Adhd??

[mrssparkle123]

Posting on here for traffic, please don't tell me I'm being unreasonable 🙂
Oh and well done to anyone who makes it to the end of the post.... it will be a challenge!

Hi everyone,

I went to the GP with concerns about my 4 year olds behaviour and I only got a third of the way down my list when he said he'd refer us to rule out adhd, he did say it could be that there's nothing wrong with my son but a paediatrician would be able to assess more extensively than he could.

The concerns I have are mainly 'normal' child behaviour (I think) but possibly not that at the frequency and extremity that my son displays them. My brother is dyspraxic and some of these things do overlap, so that's also a possibility. I would just like some opinions from anyone who knows about adhd...

1. random loud noises at random times
2. very loud
3. interrupts half way through a sentence
4. 1 way conversations
5. frequent emotional outbursts, screaming and crying up to 10 times a day
6. irrationally aggressive, violent behaviour towards younger sibling (for example if he says a word he doesn't like)
7. hates loud noises
8. hysterical laughter
9. impulsive behaviour (jumping up on the table randomly)
10. always fidgeting, moving, can't sit still
11. lack of awareness of his own body (accidentally kicking people when flailing his limbs around)
12. obsessed with food
13. obsessed with death
14. inappropriate with body parts
15. very physical - sitting on people, squeezing people, jumping on people and likes people to do it to him, will be laughing while doing it and if the other child is crying he doesn't seem to realise/he able to stop
16. will totally switch off when television is on and be absorbed by it
17. very short attention span (unless it's for television!!)
18. very obsessive with characters/colours
19. very routined
20. takes a long time to fall asleep at night (up to 2 hours)
21. irrational fears, eg terrified of cars in the distance when he's on the pavement holding my hand, or terrified of a dog in the distance
22. appears sorry for doing something wrong but doesn't seem to stop himself from doing it 5 minutes later
23. repeats a question over and over until he is satisfied with your answer even though you've been saying yes all along
24. low self esteem and says he can't do things without trying
25. gets distracted half way through a task
26. instructions have to be repeated over and over very clearly and concisely

Thank you to anyone who managed to get to the end of my post 😂😂

@LittleSwede what a lovely message, thank you so much. I think I'd be relieved if there was 'something' because at the moment people just say to me oh it's because he's 4, but I know a lot of 4 year olds and don't see this behaviour. I read the list to my best friend who said 'my 3 do all of those' but they don't...! And my dad thinks it's nothing and he's just sensitive! His preschool also think he's just young and nothing more to it. He may just be an anxious child and if that's all that comes out from the paed then great but at least I can get him the help he needs from that!! X

@themuttsnutts I have heard girls are harder to diagnose due to displaying the symptoms differently, I taught a girl with adhd and would never have had any idea!! But like you, with my son I've always thought there was something different about him, (This has become more apparent as my younger son gets older!) when he was 10 months I'd open the stair gate at bedtime and he'd climb the stairs and go straight into his bedroom and find his dear zoo book, I tried putting it in different places around the room or putting different books in front of it but he'd always go for that one, never once went off piste into the wonderful world of upstairs - bathroom, bedrooms, I couldn't believe it!

@mrssparkle123 well done on a good response from the GP. Did they say how long the referral would take?

@WeAreSailing he said he had absolutely no idea 😫

Really great the gp has referred you. The earlier the better is always great :) and remember that even with any 'diagnosis' he's still your Fantastic, bright, fun and gorgeous boy x

Sorry forgot to add he’s being assessed for asd and they will be looking at adhd (teenage nephew has it and there are a hell of a lot of similarities with the behaviour when he was the same age as DS).

He has seen a paediatrician, who identified executive function difficulties, followed by a clinical psychologist. They will then assess him at school, then we get an appointment with both.

Quietnjnja’s post sounds very familiar to me! Every single time he goes to the toilet we have to walk him through flushing the toilet, washing his hands, drying his hands. He just wees/poos then runs off. Can’t wipe himself for toffee. He did this at nursery and if they told him to go flush and wash hands he’s go back to the toilet and stand staring in the mirror because he couldn’t remember what to do!

He struggles to follow instructions, and constantly loses things. Pretty much everything on your list he does. He gets pulled up on hitting every single time (god it’s exhausting!) and he’ll say sorry, then 5minutes later he does the same damn thing again!

Thank you @Ekphrasis that he is! He's so lovely but his behaviours make him appear otherwise, I'd hate for people to judge him on this :-(

@ipswichwitch fingers crossed it all ties in for you. I have booked a clinical psychologist to come and see us, she can't assess for adhd this young but I thought she might be able to spot some things/give me some strategies. It is utterly exhausting!

Utterly mortified.. went to the doctors to get him referred for hearing tests and he chased my 2 year old round the room screaming at the top of his lungs, squeezing the 2 year old and pushing him over. It's getting worse daily. I said to the doctor I was finding his behaviour difficult and she said I can see that! She said that doctors don't refer to occupational therapists for dyspraxia tests I'd have to see the paed first and that could take months :'( I could cry. I just constantly keep thinking it must just be my parenting if his preschool didn't think there was anything wrong. He's only been at his new school a week but they've not said anything, he's obviously not behaving like it at school?

It’s early days for school - DS2 started just over a week ago, and apart from his massive meltdown the first day, he’s been ok (for him!) until yesterday when he hit another child. I was mortified.

His nursery saw a lot of the behaviours he’s being referred for, but he would also have very good days with no lashing out, good listening. Problem was, soon as I picked him up he’d have a meltdown in the car park. A friend that works with kids with asd/adhd said that they can be like this, and that it takes so much effort to focus while at school/nursery that when they’re home it all comes out with the hyper behaviour, etc.

Find out which paediatrician you’re being referred to, then ring their secretary and ask about waiting times, and if they can get in touch with cancellations.

I know what it’s like being out and about with him when he’s hyper and screechy. It’s bloody hard, and you feel judged. The good thing is that the dr has seen the behaviour for herself - I was almost pleased when DS was very hyper during his paed appointment, and very much not listening to her. Fingers crossed you can get somewhere soon, it’s difficult knowing how long it can take and assessment is a lengthy process

@ipswichwitch thank you so much for the message! I already called and they said it will probably take in excess of 12 weeks, but they really have no idea. And then like you say we have a lengthy process ahead of us and meanwhile Home life is massively affected! I think this is the case with my son. He holds it together at school, they did see the behaviours at preschool but not the scale I do. This is making me think it can't be ADHD if he can hold a lot of it in! But he was allowed a lot of freedom at preschool. Like your son he's only been at school since last week so we'll see on that front. My head is in a mess because he ticks the boxes for a whole host of different things, it could be as simple as his hearing - we're also waiting on a referral for that. But I've read about auditory processing disorder which he also ticks the boxes for and apparently that can't be tested for until 7!

Hopefully you’ll get the hearing tests done before seeing the consultant (as we have managed to do) so it’ll help speed things up.

I’ve found that when he’s doing the tasks he really enjoys at school (same for nursery), he can focus and do well. When it’s somwthing he doesn’t enjoy/want to do/doesn’t see the point in doing that’s when the behaviour gets worse. He does have issues with people placing demands on him, and can react badly to simple requests, so we word things carefully when we ask him to do things.

It’s great you have got a referral. I thought my DD had ADHD but she got an ASD diagnosis (Aspergers on the old system, no longer diagnosed here). She makes eye contact, sociable, good with language, imaginative, hates maths! I never guessed ASD. It’s seems obvious now she is hitting puberty.

Whatever the outcome hopefully the assessment will provide you with some answers and strategies. It’s tough but you are a fantastic mum for getting help early on.

@ipswichwitch sorry I'm losing track of what I've read now, did your son have hearing issues as well? Did you get him tested privately?

@TheSconeOfStone that's a lovely thing to say thank you! That does sound very much like my son!

No, no hearing issues mrs, but in view of him not listening and not even registering the fact you’d be talking to him, sometimes right next to him when he’s occupied with something, they advised hearing as well as eyesight tests. None of us thought he’d have issues there (both tests were normal), but the HV said the paeds would ask for it to be done anyway so she referred him for those at the same time as the paed referral. Hope that made sense!

@ipswichwitch sounds like a very good health visitor!!! The doctor didn't tell me that but I got his eyes tested yesterday as I have worn glasses since I was 5, but his eyes are fine! And we've been referred for hearing tests as he's always asking me what I said and asking me to speak louder!

*@TheSconeOfStone *
It’s seems obvious now she is hitting puberty.
why do you say that?

I’m just placemarking for later. Sorry!

WeAreSailing she has calmed down physically so less ADHD like I guess. Social interaction is getting much harder and her emotional immaturity compared to her peers is harder to hide. Physical body changes and hormones are upsetting her. Demands of school academically and socially now very obvious. She was able to fit in when she could run around playing imaginative games. She’s not ready to move on from that while her peers are maturing in their interests.

Sounds just like my son. He has diagnosed ASD, ADHD, sensory difficulties, anxiety, verbal dyspraxia.

Eye contact is a red herring for asd as is actual speech, not all children with asd will have delayed speech, it's more to do with communication skills and processes than actual speech if that makes sense.

I'd explore all avenues for assessment and diagnosis. Even for children with these long lists of symptoms getting a diagnosis on paper isn't quick or easy but having it may help through school in terms of behavioural approaches used, teaching support methods, additional support during things like sats/exams.

@TheSconeOfStone
How old is your DD? My is about to turn 11 and definitely in throws of puberty. With her I think hormones make her worse.
We have only just requested a referral but amongst other symptoms the social aspect is one of the most worrying

@YourHandInMyHand

Very interesting, as my son spoke at a normal age and hasn't stopped talking since, he struggles to actually have a conversation as it's all very one sided. The things you have listed are possibilities for my son from what I have researched but so hard to really know as they are so complex.

May I ask at what age you started the process? And which avenues you explored?

We are seeing a private clinic psychologist next Saturday but it's only a 1.5 hour assessment and she won't formally diagnose anything in that time.

My DD is 11 next month. It’s been hellish.

Do we share the same DD?