Please Help!! | ADHD Information

Sounds like a normal 3 year old to me.

Do you have a fenced in yard?  Lots of outside time can be a lifesaver.

I run a daycare and am in the same boat as you with one of my daycare kids.  He's 3.5 yrs. old and has an older brother with severe adhd.  His mom (and myself) are almost positive he will eventually be dx'ed, but she's waiting till he's little older.  I make written observations of all my kids, and over the course of a week I jotted down what he did and for how long at varoius times of the day.  The longest he did one activity was 1.5 minutes- and none of it involved him being still.

Sometimes they do better with extremely limited choices.  When I see that my guy's getting a little too far gone I'll tell him he can play with a choice of 2 different things until a specific time, and then I just redirect him back to it because I know that he's not leaving the activity or the toys because he doesn't like them- he's just so darn distracted.

Does he like crafts?  If you google preschool crafts you'll get tons of sites with stuff to do, much of it using things you have around the house.

Good Luck!

Have tried crafts jaderock hunny, he only seems interested in tipping things out of the boxes - then he just goes to look for more mischief!!  We have got a huge garden and a big trampoline and he is out there most days, but he just doesnt seem to spend his energy, and we keep him off all additives, sweetners etc.  Just dont know what to do and waiting for the next step for help is so long - Im wondering if it will ever come off!!

Have you looked into preschools? Mine attended an integrated preschool for those with disabilities, from speech to autism. He would never be kicked out due to his disabilites. My son was officially diagnosed just shy of his 5th birthday.

Your son needs maybe a gym class, art class, days at the park to get out the energy. Does he like legos, trains, cars? Anything that he can maybe build?

Have you heard of Early Intervention? They can help locate the right place for your son and you!!

We are still waiting to hear from various people, until that happens we are stuck!!

My little boy is 3 next month and trying to keep him occupied/amused is an absolute nightmare!!  We are 99.9% certain that he has ADHD (my husband and stepson both have it) and we are just now waiting for a formal diagnosis.

I have tried everything from finger puppets to playdoh but he justs flits from one thing to another and ends up bored to tears!!  Im fast running out of ideas, we have been promised help and support from various avenues, however, this support is a long time coming and the weeks are ticking by without so much as a 'hi, how are ya'.

Lewis is a wonderful little boy, as Im sure all of your children are, but theres just so much going on in that little head of his that he just dont know what to do next!!

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thank you in advance

Nikki xxxx

Im afraid that most times his behaviour is far from normal and at the end of the day, with my husband and stepson having ADHD I know what the signs are.

I will keep you all updated

You are probably right.  I knew at 2 that my dd had ADD.  Everyone said I was paranoid.  It happened overnight it seems.  One minute she could attend and the next she couldn't.  It was like a curtain coming down between her and I.  She couldn't listen anymore and I noticed is that she couldn't sit and watch a kid's program.  Luckily she was into her own thing by then.  She loved arts and crafts.

The same thing happened with my youngest dd who is marginal for ADD.  At 4 years old she couldn't hear me call her name anymore.  Again it was like night and day.  

Trust your instincts on this one. 

Can you hire a "mother's helper" for a few hours a week? A preteen or teenage kid with lots of energy who can play with the three-year-old while you are home, so you get some time to recharge?

When DS was that age (he's 9 now) I worked from home part-time and had a mother's helper here in the afternoons. I know how you feel ... by 3:00, I was so glad to spend some time alone in a room with the computer!! I was tired!!

Sheila

Oh man reading your post brought back many heart wrenching memories of the time when I was waiting for a formal diagnosis for my daughter (who will now be 6 in June).  It has taken a good year to get the "right" meds for her.  The waiting game is grueling, isn't it?

I was always saying that I wish I could find a way to bottle her energy.   It's exhausting.  If you live in a warm state, swimming always tired my daughter out.

Hang in there...I know it's hard, believe me do I ever know it!