Should I get an evaluation? | ADHD Information

Take a look at the marble thread by ogram (top of this forum). It is a positive reinforcement behavior plan that works well with many kids. Start small and simple for your son's age and maturity level.

If you have a children's hospital or university with a child developement group nearby, you could take him in for a preliminary eval. These types of practices usually have parenting classes for challenging kids, and can take an early look for potential issues to keep an eye on as he matures.

Also read up at this site for some insight into bright kids and the challenges that can come for these kids:

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/

I think he sounds like a great kid! Good for him starting an early Kindergarten program. 4 is young for an ADHD diagnosis, but not for other things. I think if you're concerned (and it sounds like you are somewhat) it's worth talking to the doctor. Start with your pediatrcian and list all the "red flag" things you've listed here. The range of typical behaviors that childrne outgrow at this age is quite wide, but having him evaluated now will at worst give you a reference point later.

Good luck, keep educating yourself.

I have a son (I will refer to him a Joe) who is 4 1/2 years old and just sterted a 4 year old Kindergarten program. The teacher is having difficulty with his listening and his inability to sit still as well as his multiple disruptions in class and I am starting to wonder if he is showing signs of ADHD.

He had attended a 3 year old preschool program last year which was more like a 3 hour play time with some sporadic teaching. He had a very difficult time sitting still during the few moments that they required such activity and rarely participated during those times. The teachers just allowed him to do whatever he wanted during these brief times with little effort to bring him back or focus him. (I know because I watched a few times). They said they didn't want to push anyone into doing anything they didnt want to do. That bothered me as they pretty much condoned his behavior.

Now for some background. My son was a little late in speaking. He was rarely vocal as a baby. He tended to cry quite a bit. we were concerned enough about the delayed speech (or our ainability to understand what he was saying that we had him checked at the age of 3. He actulally passed the developmental test and exceeded at some levels. So we relaxed.

Today, he is highly emotional. No Tantrums, but cries when he doesn't get what he wants or when he has anything taken away from him. When he is happy, he is EXTREMELY happy...almost out of control happy and need to be reeled in. He plays well by himself and plays pretty well with others. He can role play with toys and talks alot when playing with toys (speaks for the toys etc). he loves Thomas the train (was almost obsessive about it as he walked around everywhere with catalogs for months).

He is very bright and is very quick to figure things out...especially puzzles and mechanical gadgets. He is a whizz at building blocks etc, Speech wise, he is very understandable but has difficulty with a few sounds..L and Th specifically. Probably normal kid stuff. He learned all his letters and numbers and can spell simple words because he watched leap frog videos (a little more than he should have probably).

He loves to spin in open spaces at times. He loves to run through crowds with his head down bumping into people. Laughs so hard some times that he forgets he is bothering others. He gets loud very quickly. He loves strange noises. He loves getting tickled and any and all physical play. The rougher you are, the better.

Joe has a very good conscience and is very sorry for his action after he is put in timeout. Often says sorry (out of the blue) for something 2 days later for some action he was reprimanded for. He is very affectionate at times and not so much at others...depends on mood like anyone.

He has difficulty with eye contact but has gotten better in recent months due to us forcing him to do so. There was a time when he could not look us in the eye when talking, but noiw he can for short periods. (prefers not to though).

he falls asleep ok, but ususally is go go go until the moment he drops.

Joe is a total joy of a child so full of non-stop energy. I am just concerned that his difficulties in classroom situations will be a detriment to his learning. The teacher is very willing to work with him but definitely sees his behavior at complete odds with the other 20 students.

I am not looking for a diagnosis, but I would like to know if he really should be tested. Is there anything I can do to modify his behavior and make him listen better? Do the developmental tests he passed last year have any bearing on his development today (1 1/2 years later)? Arte there any other behaviors that I should examine? Any responses will be greatly appreciated.

[QUOTE=Diane V]

Good luck, keep educating yourself.

[/QUOTE]

Yeah he is a great child. Thanks. What's sort of neat is that although I don't think I have ADD, I do have a tendency to hyper focus on things and have the ability to shut others out while concentrating on a task. I always believed it was a survival technique brought on by growing up in a family of 12 kids...who knows. But I do have one brother who was diagnosed with adult ADD and I have another brother who I am certain suffered from it as a child and still exhibits symptoms/characteristics to this day. What' Ironic is that we adopted both my children from Korea so I am pretty sure my genes had no influence.

And I feel the same as many here that if I can live with something and work through it via natural interaction, we are certainly going to go with that first. He is challenging regardless of what he may or may not have, but you will never see so much enthusiasm for life in one person as I see in him. And he could find happiness and joy in a pile of horse manure. Something to be said for that.

So thanks for the advice!