I'm starting to feel pretty certain that my 6.5 yo DS has ADHD. A little bit of background...
My son is very friendly and outgoing. He wants desperately to be friends with practically every kid he meets but his behavior can be a bit over the top...does crazy stuff to get attention...at school does things he knows he shouldn't because the kids tell him to, etc... At first, I put this down to his very dramatic nature and the fact that he is a bit of a fish out of water. We moved to Greece from the States 3 years ago so he is having to adjust to many things, including learning to speak Greek.
I have suspected for some time that he is probably dyslexic...it runs in my family...and he has a speech problem for which he recently started speech therapy. Everyone who has contact with him says how highly intelligent he is, his teacher, therapist, family, friends. He learns very quickly and is very creative but has resisted learning to read. The speech therapist agrees with me that he exhibits many of the indicators for dyslexia and says we will watch him carefully during the next school year (1st grade).
I have always considered him to be VERY active and sometimes difficult to discipline. He is also a bed wetter (also runs in my family). Lately he has been extremely difficult to deal with. At first I put it down to his age, a developmental thing. Apparently it is normal for 6 yos to get very bossy, rebellious, talking back, a bit like little teenagers. But as I've been researching about dyslexia lately I saw that about half of those with dyslexia also have ADHD. I've also noted that there are times my son just can't be quiet no matter what and even seems to be bouncing off the walls, sometimes literally. He has a very difficult time falling asleep. Just can't shut down. (I have particularly noticed this because I also have sleep problems. I have fibromyalgia.)
Anyway, all of this has made me start wondering if he might also be ADHD. I'm so worried because the health system here in Greece is not quite on the par of that in the US. And the schools are horrible! We are considering exploring home schooling but were going to wait to see how he does in first grade this next school year. I hesitate to bring this up with the doctor. I am not eager for my son to start on medications. I prefer to use them only as a last resort. So I'm looking for alternative things to try that are safe to "experiment" with.
So, what do you all think? Does this sound familiar or do you think I'm way off base? I'd love to hear some feedback.
Thanks.
Hi. I almost didn't reply because you're in Greece, and I have no idea how good the diagnosing/help is there. I'll give you the answer I'd give somebody in the US, and you can take it for what it is--and what you are able to do. Before jumping to any diagnosis in your mind, I"d take him to a NeuroPsycologist, who will test intensively for ADHD and beyond--beyond being possible high functioning autism and LD's and psychiatric problems. I've seen, though, that, other than North America (US and Canada) many countries just are not open to diagnosing other disorders. I'm not sure why--it seems they chalk it all up to ADHD and give out Ritalin. If you can get an intensive evaluation by a NeuroPsych, I'd do that before using any medication. Without intensive performance tests, you really don't know what your chld has, and neither do we. The three disorders that mimic one another are ADHD, early onset bipolar, and autistic spectrum disorder. Did your son have a speech delay? I don't believe kids deliberately don't learn how to read. I feel something must be wrong there. Anyways, I can show you an online test for autism/PDD, which can be there in VERY bright kids who just are "different." The people on the PDD board SWEAR by the test and believe that, if you are honest when you answer, this test is very accurate, and PDD's do mimic ADHD. As far as I know, there are no online tests for other disorders, and no lack of disorders a child should be checked for before starting meds (imo). Here's the link and I wish you luck. HOpe your health care system for childhood disorders is good!!! Welcome here :)
www.childbrain.com/pddassess.html
MomWI38919.2291898148I would see about having him screened and diagnosed then go from there for help. Good luck