Toddler ADHD | ADHD Information

Everyone but you guys think I am crazy for knowing that there is something wrong as they all pas it off as being a typical boy but if you watch the other kids and him they are way different. Even my husband says that he does the same thing that the kids in his family did and they all have ADD/ ADHD.

Talking with you all has really helped to lower the stress level and I thank you all for it. We usually try to leave him with someone so we can go out but it is more difficult finding people who will understand and not want to pull their hair out by the time you get back. This today I started to notice a little bit of change as we have really been working on behavior.

I always carry some activities for the kids to do when we go anywhere and half the time he is not interrested because he has to focus and sometimes it is only for 30 seconds and I just keep trying to tell myself that was 30 seconds more than if he didn't play with something.

Thanks for everything guys.

[QUOTE=Cambriabear]

He may well have it. If he does, it will show up at some point, in a medical environment. You can get a full assessment to be sure...

YAY! Now what is the good news?

When it gets to 40 seconds you're on the right track

Thanks for everything guys.

[/QUOTE]

Keep us posted!

I have been told that some parts of ADD and ADHD can be hereditary. My husband's Dad and two of his brothers have it really bad and my husband has a very mild version.

We try to put im on our lap and talk to him eye to eye but 20 seconds it too long. He climbs so high up sometimes. I work from home and so I try to have him play for at least 1 hour and do different activities with him.

I have talked with our Pediatrician and he tried to tell me that he was just playing me but it isn't that. I just know he is off kilter as he is more hyper and wild than the other toddlers his age that we are around. If you gett him in a place where there is a lot of people you are doomed and I tend to try to be strict.

I deffinately had it easy with my daughter but he is doing the same things that my husbands side of the family did. I know he probably needs a speach therapist as other than Mom and Dad his other words are not clear and I read to him daily like I did with my daughter and she talks very well for a three year old.

Does anyone know if it is something that is hereditary?

My almost two year old shows all most all of the signs. He will not sit when he eats, throws tantrums that can last 1 hour +, has a hard time being around a lot of people. He is always on the go and climbs everything like dressers, couches, he even tries to climb the shelves in the closet and we have had to take drastic measures to try to block his climbing ability. I know toddlers are learnig to take turns but boy does he refuse. He is always talking and has to be the first for everything and will not accept time out for even a minute almost 6 months. He wakes up all the time and has probably only slept through the night 6 times since he was born. ADD and ADHD run on my husbands side of the family. His dad has it and so do two of his brothers. My son refuses to be cuddled for more than a minute even though I have tried so often but he can not be in a room alone for even two minutes or he goes crazy. He falls so much I am concerned as he gets hurt a lot. He hates to cooperate with his sister or anyone and most of the time he does not listen. He is so smart and figures things out so easily. Those baby door handle covers do not work because he can open the doors with them on. He has a hard time being around more than 2-3 kids and trying to get him to stop his agression with always hitting and biting no matter what kind of things I have tried to disciplin him do not work.

We are so frustrated and do not live close to any family so it makes it hard to just get a break. We have tried getting babysitters for our two kids and he throws fits so bad we can't go anywhere. He is so picky when it comes to eating. I have tried all sorts of fruits and vegetables but he will only eat apples, corn,and peas.He will only eat hamberger and chicken nuggets and loves milk but is not big on sugar. He refuse to just drink water all day and we are constantly fighting with him for hours until we just have to give in. We have had a daily routine for months and it has not helped. We make him look at us when we tell him why we are mad and I know it is taking its toll on our 3 year old daughter as we have to spend all of our efforts with him to keep things as sane as we can. If anyone has any other ideas I would appreciate them.

[QUOTE=Cambriabear]

My almost two year old shows all most all of the signs.

Some parents of adhd kids notice something wrong quite early. The problem is that hyperactivity can be caused or included in more than one diagnosis so it is difficult to get a diagnosis on a child that young who can barely speak and who "acts out" whatever is in his/her head regardless of the reason that it's happening.

He will not sit when he eats, throws tantrums that can last 1 hour +, has a hard time being around a lot of people. He is always on the go and climbs everything like dressers, couches, he even tries to climb the shelves in the closet and we have had to take drastic measures to try to block his climbing ability. I know toddlers are learnig to take turns but boy does he refuse.

Two year olds aren't about "sharing" in most cases. they're at the ME and NO stage of development. Also, if he has some executive functioning problems of some sort--he will be a bit behind in social maturity.

I had a nephew who was exactly like this. He climbed up me on the day he came home from the hospital. He never crawled--he walked for two days then ran everywhere.

He did NOT have ADHD. That is why as much as it bites, it's really too early to tell *what* is going on. You don't want to be treating the little guy for the wrong problem or treating him as ADHD if there's a combination of problems.

He is always talking and has to be the first for everything and will not accept time out for even a minute almost 6 months. He wakes up all the time and has probably only slept through the night 6 times since he was born. ADD and ADHD run on my husbands side of the family. His dad has it and so do two of his brothers. My son refuses to be cuddled for more than a minute even though I have tried so often but he can not be in a room alone for even two minutes or he goes crazy.

Two year olds shouldn't be alone anywhere, ever even if they're normal. Otherwise you find yourself picking up a naked child two blocks away begging frito chips from the corner store

[and yes, that really happened with a "normal" foster child I had]

He falls so much I am concerned as he gets hurt a lot. He hates to cooperate with his sister or anyone and most of the time he does not listen. He is so smart and figures things out so easily. Those baby door handle covers do not work because he can open the doors with them on. He has a hard time being around more than 2-3 kids and trying to get him to stop his agression with always hitting and biting no matter what kind of things I have tried to disciplin him do not work.

If he's two--anything lasting longer than 2 minutes won't work. He may well be ADHD but he's also a 2-year-old boy with a great deal of energy.

You can try getting him diagnosed but at his age--he may have more than ADHD or something different. Medicating a child that age is a nightmare onto itself because the child cannot tell you what side-effects they're experiencing.

We are so frustrated and do not live close to any family so it makes it hard to just get a break. We have tried getting babysitters for our two kids and he throws fits so bad we can't go anywhere.

Did you leave him with the sitter and go any way? Or did you NOT go as a result of the behaviour?

He is so picky when it comes to eating. I have tried all sorts of fruits and vegetables but he will only eat apples, corn,and peas.He will only eat hamberger and chicken nuggets and loves milk but is not big on sugar. He refuse to just drink water all day and we are constantly fighting with him for hours until we just have to give in.

I can see you're frustrated. I can see you're exhausted. "Giving in" is causing the behaviour to become entrenched and that's not working for you. You need to get out of the power struggle with this kid or you are going to lose your minds. Someone has to think this through calmly and it can't be him.

How well does reward work with this child?

We have had a daily routine for months and it has not helped. We make him look at us when we tell him why we are mad

That's a good start. Is he looking at you directly when you give him clear, concise directions?

and I know it is taking its toll on our 3 year old daughter as we have to spend all of our efforts with him to keep things as sane as we can.

You need to get her out seperately. Maybe for 15-20 minutes a day, one of you mind him while the other can take her to the park or for a walk or playtime just for her. I can see you're worried about the effect this is having on her.

If anyone has any other ideas I would appreciate them.

[/QUOTE]

You've got your hands full with the little guy, no doubt about it.

My first concern with the doctor would be getting this child to sleep. He might be easier to manage if he wasn't always wound so tight.

What you want to do is prevent entrenched behavioural patterns that are going to make life harder down the road for everyone.

Do you have a good pediatrician? What's s/he saying?

Could you camcorder the kid and show that to the doctor? A film is worth a million words...
___________________________________

So now, I'm going to post this for you:

HOW TO GET AN aDhd pErSoN's ATTENTION:

First off, with 40 trains of thought flying around upstairs, you are competing with a lot of brain chatter to get through.

Assume that when they are flying by like a manic, in another room or are not looking directly at you, they haven't heard a word you said.

Make eye contact. Sometimes touch helps, like a gentle hand on a shoulder.

Don't say more than 3 sentences. Remember, you're trying to make your point with a lot of noise going on in there. Anything after that is just blah blah blah blah

Then get the person to repeat back to you what you said. Make sure they processed and understood your instructions.

And a Finishing Note:

THE TEN-ONE RULE:
Use ten parts praise/thank yous to 1 part criticism/correction.

MetisRebel39796.4590162037

I had the same suspicion. Everyone thought I was crazy and that I was just trying to diagnose him at a young age, but something was "off". My DS was much much more hyper than the other children his age at 2. He hated being read to, or to do anything that required any concentration of any kind for even a minute. If he did try to concentrate he would get very upset and frustrated. Once he started talking that got better, but we still deal with him being able to sit still to do something constructive. He's 4 now. I would say that I even noticed something at birth. He was colicky and very overly stimulated by noice and touch. He cried for hours and hours and needed to be rocked for very very long

period to times. It's almost like he needed constant movement.

My ped said the same thing. It was way to early to diagnose. It wasn't until pre school that someone finally understood my frustration. His teacher. We got him assessed and low and behold he has ADHD. ADhd runs on both sides of our family as well.

Hang in there. Dont give in to his demands. Stay strong and take it day by day.

[QUOTE=stillsane]

period to times. It's almost like he needed constant movement.[/QUOTE]

This made me chuckle. I slept better in the back seat of the car when my dad was driving.

Maybe we should turn on clothes dryers under the mattress to get these kids to sleep?

i too thought my son had adhd at a very early age. he was constantly moving and would not rest at all. i was always told typical toddler boy. being a mom you know your child best. keep asking if you think he has it someone will listen. if you arent getting any answers from you pedi office then look elsewhere. there are lots of doctors out there you just have to find someone who will help you and your family. my sons father and uncle have adhd so i know how you feel about it being hereditary. my son will be 5 in march and was diagnosed in november. i refused to take no as an answer from the drs anymore bc i knew something was going on. so they finally gave me the referral that my son needed.

you said that you work from home. maybe it would help for him to be in a daycare while you are working even maybe half day. some kids do better away from mom and dad. as for the babysitter problem. i would say go out even if he throws a fit. he will calm down eventually. it may take a while but just take it in short times at first. go out for an hour then a couple of hours, get him used to you not being there.

when we go out even now when DS is on meds. we have an out bag. filled with stuff he helps pack, coloring books, crayons, cars, a puzzle or 2. easy clean up stuff. my favorite is the crayola no mess markers. they make it a little less stressfull to let him play with. make him part of the decision on what to take.

the daily routine is great stick with it no matter what. i found that my DS is much worse if he has been taken off this schedule as would any child even if there isnt a problem. some kids dont sleep through the night for a while. my friends daughter is 7 and still wont sleep. when he gets up what do you do?

this may sound stupid but before i had my son tested i had gotten the nanny 911 or supernanny book and that helped with some of the problems we were having. look on their websites too they have great creative ideas to help kids with all sorts of issues.

I diagnosed my son when he was still 2. He was officially and correctly diagnosed by professionals just shy of 5.

My son never crawled, just got up at 8months and started walking, holding chair to chair. He wa always motor driven. In my stomach, he kicked it so that my stomach moved tremendously. He was even on the move when he was in vitro!!

It is definelty hereditary!! My hubbies family all has adhd, lots of meds, wish they had it when the grandparents were young, lot of abuse, and depression, panic attacks. It is definetely genetic.

I wonder if the food stuff in your post could be related to sensory integration??

BETHANN39797.9466666667Yes ADHD is hereditary. He may well have it but it's difficult at that age to tell if that's all that's going on or if there's something underlying it.

Ack, my first post just vanished...let me see if I can reconstruct.

First of all, I agree with all the previous posters. I know you must be terribly exhausted and frazzled. I suggest, when you can, talk to your pediatrician or PA or nurse practitioner (often, I personally find that the latter 2 are easier to talk with, spend more time with). Ask for help with the sleeping issue. It sounds like you've already asked about the possible ADHD and got no good answers. Keep at it. And this can be tiring and frustrating to keep asking questions--but do it. It's important to keep asking.

Second, from our own experiences, we could not get a referral to a child psychologist/psychiatrist until school age (age 5) and no medications before that time, either (our DS was age 6 when we started medication). It took several months of keeping a diary, doctor visits, and teacher letters before we could get a diagnosis and treatment. It is HARD to wait -- but it worked out well in the end because the diagnosis was very genuine, and the treatment worked very well. (A combination of behavior management + medication). I'm not sure (maybe Metis or someone else could say why), but I think it may be that there are no ADHD medications approved for children under 5. Again, not sure about that.

Third, try (if you can; I know it's hard) not to worry too much about the food issue. Our DS has a very limited diet--chicken, hot dogs, fish sticks, mac and cheese, and PBJ. Sometimes he'll eat cereal. I try to add healthy things to meals or keep healthy things on hand (pretzels, cheese, carrots with dip) and keep putting it out. Sometimes he'll surprise me by trying them. Other people criticize us because I don't *make* him eat the basic 3 course meal. Making a fuss over food isn't worth it--it's one of those battles I choose not to fight. We give him 100% juice, water, or milk. He is not a big milk person, though.

The people here are great (I've only been here a few weeks). Come and join us any time you need to talk. :)

Dee
Actually that's one of the problems so thanks for point it out graiae66.

Because their bodies are so small and the results so questionable [the kid can't explain it] it's hard to medicate a pre-school child with psych meds. It's also a problem of not knowing what the future results of such early medication can be.

That doesn't mean the parent isn't struggling or doesn't realize that there's something wrong. It just means that the medical profession doesn't have a way to provide for that age group.