Please help... | ADHD Information

sound just like my son at that age. he's severe adhd. you really should take him to a neurophy. have him tested, find out what's going on and get him treatment, so when he starts kindergarten he will be all lined out (with meds if you choose that rout). If you need help finding a good dr in your area, let me know where you live and i'll help you find one. you can pm me and i'll help you out any way i can. You are in the right place! Glad to see you here!!!

This sounds alot like my daughter. She says she only hears parts of what people say because her brain is too busy to listen. The terrible 2s lasted until this summer (age 10). She was diagnosed at the end of the last school year.

The best thing is to get a good diagnosis. Then you will know how to proceed. Express your concerns to the pediatrician and ask if there is anything he/she can rule out (my daughter was tested for thyroid, iron and other deficiencies that can mimic ADHD). Get an appointment with a child psycologist or neuropsychologist that specializes in ADHD. You want a comprehensive evaluation for ADHD, coexisting conditions (ODD, anxiety, etc.) and IQ testing (in case the behaviors are caused by a gifted child in the wrong educational setting). It is best to get the diagnosis as soon as posible so you can explore treatment options appropriate for your son's specific needs.

Look at the top thread called Ogram's marble system. It is a positive reinforcement behavior plan that works for many. This has had success for my daughter at home and at school (we started this type of stystem with the school before adding home behaviors). This helped with the behaviors and cut the battles at home down, but she still needed meds to get through her work at school and homework. She went from Fs last year to As and Bs this year.

[QUOTE=ogram]sound just like my son at that age. he's severe adhd. you really should take him to a neurophy. have him tested, find out what's going on and get him treatment, so when he starts kindergarten he will be all lined out (with meds if you choose that rout). If you need help finding a good dr in your area, let me know where you live and i'll help you find one. you can pm me and i'll help you out any way i can. You are in the right place! Glad to see you here!!![/QUOTE]

He already is in Kindergarten. He was in daycare and preschool program since he was 2 1/2. How do you distingush between just not wanting to listen vs ADHD?

I have just begun to do research about ADHD based on my sons current behavior. My son will be five on Halloween and he is, to me, out of control. He can be a very loving boy at times but recently he is displaying behavior that is very troubling. He started school this year and although he was at a structured daycare and preschool, he is having a very hard time. He is just not listening at all. I have asked the teacher to send home daily reports because one week into school, the teacher told me at open house that he had been in time outs already. I will be the first one to say he has the energy of 3 little boys. He has never displayed any behavior that I feel he is a danger to himself or others. Every day the teacher sends a report home letting me know how is day is. She reports that he has a hard time sitting for carpet time. That he can not stay seated in his chair. Although he is having tons of behavioral issues, she says he is the smartest kid in the class. He is not even five yet. At home, he has meltdowns. I asked him yesterday why he has been misbehaving so badly and he said very seriously, "Mom, sometimes I can't control myself" "Sometimes my brain just doesn't listen"....this really didn't set well with me. His teacher said he displays some symptoms of being ADHD but I just don't know. I always just thought he was an active child. He walked at 9 months, crawled very early, was a very happy baby. Certain things he has said bothers me as well....he told me that he didn't love me anymore. That he wanted a new family...this is not normal for him. He has had meltdowns since he was 2. To the point to where I wouldn't even take him out places because it was the same thing everytime. My discipline has ranged from swats on the behind, time outs, taking toys away, taking TV away, to now sending him to bed early. I am really confused and scared because I don't know what else to do.

Does this sound familiar to anyone???? Please help....

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Your mention of Thyroid and Iron defeciency has me thinking. His father has Hyperthyroidism. And at age 1 1/2 my son was diagnosed as Anemic. I had to give him daily Iron drops. At about 3 the ped told me I could take him off after he tested ok. However, he eats no meat. He is extremely picky. Guess I should research those things as well. Thank you soooo much!

My son also had a hellashous kindergarten year. I think my son's daycare experience exacerbated his adhd problems in K, because the stuff they were doing there, he'd already done two years earlier. Boring! And I totally relate to the things you are hearing, my son also tells me that "I can't hear my body" or "I hate my brain." Get a good diagnosis, be a pain in the butt until you feel comfortable and confident with the results. Good luck.

You might research if there is a history of ADHD in your family as well (it's thought to be genetic).... if there is, that is usually a red flag. You also might want to check out the Alternative and Complimentary Meds section of this board. There's info there about diet and the effect it can have on behavior (additives, etc. in our foods....). Welcome!

This also sounds liky my son at age 4 in terms of the classroom behavior. Consequences don't work with my son. He just finds a way to deal with the consequence, and continues the behavior. Rewards programs work IF he buys into it and finds it motivating. For example, he has to select the rewards himself, and it has to start out so that he easily succeeds right out of the gate. I set the bar low at first, and slowly move it up.

Your son sounds a lot like mine. We were just diagnosed with moderate ADHD yesterday.

I would definitely start with your ped and start getting him tested.

If he is acting out at school, it will start to affect his relationships with his friends. If he is unable to sit and listen, it will affect his academics, and will also cause him a lot of frustration, which is going to lead to more meltdowns. It sounds like he is very smart, and that he realizes that he is not able to do what he knows he should do - if he is as sensitive and loving as our son, and it sounds like he is, this will bother him even though he can't stop what is happening.

We also worked out a "chart" for our teacher to communicate with us. She has split his day with her into 5 sections - circle time, art time, snack time, free activity time, and one other. She has a picture of a thumbs up and a thumbs down for each section, and below that, a list of the behaviors that she is trying to reinforce with each section. This is so helpful to us because we can praise him for the things he did well, and also talk about the difficult times. We also found that before we did this, if he had one bad time - he would come home and say his whole day was bad. We need to be able to reinforce the positive times too!!

Good luck. It is hard and it is scary - but you are not alone.

I just noticed that he's four and in kindergarten. Personally, I would hold him back one year. If he has ADHD, you want him to be one of the oldest children in the classroom, not one of the youngest.Sounds identical to mine. He used to say "I tell my brain to be good mommy". How sad is that, poor kids.Definatly sounds like ADHD behavior. I'd start with an IEP for him and possibly placing him in a special educaion class I know the thought of that sounds very scary but the plus side of it is a smaller class setting not being as overwhelming, more understanding teachers and he will not be punished as often since when they are punished it sets them apart from the rest of the class causing low self esteem. Speak to his teacher ASAP and have the process started.