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I think our 4 yr old FD is ADHD and I plan to take her to ped Dr to get a proper diagnose and possibly meds. She talks constantly. I mean literally, she never stops. She even makes noise in her sleep. She can't sit still at all, very hyper all the time. Her preschool teacher sends notes home at least once a week saying she won't stay in seat or line, not listening or following directions, she's been removed from library for not staying quiet. Very loud, etc.. This is constant behavior and I've been working with her for several months, but its not helping. Her hyper behavior is not the everyday normal preschool behavior. It's excessive. Do you think a ped Dr would put a child that young on light meds for ADHD? To be honest, there are days she drives us nuts! I go outside to get a short break and she talks through the window. She seriously never stops talking. I don't expect meds to help with that, but I know they will help calm her a little and possibly help her control the behavior better. Help!!!!
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I also have a 4 year old. He is a high-energy chatterbox, so I can sympathize with the constantly talking, constantly moving thing!I think most doctors will not diagnose ADD/ADHD in children at this age. Mostly because, well, at this age, they essentially ALL have ADHD. As the brain matures, the kids who can't develop the ability to calm, focus, etc are eventually diagnosed.That said, it's worth talking to your little one's pediatrician about her overabundance of energy. There might be some dietary suggestions that can be made (some kids react with hyperactivity when they eat/drink things with artificial colors, for example). Or there might be other suggestions that can be made to help her learn to calm down a bit, harness her energy. I'd personally be VERY wary of medicating a child this young.Check with your doc and see what s/he says.
OMG, you just described my AD. People will look at me and say, "She never stops." My answer is a bit boring: rigid schedule, presetting, if she perseverates use "asked and answered" and if she persists use consequences- we use songs, snuggle, bed items, etc. Most importantly, start to train her to be still. Start with about 30 seconds. Use a knubby seat (sp?)- a seat with hard-ish plastic nubs, use a weighted blanket, use an LED candle to focus on, and always reward like crazycakes the still behavior! Train, train, train. Reward, reward, reward. Sometimes I have to close the door on her and she's STILL TALKING! She's 6 now and can make it through a sit down dinner! She made it through Kindergarten. We work every day. I try to make it light and fun. It is WORK. I wouldn't have her any other way! She's amazing. She has the most interesting spin on life.
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OMG, you just described my AD. People will look at me and say, "She never stops." My answer is a bit boring: rigid schedule, presetting, if she perseverates use "asked and answered" and if she persists use consequences- we use songs, snuggle, bed items, etc. Most importantly, start to train her to be still. Start with about 30 seconds. Use a knubby seat (sp?)- a seat with hard-ish plastic nubs, use a weighted blanket, use an LED candle to focus on, and always reward like crazycakes the still behavior! Train, train, train. Reward, reward, reward. Sometimes I have to close the door on her and she's STILL TALKING! She's 6 now and can make it through a sit down dinner! She made it through Kindergarten. We work every day. I try to make it light and fun. It is WORK. I wouldn't have her any other way! She's amazing. She has the most interesting spin on life.
My son who is now 12 has ADHD. We started noticing at about 3 years old that he was extremely active and talked all the time. It wasn't until he started kindergarten that ADHD actually came up though. His ped (and I agree) was against medicating unless his grades were suffering. Well he ended up needing to repeat kindergarten even with LOTS of support from us and his teacher to learn the curriculum. At this point we put him on medication (the lowest dosage of a non-stimulant med) and that worked for several years. Once he got too big for that medication to work we decided to see a psychologist and have him go through a full evaluation. It was found he did in fact only have ADHD (as someone else mentioned there are a lot of things that mimic ADHD symptoms) and we began behavior therapy along with a little more medication. As I said he is now 12 and he is doing SO much better. My personal belief is that the behavior therapy is a must for these children and I wish we would have started with that instead of going straight to medication. Best of luck to you! I know how hard this can be both on your child and on you. Jen
It's a good idea to take your 4-year-old child to a pediatrician or get a Cognitive behavior therapy (https://www.cognitivebehaviourtherapytoronto.com/) to discuss your concerns about ADHD. A proper diagnosis can help determine the most appropriate treatment options. Medication is one potential treatment, but it is typically prescribed based on a comprehensive evaluation and under the guidance of a healthcare professional.