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Several people mentioned that their children run a lot.
I'll share a tip that worked wonders for one of my former students with severe ADHD and the parent did not want to try medication. He woke up early every morning with an enormous amount of energy.
So every day before & after school she had her child run laps around the outside of the house for about 15 or so minutes (or if it was raining or too snowy he would run/walk fast up and down the stairs in their house). This was not punishment. it was for him to "use up" his extra energy and it also helped him fall asleep much better at night time. He called it "practicing for the Olympics" and absolutely loved it.
I've also had students run the perimeter of the playground continuously for the entire recess time, by their choice not because they were told to do it.
I am certainly not saying that this works for all children with ADHD but for some children it works very well and helps them sit quieter and focus better at times when that is important.
Sorry, I know you're trying to help and not making a blanket statement but I had a giggle at your post. We started taking our son on mile jogs (we walked he ran next to us) when he was 18mths old. Today he runs several mornings a week when it's light with my husband, has 3 recesses a day, PE every day and is a competitive rock climber. The kid is a gigantic muscle.
hyperfocus is the flip side of the coin with ADHD. So if a child gets totally engrossed in the things that interest them and tune out the rest of the world, that isn't the opposite of ADHD, it's another way it manifests. And esp. electronics.
Yes, I think kids can have ADHD and have wildly varying scores. I also think that at 4.5, wildly varying scores could be attributed to age. Kids don't develop in a smooth curve, it looks more like the stock market on its way up. They don't even evaluate kids for giftedness until 2nd grade because that's when development starts to smooth and out so why decide a kid has ADHD at 4.5 years? I also think 4.5 is too young to medicate if there are no urgent issues such as violence. Therapy though, yes, definitely start counseling and learn techniques for guiding him to self-regulating etc..
My own daughter was diagnosed in late 2nd grade. She was, at that time, falling behind her classmates in school, although she is very bright. She just wasn't getting her work done, no matter what the consequence. We did a combination of therapy and meds and had outstanding results with her.
When is your son's birthday? If he is one of the younger ones in the class, the teacher may be comparing him to the older ones and the expectations of reasonable behavior might be off. At that age, a few months can make a big difference.
Dear North Island,
My main focus area is Autism but.... many children with Autism have co-existing conditions, including ADHD. As a previous post said there are two types; ADHD, inattentive (which used to be called ADD), and ADHD hyperactive. I'm not sure what kinds of testing your psychologist did but a typical test for ADHD is called The Vanderbilt Assessment Scale created by The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality. The ADHD section will ask things like whether the child is easily distracted, fidgets with hands or feet, runs about or climbs excessively..... and each question will be assigned a point value. (The Vanderbilt it also looks at inattentive ADHD, Anxiety, and other things as well.) Each section will be given an overall score and then, by looking at each section's score the psychologist makes a determination. Typically the Vanderbilt is also given to the parent and the child's teacher so the psychologist can have different viewpoints from different environments. I would ask your psychologist to explain which tests were done and how they interpreted the results. As a parent you can also ask for a copy of the evaluations.
At four years old you can create an IEP for your son through your local school system and ask that they repeat tests at no charge, (or take the evaluations from your existing psychologist). If he has an IEP the school system is required to provide testing, and services, at no cost to you. Additionally when he starts school you will already have strategies and supports in place to help him adapt to the school environment. If you choose to wait until he starts school you may have similar problems in the beginning of the school year as testing and IEP creation can take quite a bit of time.
Medicine is an option, but so are intervention strategies and previous posts have mentioned some great ones! Sitting on a yoga ball for class, running, schedules, structured routines, sports, clear rules at home and school, behavior charts are all great strategies! You even did one without meaning to- the band aid on his fingers! I would talk to your son's current teacher and childcare director and discuss what strategies they can employ in his preschool. They could create a picture schedule of the daily schedule- which, if they put it on a poster would benefit all the children. Can he sit on a little yoga ball? (If you put a frisbee underneath them they do not roll away when you walk away.) A behavior chart is easy to implement- even in the preschool environment!
It sounds like your nursery school teacher cares about your son and I'm sure if you ask to meet with them (and the director) to discuss how to help your child they would be more than willing to help. It is best to create a team of support for your son, and if they know you have taken their concerns seriously, in my experience, most are more than willing to bend over backwards to help you- as it also benefits them in the classroom as well.
It sounds like your son is very bright! Your challenge might be to make sure his environment is mentally stimulating and challenging enough to engage him. You're doing a great job and asking great questions! Keep it up!
I absolutely hate any notion that kids who have high energy and like to run a lot must have something wrong with them. I have a daughter like that, and it was a little tougher when she was younger. She is nine now though and better able to control her energy most of the time and happens to be a huge athlete already. Many of her athletic friends are just like her. Try coaching a preschool soccer team, and you will see a number of the kids running and hopping around when they are supposed to be listening to the coach or doing a drill, and they may be totally oblivious to other people when they run. I think that could be considered rather normal behavior for an athletic young child.
I think the most important thing is to follow your gut. Unlike my "athletic" daughter, my oldest daughter does have some special needs. First of all, when she was being tested, I had one specialist tell me that children can't really be that accurately diagnosed as a rather young child. Kids change so much in the preschool and kindergarten years, so that is important to remember that things can really change with time.
I also found that every specialist who saw my daughter wanted to diagnosis her with a problem that fits into the area where they specialize--so a language pathologist finds a language disorder, a speech therapist finds speech problems. My daughter had so many diagnoses, and some of them just weren't correct. I knew that in my gut, and time has proven it to be true. For example, my daughter was recommended for both handwriting, small motor skills assistance and speech. We didn't do either and at age 14, my daughter has beautiful handwriting and has such clear speech she excels in theater.
I also know I will be hammered for this, but ADHD, autism and bipolar disorder are the "hot" diagnoses of our day. There are SO MANY THINGS that can cause difficulties. Our brains are so complicated, there are many, many things that can cause attention issues and other problems. My daughter has had horrible attention issues, and she has none of these disorders. Her attention issues were caused by an auditory processing deficiency and a possible seizure disorder (absence seizures). ADHD meds would have been terrible for her.
You child is just...well...being a child. He needs to get out more, get more exercise--be an active child under adult supervision. Get rid of computers, TV, electronics and other sedentary things, and get the child engaged in hands on activities.
One of my daughters was "diagnosed" as bi polar, ADD, and/or ADHD. There were psychologists, medicines, counseling, IEP's and every other imaginable accommodation to help her deal with her "illness".
After I removed all the crap, got her back to being a child, her difficult behaviors ceased and she became a happy child. Went through her teens, through a very good college, and is now a very responsible young adult with a great job in bio-pharma research.
Funny story: when I was having trouble getting her on-campus housing I noted that children with "disabilities" were awarded housing with priority. Thinking I had nothing to lose, I played the ADD/ADHD card. The director housing said " virtually every kid here has been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD".....
Hi folks thanks for the many responses and some confirmations. I like many of you suggest am against meds at this age, the "problem" if there is indeed one is so light that even if I knew with 100% certainty I still might not want meds for him. In any case here's what happened since I wrote the original post. A psychlogist fomr the school district evaluated him and diagnosed classic ADHD. Recommend meds. We were somewhat put off by his quickness. We then had a meeting with the school/admin and they recommended and are providing some behavioral help via a person in his classroom 3x's a week for 1 hour each session. They would not take him aside but instead only act when he is acting out of sync with the activity. This we like, and this we are doing. We think a little behavioral guidance would be helpful.
Poor little guy, he's seems so confused when I get upset and he tells me he doesn't know why he does what he does. I've been trying to "lecture" him into better behavior. No effect at all. I'll have to do more homework on how to manage his energy.
Your son sounds EXACTLY like my 6 year old. He was diagnosed in November with Bi Polar. There is also a family history so its not a surprise....I was wrongly diagnosed with ADHD for 25 years....I know my son's psychologist says diagnosing bipolar in kids so young is odd but it does happen. Not saying your son has Bi Polar just saying his symptoms and my son's are identical. My son is on medicine now and is doing WONDERFUL in a great school...Good luck its take us 3 years and lots of heart ache and stress to get to this point.
Hi folks thanks for the many responses and some confirmations. I like many of you suggest am against meds at this age, the "problem" if there is indeed one is so light that even if I knew with 100% certainty I still might not want meds for him. In any case here's what happened since I wrote the original post. A psychlogist fomr the school district evaluated him and diagnosed classic ADHD. Recommend meds. We were somewhat put off by his quickness. We then had a meeting with the school/admin and they recommended and are providing some behavioral help via a person in his classroom 3x's a week for 1 hour each session. They would not take him aside but instead only act when he is acting out of sync with the activity. This we like, and this we are doing. We think a little behavioral guidance would be helpful.
Poor little guy, he's seems so confused when I get upset and he tells me he doesn't know why he does what he does. I've been trying to "lecture" him into better behavior. No effect at all. I'll have to do more homework on how to manage his energy.
Lecturing never works to change behavior. Note that many ideas will not change the impulsive behavior if he is ADHD because he can't attend to it - he is acting on impulses that he cannot control.
There are some good tools out there though. Consistency is the key.
Define the rules explicitly. Write them down. Post them where he can see them (if he can't read yet, use pictures). Give immediate rewards and consequences. Waiting for either is not a good idea for ADHD kids. Give him frequent feedback when he is doing well. Check every 20 to 30 minutes and let him know that you are proud of him if he manages to stay on task, play well with others, etc. Have routines. It may bore him, but he needs them. Use checklists, timers and other concrete ways of helping him to know what he should do. Focus on the positive. Plan for problems - anticipating and having a back up can really help.
Meds can be helpful, but at 4, I agree he is young for that avenue.
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