ADHD young girls

[Whowhatwherewhenwhynow]

Does anyone have a young child diagnosed with ADHD? I’m wonder if I should get my 6 year old assessed. Can anyone share what the signs were in their young daughters?

Happy to share. My DD is now 11. She was quite an unsettled baby and then when she was 2 I noticed that she had no attention span, even for 5 mins of Peppa Pig. She was always on the go and dropped naps at about 16 months. She had advanced speech for her age and everywhere we went people commented on her speech and vocabulary.

When she got a little older I noticed that when she got excited she would jump up and down ferociously. She fidgeted a lot and especially in bed. She was quite impulsive and would randomly hug strangers. She had no concept of personal space either.

At 11 a lot of these behaviors have been worked on and improved. It is her distractability that is her main issue now and she also goes from 0-10 with anger. She has settled into herself at this age and is doing well in school and socially.

Any questions please ask.

@Drainedandconfused8 thank you for sharing.
can I ask what country you are in and if I’m England how you got the assessment for ADHD?

My daughter is non-stop. She has very little down time but is constantly moving, jumping and being physical. I always thought she was quite advanced socially but as she gets older I see that actually she isn’t. She is very chatty (will talk anyone ears off) and confident to approach people, however she doesn’t listen to others at all and she doesn’t pick up on the social cues from others people (eg that they don’t want to talk, that she’s too close to them). Your comment about your dd hugging people is interesting. My daughter also will touch/get close to people beyond what I would say is usual. I have to remind her a lot about personal space and that people who we don’t know might not like being touched.

I don't live in England. We paid for a private assessment. As a first step I'd probably contact the GP or public health nurse to see if they can refer you. Has her teacher said anything?

In school my daughter used to frequently fall off her seat or the teacher said she would look up and my daughter would be wandering around the classroom. She is well behaved so it was a need for a movement break rather than a behavioural issue.

No the teacher hasn’t said anything, but I haven’t asked. I might ask their thoughts. However with my son, who has ASD, they always said they didn’t see a need for assessment, but I think that was because he was compliant in school and didn’t cause any issues behaviourally.

Diagnosed at 8, also suspected asd.
climbed before she walked
dropped naps at 18mths (well I stopped trying then, she’d have dropped them before that)
very very clumsy, falling over everything, knocking everything over etc (I originally thought dyspraxia)
very messy writing.
no attention span
lots of toilet issues
very picky with food, eats the bare minimum (she gets bored with eating)

you need to go through school for a diagnosis, they do the referral so they need to be onside. It’s not an easy journey. Expect the school to put you off as a lot of the behaviours could still be classed as normal development.

I'd say have a chat with the teacher but ultimately go with your gut. I was the instigator of assessments here as the teachers initially dismissed my concerns.

DS has adhd and as a toddler/child was full in energy wise from early morning to bedtime. He would have stayed up well I t9 the night but I was lucky he was fairly good sleeping once out of the baby stage (that was a nightmare). He could and can concentrate intently on something, almost to the point of obsession, but only if it interested him. Very bright and enquiring, but if it was something that didn't interest him he would no way pay attention. Caused issues in school. He also like to be naughty and would be drawn to other 'naughty' kids. It was the thrill and adrenaline rush he got from pushing boundaries.

No ASD or social issues. Never invaded anyone's space or talked excessively. Understands social cues really well.
Your DD sounds more like a girl presentation of ASD

Don't agree with this. It could be either or nothing. ASD and ADHD have a huge crossover of symptoms anyway

This sounds so like my DD, also six. I'm actually about to try and get the ball rolling with school for an assessment referral. I did mention my concerns with her teacher at parents' eve in November, when they raised the issue of her lack of concentration, extremely variable handwriting and inability to finish work. They said ADHD hadn't occurred to them (despite saying all of that!) but that my added information was helpful and that they would observe with that in mind.

So, yes with the constantly being on the go and non-stop talking. Also agree with you on the social skills, very confident to talk to people, actually quite astute with her questions, but whether she actually listens is another thing. Doesn't quite hug strangers, but will hug people she hasn't long met, parents of her classmates etc. Generally very physical, has always loved rough and tumble play etc. Runs, rather than walks, climbs anything that's remotely climbable, can't sit still, constantly flailing or fidgeting.

Was constantly on the go literally from being a baby, was always very alert. Sleep was then a struggle, she rolled over early (12 weeks) and would spend hours awake in her cot rolling over instead of napping.... I have a photo of her at five months having rolled over, pushed herself up and pulled down the camera of her monitor... At six months she was commando crawling... Tbh, it never really felt like I had a 'baby'...

Also talked very early. At her two-year check, the HV said to me, "You do realise that most two-year-olds don't talk like this, don't you?" And hasn't stopped talking since...

Also, on a daily basis, huge emotional outbursts over seemingly minor things, huge overreaction to clothing that it too tight, not fitting right, labels etc...

Oh, and also very impulsive, doesn't think about what she's doing (or the consequences) before she does it.

She's very bright though and I think masks quite well at school (apart from the issues picked up by her teacher); she doesn't have any meltdowns at least.

Following

@Marigold41 yea your daughter sounds very similar. Mine also has issues with some clothes and is very impulsive.

I think I’ll talk to my daughters teacher.

my daughter has recently started disliking school too and I wonder if that is because now she is getting to the age there is less play and more sit and listen/sit down activities.

Worth getting an opinion early even if it isn't.

Some kids are late bloomers and so will develop out of that, it's just that don't have the social skills or emotional maturity to compensate at this time. Giving them the skills by telling them what they need to look out for (e.g. signs of someone being bored or saying "try 3 sentences and then give someone else a chance" might help this sort of thing).

ADHD isn't any different in girls but they tend to be less hyperactive and more inattentive.
Check out ADHD voices as they have narrative accounts of those being diagnosed.

@Marigold41 I have ADHD but wasn't diagnosed until I was an adult. Your description of your DD sounds exactly like my DS who's now 3.5. DS rolled at 11 weeks and was an early talker I also felt like I never really had a "baby baby". I'm often shocked at how young other babies seem compared to him.

Interesting to see he may have inherited my ADHD...

What's your DS like now? Tbh, I often wonder if I have ADD...

I don't know if there is a link between crazy babies/toddlers and ADHD, but I guess it would make sense considering it's innate. DD's favourite toy for ages was her jumperoo... I'm surprised she didn't actually break it considering how vigorously it was used...

It just feels so instinctive to me that she does have it, but sometimes I doubt myself. I guess there's nothing lost though by trying to get an assessment.

@Marigold41 He's wild - very physical and always into something and on the go. He cannot bear being stuck in the house all day always wants to be out exploring or onto an adventure. Absolutely cannot sit in front of a whole Disney film, and can do about 20 minutes with a tablet before he's on to something else. He's not whiny at all, but the tantrums can be epic over very small things. he's still very verbal and his brain goes 10000 miles an hour and he gets unbelievably frustrated when people can't keep up. Was always an awful napper - even when tiny. Hasn't napped in eons, but crashes out and sleeps like a log at night.

He absolutely thrives on new experiences too. Ever since he was tiny he's loved new places and new things - I don't recognize all these stories on Mumsnet of horrible holidays and babies/toddler freaking out in hotel rooms or airports. I have the opposite problem - he'll be trying to board a plane to Vegas, chucking himself in the plunge pool or trying to tame an iguana unless we watch him like a hawk.

We're lucky - there's a nursery near us attached to a sports complex, so they get a ton of physical play time, which makes a massive difference. We also have him enrolled in gymnastics at the weekend and we're about to start swimming classes too.

I was assessed for loads of things when I was at school - had hearing tests, tests for dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia and a few other things. Parents and teachers knew something was "off" but I finally worked it out myself when I was an adult - I had the inattentive type, so I never really hurt anyone but myself.

That being said, my life has turned out really well, so long term, I feel like ADHD has actually been more of a help than a hindrance.

I have a 7 year old girl who just a few weeks ago got privately diagnosed with ADHD. I noticed signs from the age of 2. If youd like to hear her signs and anything about assessments then I'm happy to share.

This post was obviously posted many months ago though so you may have got further with the school and assesment so may not need more info but happy to help

DGD is a bit like this. Definitely the hugging people, the lack of awareness of social cues, constant talking but not listening and short attention span. Had terrible meltdowns from age about 2.5, better now she is nearly 6 but still has problems controlling her emotions. Also hates loud noises. School have obviously noticed and are planning to assess for SEND. Interestingly DSIL has been diagnosed with ADHD this year having struggled with mental health issues for some time so could very well be inherited from him. Can't say she definitely has ADHD as no diagnosis as yet but would not be at all surprised.

@Whowhatwherewhenwhynow If you are still on MN, can I ask you how is your DC now? Have you gone for a diagnosis?