My child who just turned 4 is "at risk" so they say for ADD/hd. I just keep hearing, no dx as child is too young, many other things mimic, what does this mean?
Noone seems 2 tell me what else could 'MIMIC'. does anyone know?
and also, i'd love to know, what is with all the touching of everything she sees? does it go away and what 2 do about it? Many thnks to all.
Processing problems
petimal seizures
These are just 2 of the 50 conditions that mimic adhd.
It means that there are a lot of disorders similar to AD/HD.It could just mimic an extremely active 4 year old. Not everything that wiggles is ADHD. It is hard to tell at an early age if it is ADHD or some other sort of learning or emotional problem, or just being an active kid.
It is probably something that needs to be watched and monitored closely but is too early to tell.
A dx is hard to pin on a young child because she's a moving target -- in other words, she's growing and changing at such a rate that some of her "symptoms" could just be developmental phases.
Having said that, if hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention occur in a young child, they could indicate ADHD. But ADHD-like symptoms also occur in other childhood disorders, namely Bipolar Disorder and Autistic Spectrum Disorder. The constant touching is a red flag for ASD. You might want to check out this website:
Your example is why I say these people don't know our son at all!Part of the ADHD diagnosis is that symptoms occur in at least 2 settings (like home and school) and that they are causing significant disfunction. Unless there is danger due to excessive impulsivity (runing into traffic), there is usually a wait and see attitude. Wait and see what more maturity will bring. At risk is kind of a heads up to watch for issues that adversely affect the child over the next few years. I wish I had been watching at an earlier age. We might have been able to avoid some of the depression, anxiety and school failure if we knew what to look for earlier.Could be central processing disorder. It closely mimics Adhd. Depression in children manifests itself in different ways. such as adhd symptoms.
Hummmmm mimic. There was an article I posted from Mayo Clinic a while back that included some things to look at that may "mimic" adhd.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/adhd/DS00275/DSECTION=5
Some things with the little ones to rule out may be sleep disorders, thyroid or glucose levels. Please read the articles. It will give you a good reason to look at other issues and maybe not medicate unnecessarily. Be sure to ask for a very thorough examination by the ped to rule out these things too.
Who is "they"? What type of doctor is saying this, pediatrician?
It is very true that many things mimic ADHD, but I also don't think it would hurt to get a thorough evaluation if things are going poorly. If you know "something" is going on, then a wide range evaluation should give you some idea's on what it may be, or maybe even a definite answer.
It's seems the most common, as has been mentioned are Spectrum Disorders, Bipolar, and at that age, I would say Sensory Integration Disorders as well. There are many many more though.
The meaning of mimic... well there are over lapping symptoms in many of these disorders, and it can be difficult to see with children. A 4 year old bouncing off the walls, may seem like a hyperactive ADHD child, when they may actually be manic with Early Onset Bipolar, or are on sensory overload from SID. A child running from toy to toy, may seem like a hyperactive ADHD child that is easily bored, when they may be a child on the spectrum that just doesn't actually know how to play with those toys. A child having tantrums out of a normal range may be because they are on the spectrum and tantrum out of frustration of not understanding, may have Early Onset Bipolar, or may have Tourettes with no visible tics yet. Some children have combinations of the disorders as well. It's common to see Tourettes and ADHD together, and Bipolar and ADHD, and children on the spectrum have sensory issues, etc.
There is just so much, and in a small child it can be hard to know what you are looking at. Sometimes signs are very obvious, and they may just be things that parents don't even realize are "signs", and they can be picked up by a good evaluator. Other times things just aren't real clear until they are a bit older.
I have a 9 year old who I have thought had ADHD since he was 8 months old. Autism popped in my head in a few times over the years, but all I knew were the symptoms of classic Autism and he certainly didn't fit that. At 4 I had him evaluated for ADHD by his pediatrician but was told to wait and see. At 9 we went back, and got the diagnosis. 6 months later, 5 medications later, and 2 doctors later, we are having a wide scale evaluation done because treatment failed. The more I read the more I realized he had many things that didn't fit with ADHD. We are now waiting on one final test result to confirm a diagnosis of Aspergers. So far all the other tests indicate that this is what he has. Makes total sense to me now, but 8 months ago I would have never believed he had anything more then ADHD. There was just a lot I didn't see. He certainly fits the criteria for ADHD, but ADHD doesn't fit all of his symptoms.
Anyway, it's just hard to know, but that doesn't mean you have to just hang out, and wait until you hit a wall. You can find a good evaluator and see what they think and get working on some treatment for the symptoms present, even if you don't have a full diagnosis. Neuropsychologist, child psychologist, developmental pediatricians, or any team that will do a multi-disciplinary evaluation, or wide scale evaluation (not just looking at one disorder) would be good places to start.
Good luck!
Hi. You need to remember that the "symptoms" of ADHD are simply a set of behaviors....and these behaviors can be rooted in many different types of disorders and/or medical conditions. I'd first rule out any kind of sleep disorders such as apnea or enlarged adenoids which block breathing, thus the child continually wakens in the night and never gets good deep sleep. Result? Poor behavior, inattention, etc.
The next disorder I've always felt mimics ADHD is an auditory processing disorder...also known as central auditory processing disorder. Google both those terms and you'll find out a ton of info on CAPD or APD. My own son, now 13, was first dx'd with an auditory processing disorder at age 5. We now know he has BOTH ADHD (Primary Inattentive) and APD.
When someone tells you a disorder "mimics" another disorder....that simply means that the behaviors that are manifested are common between the disorders. Example...... inattention and distractibility are behaviors that are common to both ADHD and APD. The root cause of the behavior, however, is what is important in trying to find help for your child. If the behavior is rooted in APD.....the treatment may differ than if it is rooted in ADHD. Okiemom