Advice About ADHD

Hi M. C.
I have plenty of experience with ADHD. My entire family has it. You son sounds to me that he might have it or ADD. Playing with children and not getting along also comes with ADHD. There are ways to help with this besides meds. Feed him alot of protien (peanut butter works great). First you have to get your son tested, check out child psychologists. Your local school district will know of one. By all means no SUGAR. Also your child would have a very hard time to keep his mind on something. Does he get in trouble alot. Does he know why he get in trouble. Most ADHD children can not figure this out. Let me know what you find out. Good Luck.

I would get him tested if it would make you feel better to know, but from a friends experience with this Doctors tend to misdiagnose ADHD, put them on medication for it then find out that what they though was ADHD is just hyperactivity in a normal child. Most healthy kids of this age are hyper and inquisitive and with your son being intelligent he needs more of an outlet for his energies. Being as he probably isn't in kindergarten yet I would suggest enrolling him in a pre-school so he can better adjust socially and the teachers there can watch out for any unusual behaviour associated with ADHD. I happen to think it is a good thing for a kid to have a lot of energy and be curious about his world; you probably have a future Bill Gates or a Thomas Edison in your home just needing an outlet for all his creativity!
Sorry, but I don't personally have an ADHD child but if one of my children were diagnosed with this I would want a second opinion before starting any meds for it. I wish you luck and best wishes for you and your little guy.

It does sound like ADHD. My oldest has the same problem. He's on medicine and see's a therapist. He also has Bipolar disorder. I would get him tested. It could be his age. When Alex was first diagnosed, the peditrition gave me a test to fill out. He had lots of problems. The testing, just filling out a single page questionaire showed where he was having so much trouble. He was also into everything. He'd empty the book shelves everyday and not sleep until 1 am or so and be up at 4:30 am or so. It was so hard. I was so glad to get him on meds.

That said, It could just be his age. The local Mental Health Center wouldn't treat him until he was six. Some youngsters show the symptoms but are just exercising their independence.

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!

It does sounds like he has ADHD or ADD.

My husband has ADD. He wasn't diagnosed until he was 22 years old! He has been taking Strattera and is doing well on it! Before he started taking this medication, he was a job jumper. He would hold a job for maybe 3 or 4 months and then want to go onto another one; same occupation but a different company. Grrr! I finally was able to talk him into trying Strattera and it helps him keep on task and concentrate on ONE thing at a time. He just celebrated his SECOND YEAR at his job yesterday! I know that sounds like nothing to most people but for us, that is HUGE! Just know, if he is diagnosed with either, they are lifelong illnesses and don't end in childhood unfortunately.

Good luck!!

Hey M.,
My stepson has ADHD as well as ODD (oppositional defiant disorder). I know that his mom kept trying to get him tested but it took his preschool teacher also saying he needed to get tested. If your concerned you can always call your child's doctor and speak to a nurse about your concerns. WebMD is another really good source of information and maybe something you want to check out if you haven't already. I would try those things first. But remember that your his mother and no one knows him better than you and you should follow your gut. I hope this helps and if I can do anything else for you, let me know.
C.

My Five year old was just diagnoised with ADHD and ODD. I think your son sounds alot like my son. I have to put him in the cart at the store. They say you should get it diagnoised as soon as possible so that it doesn't turn into ODD, that is Oppositional Defiant Disorder. When it goes into that its really hard to deal with. I hope this has helped and if you have any more questions feel free to ask.

M.-
My brother has ADHD and it does sound like he might have it. But then again he could just be very active. Have you tried to eliminate as much sugar as you can from his diet? Some kids have a strong reaction to sugar. My brother is very intelligent, but it is on a different level. He never would pay attention in school and always gets sidetracked by something else. Yet at home he does things like make light dimming sitches from old thermostat dials. His mind is always switching channels you can especially tell when talking to him as he talks and talks constantly switching subjects. I would recommend you get your son tested and go the natural route, I think there are too many risks associated with ADHD medicine. There are lots of books out there with alternative routes to help ADHD I know daily fish oil is supposed to help. My brother was on medicine when he was younger and I think it totally changed his personality when he took it he was like a zombie. Now he is 22 yrs old and does not take it, but I think he self medicates by using marijauna. It is important to intervene so he can live a normal life.
Brekka

My 7 year old son and 4 year old son were diagnosed with ADHD

I also have a 4 1/2 yr old son. The doctors and psychologists wanted to tell me he "may" have ADHD or a mild form of Autism. I truly think these things are over diagnosed because not everyone's child fits into that "perfect" image that has been created by society. Ok, off my soapbox. So I did my research and found that diet has a lot to do with behavior. I immediately took away the candy, junk food, and everything with food dye. It worked like a charm. And I can always tell when he comes back from grandma's and has had something with colored sprinkles, because he runs around like a crazy little puppy for the day. It takes a lot of commitment do cook and read labels, but it's better than giving a child that is so young medication. Hope this can help you as much as it has helped me.

J. W.

If he is not a behavioral problem to you (and I mean a very real problem, not like "he's stubborn", etc) then please don't use these reasons to get him tested and medicated... please do some research on the overmedication of kids and put some thought into it.

Everything you listed is a sign of a kid who is HAPPY and LEARNING and CURIOUS-- moving, talking, touching things... use it as a way to teach him. Different kids learn different ways also.
My younger brother sounds like Brekka's too- would have been slapped with the ADHD title and medicated in the school system, but my mom taught him (and all of us) at home and avoided that, and to this day he is very bright, loves to learn and was starting his own company by 15! (He is now 23)As a preschooler he would take things apart and put them back togetehr all over the house- the kitchen table legs, a clock radio, you name it- he is extremely smart!

I kind of know what your talking about. I'm in the process of having my son tested for ADHD. IF you lived where I live. I'd have NO problem giving you a name of a great doctor. However, w/ y'all living in ID. I'm not sure what all to tell you. Good Luck!!