When did you suspect ADHD?

We knew something was up at almost EXACTLY 18 months. My son is not five and just starting some medications. It has been frustrating, exhausting and emotional to get this far. He is CRAZY smart but "busy" as well as aggressive (which may or may not be ADHD related due to impulse control issues). No one will dx this early but you can read up and learn to parent with ADHD techniques. It will save your sanity!!

I will say that we saw for FTT : developmental peds, endocrinologist, GI( they found the issue) we have also seen Cardiology and finally Genetics when I suspected some alcohol effects, we never saw Neurology and have never had an MRI. I hadn't heard of an MRI for diagnosing FAS(prectrums). I feel like I have went as far as I will go with the Specialists and am now concentrating on finding a medicine that will help him along with Behavioral Therapy for the both of us, at his age it is going to be me learning how best to react to his behaviours. That has been tricky as well with his age, Medicaid and me starting a new job and needing later day appts. I think I have found a place, waiting on the call to confirm the appt, should here tomorrow. I will say that there are doctors who will diagnose at 4 as well as treat. A friend of ours went through some of the same things with her bio(not alcohol related) and I have lived on the fact that they were able to get help by age four for the last two years!

I have a 10 yr old with ADHD; was diagnosed at 6 by a psychologist after many mths of counseling. She has been on meds since she was 7. I KNEW since she was a baby that something was off; nobody to include my hubby belived me. In kindergarten she stabbed a fellow student with a pencil b/c he touched her paper! That got everybodys attention!! My son is 4 and we have been to genetics, dev. ped, neuro, and on and on. He is labeled as provisional ADHD; meaning everyone sees the symptoms but he is too young for an actual diagnosis. He also has SPD and ARND. He has a very short attention span and is ALWAYS in motion.

My dd has sensory processing disorder and never stopped moving. She is both sensory seeking (so she was always touching and moving) and sensory avoidant ( so she was frequently defiant and anxious). Occupational therapy helped a lot at first, but diet changes helped the most. We are dairy and gluten and additive free and the change is unbelievable. Not everyone benefits from dietary changes, but for those who do, it can be close to miraculous. Susan

I knew when my daughter was 6. After her first year of school...it was obvious. Prior to that, she had no issues...went to bed on time, etc. She definitely was not hyper, but she could not focus and was very fidgety. She would be doing homework, and her hands, feet, body were always in motion. I had her tested by a psychologist. We tried the "no meds" for a few months, but her school work was suffering. We then tried Ritalin....useless for her. The pediatrician switched her to Concerta this past Fall, and it has been amazing. She still couldn't sleep at night, so he prescribed Clonidine. It is a high blood pressure medication, but it helps slow her down. She usually reads before bed for 15 minutes, and then she is able to sleep. Concerta has been a miracle drug for her. She is now in Grade 3, and has straight A's.

In reading all of your stories, I remember going through that with my son who will be 10 in August. He was diagnosed at 5 with ADHD but I knew when he was about 2 and 1/2. He spun constanly, he put everything in his mouth and had to lick it, even the side walks, to me that is how he felt things. He didn't sleep through the night until he was almost 4. He was VERY impulsive and very smart. When he was 5 I found a neuro-psychiatrist who specialized in Neuro/Bio Feedback for ADHD. My son could not take medication due to liver issues. Anyway he diagnosed him though a series of test, which included EEG's at different times of the day, interviews, questioniares and observation. He started doing Neurofeedback every week and this was continued up through last year. I am very happy to say you wouldn't know that this child had that diagnosis. He is a straight A student, in both academics and conduct and although I can see the spinning sometimes, none of the other things are evident. It is amazing to watch the brain wave activity change throughout the process on the EEG's and to see your child grow into the person you know they are in your heart is worth the time and money. I'm not saying it will work on everyone but I just wanted to share our experience with you, I so remember those frustrating days. Oh and by the way my son was born addicted to Methadone and Heroin. I wish you all luck, my prayers are with us all.

At about6 6yo when I was watching him read. His eyes couldn't go from word to word in order.

From the time my son was able to move independently, we knew there was something "off". He had seizures less than a week after coming home from Guatemala at 5 months old. We thought the seizures had caused some delays. We recently discovered he has a genetic deletion which causes, among other things, ADHD

Thank you everyone for your stories. Well, it's been 4 months now. I by-passed our ped and went to a psych who was a former social worker who works with children with behavior disorders. So far, no ADHD diagnosis yet, but she often mentions "we may move to an ADHD diagnosis or ODD diagnosis later, but not at 4"... so, she is trying to teach us behavior mod-- system of rewards and play therapy. Uh, I can't say it's working. We are enjoying the "family" night, though, as we make a night of it with dinner afterward and she thinks she got to "play" for an hour in therapy. Really, it's almost seeming like wasted $. The therapist says I ask her too many questions during play (what color, what do you think, etc.) and blames the teacher in me for asking too many questions during playtime. She says I need to comment without questioning and be more assertive with demands. I don't know if I should give this behavior mod/play therapy more time or move on. I just want to know what is wrong -- ADHD, mild FAE, ODD, bi-polar, or whatever it is so I can move on. I'm interested in how you learned about EGG as a diagnostic tool. I am also posting an update because I am quite postive after this weekend, my DD is wired differently. We spent this weekend with another couple who had a 3.4 yr old. My DD, who is now 4, talked circles around him, slept less, and was constantly "in-motion," and was the ring-leader for trouble (locking us out, throwing food in the pool), and bounced from toy to toy (option for a variety with short attention spans), whereas the other kid was content with just cars. I don't often get to watch her play with another kid over a period of days so the distinctions were evident. Yet, she ate better than the other kid. The other kid only ate junk food. I mention this because I read a lot about poor diets and ADHD. I don't have her on a special diet, but she eats a variety of foods and if she has juice, it's watered down. This other kid had hostess muffins for breakfast, chips for snacks, spagetti O's for lunch, chips for 2nd snack, icecream for 3rd snack, 2 bites of chicken nuggests for dinner, m-n-m s for night snack, and never drank anything other than capri-suns, repeat for 3 days. She actually ate WAY more than him, but better food, AND she is much skinnier. I think she burns off the calories, which brings me to my 2nd question for the group, I've been reading that ADHD kids may be deficient in certain minerals, zinc, etc. I know her diet is better than most, but perhaps her body doesn't metabolize or absorb the same. I am getting impatient waiting for an ADHD or some other diagnosis. I am not necessarily pining for meds at this point, but I am thinking of giving her more vitamins/minerals/fatty acids while I work through behavior mod therapy. Has anyone had luck with supplements? I know someone metioned avoidance diets (for addiditives, sugars, etc). I've read a lot about restricting diets, but not as much about supplements.

GO TO A DIFFERENT DOCTOR!! Try to find a behavioral specialist pediatrician. They absolutely CAN see behaviors that indicate ADHD at 4 and 5. My son was diagnosed at 4 and stared meds right before he was 5. It was such a huge improvement. He was so much happier with himself. He was so impulsive he would constantly be in trouble. Here is a blog post I wrote about it. It's too emotional and too much for me to write fully. I don't get paid for my blogs so I am not trying to make money here or spamming, just this is me, totally raw, explaining my struggles. [url=http://www.sweetsandstouts.blogspot.com/2012/03/hardest-post-ill-ever-write.html]Sweets & Stouts: The Hardest Post I Wasn't Going to Write[/url]

You should look into reading the book "The Autism and ADHD Diet" by Barrie Silberberg. I have recently started my autistic (and most likely ADHD ) son on the diet and added supplements and we have seen some improvements.

My 4 1/2 yr old was positive for heroin and methadone too. Same symptoms. Diagnosed with ADHD at 3 yrs old. (I knew at 18 mos) My DH and I were just talking about neuro feedback a couple hours ago! We live near "nawlins"! Where do you go and how much is it?? We just spent a fortune on a nutrition specialist, hair analysis, and supplements. No difference :(

Taking the plunge, Are you doing PCIT?? That's what they had us doing for the past year and I finally said enough! My parenting and bond are not the problem!! The kid is ( like you said) wired differently. PCIT is great for certain situations... But a major trendy thing in therapy right now. I have no time for trendy... I need results!!!! Hang in there and keep seeking out help.

when did i first suspect ADHD for my bioson? in the womb. he was super active, way unlike my other 2 birth kids. one of the criteria for diagnosis has been that the behaviors began prior to the age of 6. i'm always surprised when doctors refuse to diagnose. i tried all of the dietary approaches and the natural supplements. none of that seemed to do much for my son. it doesn't work for every kid, but it does work for some, it requires no doctor, and it's not that difficult to learn how to do--and it's worth a shot. fwiw, a hefty dose of caffeine helped both of my boys with adhd. whenever i needed them to settle down and attend to something, a Mountain Dew was my best friend!

Excellent point GR! It is amazing that caffeine has such an opposite affect on children with ADHD. Wondering if caffeine would do the same for my little sensory seeker. Will have to test that theory.