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 😂😂

at all the nc confusion, it keeps us all on our toes!

I do hope the appt comes soon, in the meantime, try some strategies for kids with ADHD/ASD and see if they make life easier for all of you.

@BlankTimes there shouldn't be the option to name change 😂

Thank you, yes we have quite a few strategies in place that seem to be having an impact; yoga and a sensory corner. I'm also attending a couple of workshops on childhood anxiety and anger.

"I told his preschool teacher what the doctor said and she was shocked and said she wouldn't have said he has adhd, but then he only went 3 hours a day and played all day, I know he displayed some of these behaviours at school because they told me but they put it down to him being young.."

My son's nursery and primary school also said similar things to me when I expressed concern. He was diagnosed with Aspergers and ADHD when he was 13.

@MiniMum97 13!! It took you that long? He's in his first term at school now and they've said they have no concerns about him at school!!

I think it can be hard to get a diagnosis without support of the school. CAMHS have a tendency to “blame” the parents as a first resort in my experience. My son was referred to CAMHS by his infant school as they identified difficulties but they “blamed” the fact that his dad and I had split up a couple of years before. I trusted them. Then his primary school did not support a referral despite numerous problems socially and with concentration at school.

It was only when he went to secondary school and the shit really hit the fan that within a few months his form tutor said we should get a diagnosis. I went private (but kept CAMHS in the loop) as I knew how long it can take to get a diagnosis via CAMHS. It still took a while as I needed to prepare a “case” which involved lots of examples and evidence (eg emails from his teachers) and a diary of issues. I had to find an educational psychologist. My “case” was sent to the EP and CAMHS. He had an appt with EP who thought Aspergers/ADHD may be a possibility. I then found a child and adolescent psychiatrist. I gave my case and EP report to my GP to get a referral to CA Psych. He provided the diagnosis.

Luckily the school my son was at was very supportive and then gave him amazing support without a statement (which would have then been my next long battle). He went from strength to strength. He had no friends and was on the route to being expelled and was very unhappy. He is now at uni living independently with a girlfriend and large group of friends. He is doing amazingly and I am very proud. Well worth all the battling!

@MiniMum97 well done you for keeping at it, it must have been a mighty struggle but I'm so glad it's all been worth it. How comes the primary school wasn't on board? Did he have a lot of struggles at primary school? I'm so glad he's doing well now 🙂

Hi had loads of problems at primary school. Was called in there all the time due to “incidents”. He came home from school almost every day crying. It was awful. Kept being told his difficulties were “normal” and he would “grow out if it”. Couple of teachers mentioned possible dyspraxia due to his poor hand/eye coordination but when I mentioned an assessment they backed off and made it clear they wouldn’t support it. Not sure if it was a policy thing or they didn’t want the additional cost of supporting SEN students but they were a school very focussed on attainment (only the best artwork up on the wall and the same children EVERY year in the school plays!!!), SEN provision was poor (the SEN coordinator was the deputy head not a separate post and she was horrible), and many children I knew at the school with SEN were not well supported and SENs were identified very late in children generally.

Interestingly the school was “outstanding”. Not with regard to SEN according to the many parents I spoke to!

@MiniMum97 the school sounds utterly awful! And it's a disgrace that they were outstanding, so basically no one would have listened to your concerns anyway! No separate senco 😫

MiniMum they sound absolutely terrible. It’s disgraceful they’re able to get away with wilfully ignoring the needs of kids with SEN because they’re all about attainment. I’m so glad to hear how well he’s doing now.

Our primary has been very supportive. The teacher and the SENCO have already come up with a plan for him, and want to do a class project that will encourage his interests (mainly construction). We have our second meeting with them next month to check progress and see that his plan is effective for him. He’s nowhere near diagnosis yet, but they’ve fully taken on board his issues and I can’t fault them.