The School Says its ADHD The Expert ... | ADHD Information

Says it isn't!

We have a son who will be 6 in July.  In his first year at school the teacher asked us if we could let them bring in an outside psychologist to watch him in class and assess whether he had ADHD. They said that he was having problems sitting still in class.

The teacher, we his parents and the psychologist all filled in a questionnaire on our son's day to day behaviour and the results semed to indicate that he had  borderline ADHD.

We decided to take things further and took him to a psychologist who our Doctor referred us to.  She did 2 x 2.5 hour tests and the conculsion was that he didn't have ADHD but that he needed to be able to move around in order to retain information.

We sent this the report to the school and everything seemed to be fine for a few months.  However we have been called back to see the specialist in the school who says that he is still fidgeting in class and they want to get another psychologist in.

We're realy confused as to what is going on.  The school tell us that he is extremely popular, that he isn't doing anything to be naughty and that he has plenty of friends.  His school work is average for the class.  He doesn't rush around all of the time and doesn't seem "hyper" to us at all.  He also has no problem in sitting down and drawing or colouring in for a long time and behaves like every other little boy we know.  In fact compared to some of them who seem to really want to physically hurt people (judging by the look on their faces) when I seem them hitting people in the playground he seems great.

I guess what this comes down to is this - if our boy did have ADHD is it obvious?  Would we have someone who could never sit still, was hyper all the time and had trouble concentrating on anything?

I'm sorry if this sounds like I am generalising and I apologise if anyone takes offence, I don't mean it in that way - we're just at our wits end!
First, no it would NOT necessarily be ovious. Nor would your child necessarily be aggressive or overly hyperactive. I do not think three evaluations done under the age of six are really necessary though. Quite often behaviors that look ike ADHD are a matter of maturity under age 6. This is partly why the criteria is that symptoms are there BEFORE age 7. I think it is great you have these two, but dont see how much more information you could gain this year. Can you ask that it wait until next year? My 12 year old was originally thought to have borderline ADHD at 5. we did not treat her (with medication) at that time. She was definitively diagnosed later at age 8. At that point we knew we had to medicate and it was a solid diagnosis. My 5 year old had a neuropsych eval just before turning 5 (not specifically for ADHD......another story), but my point is she had a some distractibilty, behaviors at school, tantrums at home and hyperactivity at home. The school psychologist and my own knowledge of all this pointed us int he direction of leaving things alone and re-evaluating after age 6. There are many more tools to evalaute after age 6. I also spoke to a private neuropsychologist who agreed. WE all felt some could maturity. Some of it IS maturity in her case as she's made a complete turnaround. Still tantrums, but comes out of it, still a little hyper at home, but an angel at school.  I guess after all that rambling I am thinking it may be prudent to give it a year and then have the evaluations form now to compare.The focus issue will become clearer in the next grade or two. You will be able to see if there is an issue. I would wait and be patient if he is academically on target and seems fine socially. Not being able to focus and follow instructions during learning time at school is typical ADHD behavior. My son focuses great when he likes the topic -- reading by himself, drawing, science. It was not clear in kindergarten, or even clear enough in first grade (or me). Do you have a sibling to compare him to? This was so helpful for me. When my daughter turned four, I could compare how my son acted at four to the way she acts, and what she has mastered in comparison. As she matured, it became more and more apparent that my son was not where he should be. The disparity was obvious.I guess they are just trying to get you to medicate. I don't see the point of adding another psychologist into the mix. ADHD symptoms become clearer with age. I would wait. What's confusing is that you did not mention attention issues. ADD and ADHD both involve attention issues. The school cannot diagnose ADHD, you need to see a board certified child psychiatrist for that dx. Diagnosing before ade 6 is difficult.Hi Thanks so much for your replies. 

I agree that it is hard. He is the youngest in his class and we have asked if that could be part of it but you just can't tie them down to a straight answer; it is so frustrating.

His attention issues are interesting.  Apparently the main problem is that he has problem focussing on instructions and sitting still on the mat.  Saying that the teacher did say we must be "a very tactile" family as they have noticed that when a teacher sits next to him and they are side by side (touching each other) he has no problem sitting still.

He also attends an after school club and one of the carers there said that in her opinion there was no way he had ADHD (I know they are not qualified etc.) She mentioned a case where she asked the all to sit down and do an activity such as drawing, colouring in or making something from clay.  She mentioned that our son was sitting still and concentrating long after all of the others had become distracted and gine off to other things.  I had taken some comfort from that until I read somewhere that ADHD children CAN control their concentration when they are doing something they enjoy.

Maybe as his parents we are sticking our heads in the sand?
My five year old had such trouble sitting for cirlce time. I asked the let her use a "corner chair". It is a wooden "shair", sits flat on the floor and has sides, looks like a corner. So she has support on either side of her. She has ben sitting still on the mat ever since. Fidgeting is not always ADHD, nor is lack of focus. Sometimes it is physical discomfort where/how they have to sit. Just a suggestion for the sitting still times.