sleep apnea and ADHD? | ADHD Information

My younger son had sleep apnea and constant sinus issues. Taking the adenoids out didn't clear it up, but a year later when we had the tonsils done as well, most of the sleep problems went away. Oddly enough, he hasn't been nearly as sick this year, either.

Sleep is KEY for both my boys. And afternoon rests (even just watching TV) are important, too. I can't tell you how much easier it is for my son to settle down and do some homework AFTER he's had a bit of down-time from school.

As far as I know, getting restful sleep helps curb the craziness, but it doesn't "cure" the ADHD. Of course, my son is on the extreme side of the ADHD spectrum, so that's just my experience. You may find that solving the sleep issue really helps your son.

We havn't had our son tested for sleep apnea, but I'm pretty sure thats what he has.

Ever since he was a baby he snores like a truck driver. He's 5 and it wasn't until about 2 months ago that I finally took him to an ENT to get checked out. I thought maybe he would need his adnoids taken out like his father. The ENT suspects allergies and gave us nasal spray. It's helped with the snoring a little but with the ADHD.

I still think there is a correlation. The ENT did say that behavior issues DO happen with any sleep issue.

Our son took a sleep study becaseu the ped neurologist thought he lookied tired. He did have sleep apnea and they took his adnoids and tonsils out but I don't see any difference in the adhd. I still have a suspision he has a sleep issue. He still pees the bed- He's almost 12 and still seems tired and needs a loit of sleep. I just don't really want to pay the 00 for another study. UGH. He is also ODD and has tourettesl so he can't take stimulants. We are going to see a child spychiatrist next. Academically and behaviorally he seems to be getting worse.ADHD definitely can affect sleep, especially if there is medication involved,
but I've never heard of this explanation. And my son is at the doctor all the
time - if there was any chance of him having apnea his doctor would have
said something. I'm skeptical. But if it works for your kids, more power to
you!

Thanks Corrina, I'm very skeptical as well actually. This guy's theory is that adhd is caused by sleep problems, not the other way around. Pretty far-fetched! He was citing a study where 66 kids diagnosed with ADHD, all were found to have sleep apnea. I'll try to find the actual study, of course I lost my paper where I wrote the info down! (wonder where DS gets his adhd from...)

One of the (many)reasons I'm skeptical is that so many adhd kids have such high levels of intelligence. When I mentioned that my son was diagnosed with ADHD and also assessed to have very high intelligence, his lame comment was that DS would probably just have even higher intelligence if his (undiagnosed) sleep apnea was treated.

Professionals do tent to get such tunnel vision, they feel so many things can be cured through their own area of expertise. I was just wondering if anyone at all had encountered this school of thought before, since there is so much adhd experience here.

Willa

willa40299.697337963

Has anyone here had their child assessedby an ENT for sleep apnea? I am at a course this weekend on sleep apnea, and the instructor claims that most ADHD is actually caused by lack of proper sleep caused by an airway obstruction. I'm just wondering if anyone out there has explored this avenue, and if so how successful it was.

TIA

Willa

willa40298.9615856481