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does this sound like ADHD to you? or is he just being a boy or is it naughtiness????!

25 replies

belcantwait · 10/09/2009 20:07

ds2 (6.8) has HFA but am beginning to wonder if he has ADHD as well. i dont know much about it but these are the things that concern me:

he wilfully breaks and damages things. for fun. he has told the paed that he does it cos he likes it. he has done this since a toddler- things like- he has gouged holes in his bedroom wall with a screwdriver that he has managed to pinch from the garage, he has shoved stones into the taps at my mums house resulting in hefty plumber call out charges, he has smashed a sink in the boys toilet at school (though think he must have had some assistance in this tho he will go along with any accusation from the teacher even if it wasnt just him iyswim), he breaks his and his siblings toys, he rips up paper etc etc. cant think of any other specific examples but he does it ALL THE TIME!

he literally cannot keep still. the only time he is ever still is when he is concentrating on his lego or playing on the ds. at school he has to sit on his own all the time because he distracts everyone else and despite the fact the teacher says he can concentrate whilst he is leaping about and fidgeting he still gets alot of instructions wrong ie doesnt do what he is asked (i think this is diue to the autism tho), i have now given the teacher a 'fiddle toy' for him to use during carpet time and he seems a little bit better apparently. at dinner times he never stays sat on his seat he is always leaping about and messing around. its like he has a motor inside him thats on go fast and he physically cant stop himself moving.

he really needs to be taken for a run every day but even that doesnt wear him out!
he is always doing daft things like running into walls, roaring whilst running around,hitting himself over and over in the head with his fist. its like hes showing off- hes espo bad around his friends as they laugh at him of course so he does it more for the reaction then that seems to make him even more hyper.

i know he is a bit troublesome at school but they just wont recommend statementing him because he is clever i guess, despite the fact he is getting into bother all the time, getting alot of his work wrong cos he doesnt undersatnd the instructions etc. sorry off on a bit of a tangent there.

i think i might have a word with his teacher about it next week and see what she thinks but dont want to bring it up if its not even likely that he has it. anyway just wanted some knowledge and advice really. thank you

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waitingforgodot · 10/09/2009 20:18

What kind of food does he like to eat? I have recently changed DS's diet and have found a much calmer child.

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belcantwait · 10/09/2009 20:26

hi, pasta, raw peppers,raw carrots,green beans; tuna pasta bake is his fave meal in the world. not keen on potatoes, loves meat but not cold meat, not too fussed on trad kids food eg nuggets, fish fingers etc tho he is partial to plain pizza. hmmm, thats not much help is it really? he has quite a good diet already, tho there are def things that set him off and make him even worse eg iced buns, scampi (weirdly!) and cerain brands of hot cross buns . what i mean is the way he is as i have described is how he is all the time but if he eats certain things its exaccerbated even further iyswim.

does your ds have ADHD?

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belcantwait · 10/09/2009 20:28

oh and he 'steals' things too. from many different peple and places . i concede this is prob just him being a sod

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belcantwait · 10/09/2009 20:45

bump

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belcantwait · 10/09/2009 21:00
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waitingforgodot · 10/09/2009 21:17

Hi,
No my DS has ASD but was constantly on the go (like he had ants in his pants). We changed his diet to Gluten Free and substituted cows milk for goats milk and he is like a different child. He sits and does jigsaws, reads books and is less excitable. I believe its down to this.
Its interesting when you mention certain foodstuffs make it worse. I hope someone else can come along and give some advice too!

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belcantwait · 10/09/2009 21:21

thanks waitingforgodot. keep thinking maybe i ma invisible tonight?!!!!!!!

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waitingforgodot · 10/09/2009 21:33

Its very quiet! Keep bumping and someone will find you!
Also have a look on here as there are many threads about diet esp GF.
Would be interesting to see if it made a difference to his behaviour although you may have tried it already?

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belcantwait · 10/09/2009 21:55

we have done dairy free and the only difference it made was to his poo! he seems to have 'grown out' of that prob tho now anyway.
where IS everyone tonight? i am going to bed now anyway and will check again tomorrow. night night, waiting

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waitingforgodot · 10/09/2009 21:56

Hope someone else can help you! Night!

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belcantwait · 10/09/2009 22:02

aw you did help. thank you . am pretty sure you could be right that his diet could be affecting him but am not sure its the whole picture. ho hum mauybe i am bjust not 'parenting him' right

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misscutandstick · 11/09/2009 07:33

Hi there

DS1 has ADHD he is now 16y, so a number of years of experience of MY child.

The fidgeting/fiddling/wriggling thing certainly seems to indicate hyperactivity, as does the 'driven by a motor' thing. DS! could only be 'still' whilst playing a gameboy, but he still wiggles/wriggles while hes playing. When he was younger, if he was asked why he did something,he could not explain why - he just didnt know, everything just kinda 'happened'.

DS5 has ASD and breaks everything, mainly because he likes the noise and the look of stuff shattering, but hes only 3.3y. I think he has hyperactivity too, he doesnt stop for a second. He flits from activity to activity never really stopping to look at anything, he wanders constantly. And so did DS1.

A friend of the family who has apergers, was an absolute pain for breaking things as a youngster, things fell apart within seconds of him holding them.

Sorry for the disjointed ramble, will chat more later XXX

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belcantwait · 11/09/2009 08:17

hi misscutandstick, thats very interesting. my ds seems to be a mixture of both of your children. its hard to know whether things are 'normal boy things' or asd things or something else because both of my boys have ASD! all i know is that ds2 couldnt be more different to ds1 in every possible way. the good thing is that he is much better socially than ds1 and also much better at activity things such as bike riding which ds1 still cant do at age 11. rambling again sorry. gotta do school run but catch up later

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magso · 11/09/2009 09:54

Hello Bel. I can identify with your frustration and also the puzzle of what is normal boy/asd/adhd and in ds case ld behaviours. I often am amazed that ds has no stop button and he never runs flat! Also toy up the tap and keyholes blocked! My son ( now nearly 10) sounds a little like your son. I think for ds (who has MLD ASD ADHD, some of the destructive messy behaviour is in origin sensory, combined with his single tracked mind (features of asd IIRC). Ds also is in constant motion except watching tv before bed ( his wind down activity). He also needs a daily run about! His school ( sn) send him out for a lap of the field on arrival and if he gets too antsy in classroom.
I find it helpful to work out why he does seemingly silly things, so I can substitue more approppriate behaviour such as play dough or in bath water play, or break down what we need to work on. However I think I can over analyse!
I have found fish oils help a little ( eskimo kids) and medication for the ADHD is for ds a life saver. We also watch ds diet very carefully, ( gfcf did not seem to help ds when tried years back - we never managed salasilicate free as ds is too fond of fruit and veg). We tried medication in desparation. It has helped reduce some of the most difficult unpredictable behaviour as is slows him down just a nanosecond or two( long enough to think and possibly stop himself!) Its almost like he has no thinking between seeing and action!! ( You know big cliff lets jump off!)He is also calmer during medication hours, though possibly more sensitive.
I do not know if your son has ADHD. Can you ask your paed to consider assessing him?

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magso · 11/09/2009 09:59

I forgot to say ds can concentrate better in motion that sitting still - he has to put so much effort into sitting still he can think of nothing else. This is related to poor sensory integration and we have a sensory diet ( exersizes) to help with this - and wobble cushion for school etc. May be worth exploring that side too. HTH

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Deeeja · 11/09/2009 10:13

Hi, your ds sounds very like my 6 year old ds, who has autism and adhd.
I definately agree that the squirming around and motion helps my ds to concentrate. If he is made to sit still, and this requires supreme effort, he zones out, and is unable to pay attention to anyone or anything. He never walks anywhere and has to run, jump and bounce. He often forgets instruction, rules, and has to be reminded constantly.

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ICANDOTHAT · 11/09/2009 11:04

Bel My ds2 has ADHD. The fidgeting, noise and 'enthusiasm' for life all sounds familiar. However, he is not destructive or willfully 'naughty'. He's main problems are concentration, attention & immaturity in lots of areas including behaviour and friendships. ADHD does not make him a 'bad' child in my very humble opinion. However, impulsivity may contribute to undesirable behaviour. I would put very destructive behaviour down to a lack of understanding and reasoning. Also maybe not realising the full consequences of their actions - is that the HFA?. My ds2 understands that to do any of these things would be unacceptable and he would be punished - doesn't stop him making the odd silly choices though. How does your ds react to sanctions ? As with any child, with or without a SNdx, they are all different.

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misscutandstick · 11/09/2009 12:46

ICANDOTHAT - totally agree with all your thoughts.

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magso · 12/09/2009 09:06

Yes I agree, I do not think ds is willfully naughty or destructive - it just kind of happens (sigh) due to not being able to think ahead (of the consequenses). However other people often think he is being very naughty! The other thing is not being able to just do nothing or cope with boredom or waiting - I think ds brain is constantly on the go - along with his constant motion- he cannot rest ( or fully control) either - ADHD behaviors.

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sickofsocalledexperts · 12/09/2009 09:48

My 6 year old son is Autistic, but I think he is also ADHD, or is the hyperactivity just part of the autism, I'm not sure. Sounds such a similar situation - only last night he pulled a picture off the wall and kicked the glass in , really dangerous! But I think it is really just for the noise/sensation of it and because he has zero understanding of the dangers, due to his autism. I am trying out ADHD medication on him too - strattera at present, with variable results. Magso, which drug do you use?

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belcantwait · 13/09/2009 07:16

hi again. thank you so much for your replies, only just got back on computer as it was ds's birthday and then dh took the computer off to be mended!
all your replies have been very interesting and it seems that hyperactivity/restlessness etc can exist as part of the autism or as a sensory issue or alternatively as a sep dx of adhd.
have dec to speak to his teacher on mon or tues and discuss it . she seems a bit more approachable than last yrs teacher who just laughed at me when i asked about statementing etc. i know the school has a very high % of SEN as well so i am assuming they will know the signs too.
can i just ask- the medication- are they on that all the time? or is it as and when its needed? or to help sleep? (he sleeeps like a dream btw!!)

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sickofsocalledexperts · 13/09/2009 14:14

bel - my boy is on the meds all the time as it is a drug with a cumulative effect, but I believe with something like ritalin that it only works for a few hours and then you pretty much get your normal child back when the meds wear off. My boy is on strattera, which did slightly affect his sleeping at first (he also is a v gd sleeper so I didn't want to lose that one strand of sanity in my life!) but now his sleep is pretty much back to normal. The strattera at present is giving him at least a couple of hours of calm a day which I co-incide with school, but I am thinking of trying ritalin instead. Would also be interested in anyone else's experience of the different drugs, though of course every child reacts differently to each med.

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magso · 13/09/2009 21:53

Bel hope ds had a lovely birthday.
SOSCE ds is on concerta (extended release methylphenidate) but I have wondered if strattera would suit him better. He is calmer on medication but can be more aware and anxious. He can be very tricky in the mornings - just like when he is not on medication. He actually gets worse ( for 10 - 15 minutes)as the medication half kicks in so we have to time it carefully to avoid tantrums going to school. It is meant to last 12 hours but I think for ds it starts to wear off gently at around tea time ( after 8 hours - perfect! We had trouble with immediate action methylphenidate - as the level was too up and down for ds (one minute he could do something the next not). The actual dose is very critical for him. Ds is also a good sleeper ( once he is caught and succumbs) and medication has not upset that too much, although it did put back his bedtime ( and consequently reduced extremely early starts ). The main ill effect has been on his picky lunchtime appetite. He compensates by eating very well at tea and supper! Ds was only Dx'd with (severe) autism after starting medication - his extreme hyper/ impulsiveness almost masked his asd. As you say every child reacts differently.
I think there is a tendancy not to dx ADHD in a child already Dxed ASD although the NICE ruling on ADHD medications may have changed that. HTH

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sickofsocalledexperts · 14/09/2009 19:37

That is v helpful Magso - and your experience sounds similar to mine re lunchtime appetite etc. I think the slow release concerta sounds like something I might ask the paed to try next time. Strattera may be a little too subtle for my boy - as it really only gives him 2 hours of genuine calm a day (perfect for the school pm, not so perfect for the rest of the day). It is confusing as strattera is supposed to be cumulative and therefore 24/7, but it's not working like that for us. I found that just turning up at the paeds office and letting DS run riot proved that, even if has no formal ADHD diagnosis, he is massively hyperactive!

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HelensMelons · 14/09/2009 19:47

We just started my ds2 (asd) on equasym - he was only dx in August - it is a bit like strattera, I think - one of the newer meds. It is an 8 hr med that doesn't have a cumulative effect. DS2 gets it just before the bus to school and its pretty much worn off by the time he gets home.

It has affected his appetite at lunchtime a bit - but not every day!

He only gets 10mlgs at the mo' but think I may have to up this to 15 or 20. I am hoping that the school will guide me a bit - if he's not focussing/concentrating or following instructions well then it definitely needs upped.

I am about to start a parenting programme this wednesday so am hoping to learn new strategies to manage him otherwise I am going to put myself in the bin!

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