Would any parents of children with ADHD mind sharing their experiences of very early signs please?

[Maybebabymaybenot]

Just that really.

I know very young children aren't usually diagnosed and I completely understand the reasons for that and it is hard to separate typical toddler behaviour from signs of ADHD but it has been pointed out to me on many occasions that my 2 year old is very hyperactive. This has been the same since babyhood, since day 1 arms and legs were in constant motion and lots of noise, not necessarily crying but just making noises all of the time almost without a break.

Now from 6am to at least 8pm we have constant running around, combining, shouting etc and literally no sitting still under any circumstances.

I also read that being overly forward with strangers can be a sign and we have exam that, she will shout at strangers to get their attention which is nice but obviously unusual at this age!

I will speak to nursery when they eventually open again but they have commented on how fast she runs round all day hyped up and all injuring herself.

Just thought it would be helpful to hear other people's experiences to educate myself a bit better.

Thanks

@Waveysnail I didn't know the word for it but hyperfocus is definitely what my DS loves to do when it comes to play dough - he could sit there shaping out the entire alphabet all day. Same with him lining up his toy cars and dinosaurs so that they're in a particular order, he doesn't really take part in imaginary play as far as I'm aware.

She was an early mover - commando crawling at six months before traditional crawling a couple of weeks later and an early talker. ds was the same. He did the commando crawl from about 8 months and was into absolutely everything. We had to hide anything breakable or precious! He didn't walk until 14 months though.

He was an early talker too: when the health visitor was visiting after our 2nd child was born, she commented on how clear his speaking was (he was only around 18m old at the time) and how he was putting words together into sentences.

He was a fantastic sleeper as a baby though and slept 7-7 from just a few weeks old. His sibling was the same. Now he's 9 though he never sleeps but is happy to just read in bed, thankfully.

@Waveysnail the toddler group tutting was very memorable! It is hard not to feel inadequate in those situations where everyone else seems to be in perfect control of their children's behaviour and I'm literally having to chase mine around to stop her causing serious damage!

She was an early mover too, walking at 10 months but overly confident and always had bumps and bruises to the point I worried that nursery might become suspicious! That fear was alleviated when they apologised to me for the number of accident forms they asked me to sign, describing her as being like a bull in a china shop.

ASD and adhd... from birth he was that baby on the ward that did not stop crying. He would sleep for 5 hours out of 24 until he was about 3 or 4 years old and we could fire him out more. As a baby he had to be constantly rocked and needed constant movement. Very strong muscles and could lift head from birth pretty much, rolling both ways by 10 weeks, fully crawling by 5.5 months and walking at 8.5 months! Very very clumsy though and constantly bruised head from bangs! Wouldn’t and still can’t play with any toys, very destructive. Would never sit still for any groups and would wander off. Would flail arms about and end up hitting other children and adults by accident

This is really interesting to me as I have ADHD (diagnosed mid way through childhood) and am conscious that my child may well have it too. It's very common for it it run in families.

I've spoken my parents about it and I walked early and was very accident prone, couldn't pay attention at toddler groups and also slept badly. At school I had very poor concentration and was prone to daydreaming. ADHD can also cause hyper focus which makes you so fascinated you disappear into your own world as you're so absorbed. This can in fact be a strength!

I just want to highlight that for any concerned parents that although it was a struggle for me at school, I have succeeded in life, been to uni, got a good well paid job etc.

From birth when awake, everyone knew it. Needed contact and attention constantly. If I watched tv, they cried. Amazing memory. To those saying not listening and zone out, I thought that but found they are listening and taking it all in. Just doesn’t look like it.

@TwoZeroTwoZero when I read your posts about your DS so much of what you wrote describes my own DS, aged almost 6 in year 1.

The looking over your shoulder instead of making eye contact, the having a meltdown over relatively trivial things (aged 4 at sports day he abandoned a running race because the parents clapping and cheering was overwhelming, if he colours outside the line on a picture he gets upset and throws the picture away). Once at school he apparently had his hands over his ears during a lesson with a quietly spoken teacher because he said it was too loud. He’s quite clumsy and poor at PE skills and expresses himself in strange ways/ word order sometimes. He’s the sweetest child in many ways though, thoughtful and affectionate.

Having had more of a chance to work with him 1:1 on lockdown I’ve realised what his teacher means about in maths you can spend ages teaching him a concept eg adding two small numbers together and related activities, but then ask him an hour later or let alone the next day he will have completely forgotten it. Yes his writing is coming on well and he can concentrate when he wants to and generally won’t refuse to learn anything.

He’s a summer born so I’ve always taken the stance that a lot of it is just immaturity but I suspect there’s more to it as well. I’ve never discouraged teachers from referring him for SEND tests etc but Nothing has happened yet. I suspect ASD and/ or ADD.

@Summergarden it wasn't until he was in y 3 that they started the ball rolling re. getting him assessed. For us it took from being referred in the October until the following July when he was diagnosed. We did have to ask for it though.

He takes ear defenders to school for when it's too noisy, for example assemblies or music lessons. We also remind him to take them out shopping as well and they've helped him.

If he can read, how about writing a short step-by-step guide for the activity you're teaching him in maths? Or getting him to do it practically rather than on paper?

@TwoZeroTwoZero perhaps I need to be more proactive and ask for an assessment like you did.

The ear defenders sound like a good idea, too. It’s ironic that he does spend plenty of time playing loud games with his sister at home with don’t bother him at all!

Yes, short step by step guides are worth trying too, thanks.

I asked several times when he was in y 1 and 2, because I knew something was different and that there was a reason he was struggling. They generally don't assess for adhd though until they're 7+, or at least they don't in my area.

He takes medikinet now and although he still finds some things difficult it does help him concentrate and focus on his school work.