tell them what the teachers have been noticing.

S.