Is it ADHD or High Functioning autism??

[WTRH]

Hi all,


I'm looking for some advice as I'm a little inexperienced with all of this.

My son is 5 years old and currently in reception at school. He's progressing really well and really loves school with no huge issues so far. He's really social and always playing with someone or in groups. He does tend to struggle sometimes as he wants things his own way but quickly moves on without any huge tantrums and Any lasting issues.

The teachers have raised the possibility that he may suffer from ADHD but they have said they are not experts and couldn't diagnose him but they raised this as they said he struggles with Controlling his emotions and also has a complete incapability to sit still during the day, during carpet time and always has his own agenda.

They also say that he is always wanting their attention, never waits his turn to speak and will phsyically turn their heads to speak to him if they don't react to him straight away. They also say he is quite competitive and has to be first at everything or can react strongly. This is not something that surprises us as we see all this behaviour at home.



He speaks all the day everyday but does struggle sometimes with sentences but always manages to get his point across. Sometimes his speech is a little immature and gets his sentences muddled up but he is very capable and stringing together lots of variations.


He doesnt struggle with any sensory issues, change of routine, loud noises, or issues withh clothes....his diet is ok and has variation ....The only concerning thing is he tends to stim very very occasionally but only when he's watching something on our phone like YouTube kids and Mario kart. This literally may be once every 2 or so weeks. It's never anything else and never infront of the TV but it's not handflapping per se ....its more raising his firsts at shoulder height and sort of fist pumping whilst bouncing.....

Would anyone have any thoughts or expertise of whether this could be ADHD or HFA? We're in the process of looking into a private assessment but thought I'd start on here to see if there's any advice.

Thanks for reading and for any comments.

X

[BeQuietAndDrive]

Following as have very similar concerns about my 7 year old DS.

[Shagoldhall]

Our eldest Daughter was only diagnosed with ADHD when she was 10, despite primary school picking up on issues when she was 5 (can take that long). Academically she is fine, but she does get upset easily and struggles to remain on task (has recently started medication and I think it seems to help). She does also stim and has in in the past struggled to take turns in games and often would play be herself if she was unhappy about a game, but as she has got older that has changed.

I have heard that ADHD isnt diagnosed now until they are 9. You need to speak to the SEN officer at his school and take it from there. I am sure his teachers will have raised any concerns with them.

[happygolucky42]

I took my son. He sounds very similar. Won't test properly till 8/9 years. What I got from their assessment: does he sleep, does he get task done, keep rewarding the good behaviour.

[WTRH]

Thank you so much for your replies....@Shagoldhall your daughter sounds so similar to my son as he's progressing well academically and the teachers are very happy with his progress...but like your daughter he struggles to remain on tasks that don't interest him and gets upset easily aswell. It's a shame getting diagnosed takes so long as I'd love to get my son the help he needs asap ...

We've spoken to the SEN teacher at school and she has implemented some strategies to put in place to help him but has suggested that we do not need to push ahead with a diagnosis as she doesn't believe my son requires an EHCP as he doesn't struggle a huge amount ...I can't quite get my head around why she wouldn't push us to get a diagnosis or if there is a reason for them not to have my son diagnosed? Perhaps you could shed some light on this?

Thank you @happygolucky42 ...I echo what i said above...so frustrating to wait so long ....but if that's all they ask then I guess my son does sleep well....only focuses on tasks he likes or won't bother for long and we're constantly rewarding good behaviour....its actually exhausting!! Is there anything more to the assessment?

Thanks again

[happygolucky42]

I live abroad and we have an excellent psychiatric facility here. These doctors see everything. They went through with me my my son was not autistic or had adhd as he'd been referred by school. Dr said: your son engages with you and wants to show you stuff, he finished his colouring in task that he chose, came to tell you his finger hurt from all the colouring it and he sleeps well. My son is so much better with age. I found the school frustrating as they were not firm with him about sitting behaviours and reminds of what is expected and tell us. His new teacher is amazing and has made so much progress. It's not easy and you're doing great!!

[golhal]

My Daughter loves hugs when she’s upset and this was something we struggled with when she misbehaved. We have now come to understand that in order to regulate herself, it’s something we need to do. She doesn’t have an EHCP…. She is on the SEN register at school, so does get some support, is it enough, I think she needs more. To get an EHCP you need a lot of evidence to justify it and that’s not easy, especially if they can cope in mainstream school.

[AladdinMum]

To me it doesn't sound like HFA, nothing you mentioned points towards it. It could be ADHD or it could not be, it is hard to tell just from a description of him - as they get older many of the fidgeting/impulsive/restless behaviours can disappear very quickly.

It is not unusual for his teachers to not push for a diagnosis as while some of these behaviours and struggles may be present they do not seem to be having a significant negative impact on his education and hence it's very unlikely that anything would change in terms of extra support if he had a diagnosis vs not having one, i.e. they would not do anything different if he had a diagnosis to what they may already be doing now to support him. So from their perspective, and for him personally, it does not matter if he has a diagnosis or not.

[WTRH]

Thanks again for these responses...@AladdinMum I totally appreciate its hard to make a judgement from just a small description but the 'stimming' behaviour always makes me feel that it must be something as I didn't think many children without additional needs did this and i always thought it was associated with autism and not ADHD...or perhaps I am wrong?

[AladdinMum]

I dont think I would call it stimming if it only happened once every few weeks, it does not sound like repetitive behaviour. Many adults and child exhibit these types of infrequent repetitive behaviours, for example, I know of many adults and young children that rub their hands together when feeling a sense of achievement, or start fidgeting with their hands or hair when nervous or jump up and down when excited yet none of that would be classified as stimming in the traditional sense even though technically its all repetitive behaviour. Repetitive or ritualistic behaviours linked to autism tends to be a form of self regulation which tends to happen multiple times a day. In my opinion, if it had to be one, solely on your description, it is much much more likely to be ADHD than HFA.