Adhd

nikkab0077 · #1 January 6th, 2012, 08:47 PM

What is the behavior of a 4 yr old? we are getting a bit worried that Jayden has it..I asked his teacher about it..she said it was just normal behavior for his age..he runs everywhere..jumps from activity to activity..chews on stuff(shirts and sheets)..constantly moving about..Does your child do anything of these things?

LJD3Tdance · #2 January 6th, 2012, 09:00 PM

From a website, a doctor talking here:

"I never diagnosed a child under the age of five with ADHD," says our clinical director Dr. Doug Cowan. "You see, everyone who has a genetically based ADHD was born with it, and they act like it when they are two, three, four, five years old. They have characteristics of ADD from very young. But there are also a lot of kids, particularly boys, who develop a bit more slowly than their peers, and may be more active than their peers, who can look like they have ADD, but by the time they are eight years old they are fine."

And this is what I know about it...in high schoolers you cannot tell half ADHD kids from other high schoolers (the extreme ones you can...). In middle school it's like night and day, it's like they wear a sign "I have ADHD." I think 4 year olds all have some of that activity and he points out boys more so than girls too, so...

SusieQ2 · #3 January 7th, 2012, 07:57 PM

I think it is too young to really tell. Behavior at this age can vary widely. Ben drives me crazy lately with the wanting to chew on stuff. You'd think I'd have to worry about the 2 year old putting things in her mouth, but no I have to worry about the 4 year old. He's pretty good at sticking with an activity for quite a while but he's always been that way. He's always been a very laid back kid.

I spend quite a bit of time as his school, however, I and can tell you that about 3/4 of the kids sound more like Jayden. They move quickly from one activity to another in class because most of the kids seem to have the attention spans of fruit flies! I would trust what his teacher is saying for now. She probably has lots of experience with kids his age and if she thinks that it's normal then it probably is. Believe me most teachers will let you know if your kid is a problem in class!

MelissaS · #4 January 8th, 2012, 08:03 AM

I've been worried about it a little myself, especially since DSS is severely ADHD, but I do think it's too young to really know. Dylan has gotten extremely hyper in the last 6 months or so. I feel like I have to stop and shake him and say CALM DOWN every day, LOL. There are times where I swear he is literally bouncing off the walls. But he doesn't seem to have attention problems, he can sit and listen well when he is supposed to. So I'm hoping it's just a hyper boy stage and he will calm down eventually.. Mikaela was never this crazy!! Hahaha!!!

~Paula~ · #5 January 8th, 2012, 09:40 AM

I'll be honest here and say I think ADHD is way over diagnosed. Kids are SUPPOSE to be hyper and active and wild... they are kids!
It's like the saying.. "If I could bottle their energy I'd be a millionaire".. it's true! Kids are energetic!
I wouldn't worry at all. He's being 100% normal and healthy! It can drive you crazy but it's normal.

MelissaS · #6 January 8th, 2012, 04:14 PM

Paula I really think it's over diagnosed too! I would not put my kid on pills unless it was really really bad and causing major problems at school. I think a lot of moms jump to medications too easily.

LittleWhiteside · #7 January 10th, 2012, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Paula~

I'll be honest here and say I think ADHD is way over diagnosed. Kids are SUPPOSE to be hyper and active and wild... they are kids!
It's like the saying.. "If I could bottle their energy I'd be a millionaire".. it's true! Kids are energetic!
I wouldn't worry at all. He's being 100% normal and healthy! It can drive you crazy but it's normal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MelissaS

Paula I really think it's over diagnosed too! I would not put my kid on pills unless it was really really bad and causing major problems at school. I think a lot of moms jump to medications too easily.

I totally agree with you both. Quinn has a ton of extra energy. I make jokes that I'm going to have to take him jogging in the morning before school so he can be calm!

SusieQ2 · #8 January 11th, 2012, 10:49 AM

That's why I hate this time of the year. Ben does much better when he gets some time outside to run out the energy but when it's really cold we don't go out much.

~Paula~ · #9 January 11th, 2012, 11:44 AM

Susan, that's so true. With it being cold, we don't go out and Emily is sometimes literally trying to climb the walls.
Sometimes I turn on music and we dance like fools all over the living room. I make sure the curtains are closed, I would NOT want anyone to see me. LOL

SusieQ2 · #10 January 12th, 2012, 07:43 AM

LOL We do the same thing. Both kids also like to run laps around the coffee table. I have no idea why but it burns of some energy so I let them do it!

When it comes to ADHD I think it is over diagnosed. But when it comes to medication it always seems to be the opposite of what the kids need. The ones whose behavior really isn't that bad and could be better if taught some self control techniques are the ones that get put on medication instead. And the ones who are off the walls and a constant interruption in class are the ones whose parents refuse to medicate.

One of the girls on the PTO with me has a boy who is in Kindergarten. OMG 5 minutes with this kid will make you want to tear your hair out. I'm not even kidding. He's already switched teachers once this year to see if that would help because the other teacher just really couldn't handle it. The new teacher has had nothing but problems too. He's in the office almost every day and he's only 5! The class can hardly get anything done because he is a constant interruption. His parents refuse to medicate though and told the school that they need to just handle him like he is because he's not that big of a problem at home. Well at home he isn't preventing 22 other kids from learning!