ADHD in primary aged boy?

[ItsMoiThymeToShine]

DS is 10 and was diagnosed with ASD at age 5.

He has always been very active and on the go non stop. It now appears to be interfering with his normal life but I’m not sure if it’s something to be concerned about.

The school SEN teacher said he is fidgety and ever so slightly distruptive but not at the level they’d ever label a problem.

Lockdown learning was appalling! He could not sit and concentrate on his work. Ten minute tasks took an hour. It was very stressful for us both; asking him to sit still, stop drawing over the virtual screen etc . We both loathed it.
Homework is much of the same.

Signs:
Always moving, foot tapping or changing positions when watching a film together

Always touching things , spinning things and flipping things

Very boisterous and rough and sometimes appears impulsive

At school, he gets told off for talking multiple times in quick succession

At school , he gets told off for fiddling with things but he now has a sensory diet which has helped somewhat

He says he is often looking out of the window or not listening to the teacher talking

School say he has no trouble at all on focus or concentration which I do question . (His school are slightly useless in picking up HFA and were surprised when DS was diagnosed; many parents have had the same experience).

However he is doing very well in school academically. Is ADHD something to consider or does it seem unlikely?

Im not an expert but I have a severely autistic child and I have often wondered if he might also have ADHD his special school don't think so,I think a lot of the behaviour you describe could come under both the Autism and ADHD spectrum ,I have to say his school sound fairly useless though ,does he have an EHCP ?

Sounds very similar to my 5yo DS - we are going through the process of getting a diagnosis, but all the professionals we’ve seen have all suggested ADHD as the most likely diagnosis.

@x2boys yes DS school are extremely frustrating when it comes to spotting HF SEN. They would water down a gin.

He does not have an EHCP and we have been told he has no chance of securing any form of assessment as school have no concerns about him.

I do wonder if it is ASD traits; interesting @SlamLikeAGuitar that you are looking at an ADHD diagnosis with similar symptoms.

I’m very ignorant of ADHD and I was of the impression it has to be severe to be recognised and diagnosed?

most of those symptoms are common in ASD as well as ADHD. There seems to be a lot of overlap.

does your DS not already have an EHCP for ASD? If so then these issues shoudl be addressed in that, surely? (I may be misunderstanding - my DS is ASD too and shows similar symptoms but we're in Scotland so the eduction & support systems are different).

Sorry just read no EHCP... why is that, when he is diagnosed with ASD?

Ah the old 'you'll never get one' re EHCPs! Deliberately designed to put parents off. Thankfully it's not schools who make the decision. You can apply for a Needs Assessment yourself via your council's website. It's actually often better to do this yourself as it forced the council and the school to obey certain deadlines. Be prepared for the assessment request to be turned down at first go though - it's a long run game with multiple stages, refusals and appeals. Get in touch with any local ASD & ADHD parent support groups and charities, they are excellent at navigating this bullshit.

Not all children with ASD will get an EHCP it's all to do with what extra help a child needs at school
That said some mainstream schools are particularly rubbish at identifying a child's needs particularly when they are more high functioning.

Sorry I was replying to @tobypercy .

Is it still worthwhile asking for a needs assessment if he is unlikely to need an EHCP?

Yes, because the whole point of the Needs Assessment is to work out what the needs are and whether they need extra support in order to be met - that's exactly what it is designed for.

I would pursue. Better to know than having lingering doubts. If school have been useless on SEN for other needs- don’t rely on them being proactive in suggesting ADHD.