Hyperactivity label? [titled edited by MNHQ]

[Flojobunny]

Health visitor wants to refer DD (4 yo) for hyperactivity assessment. What is it with health care professionals trying to stick kids in to boxes.
Yes she's always on the go, yes she doesn't sleep but she's my DD and that is that. No good can come of being labelled surely.

[ImTooHecsyForYourParty]

That's what's happened with my youngest, min.
He's 12 and only just now gone on meds because he has lost all ability to function . We've done everything trying to not get to this point.
Its early days, but I've not seen a zombiefied child so far.

[MammaTJ]

Well said tabulahrasa

[minouminou]

It's more Zen than Zombie!

[ouryve]

does the label actually mean they get pulled down further from a lack of expectation?

Not in our experience. DS1 is allowed to do the things he needs to do to be able to concentrate, eg prowl the back of the classroom instead of having to sit still, so he takes more in.

[JakeBullet]

I think the OP knows her child better than anyone else does. If she feels this is too OTT then that is up tp her. When her DD goes into school it might become clearer about any challenges (if any) she faces.

Plus it seems nigh on impossible to get an ADHD diagnosis for a girl. This in itself is anbissue as many girls struggle unnecessarily which leads to depression and self esteem issues.

[booge]

I have been diagnosed as an adult and take stimulants daily. I can now complete tasks and control my life. I struggled through school and university and got into all sorts of trouble over the years. I wish I could have been helped as a child however it was the 70s and ADHD was not understood then. I really believe I would have achieved so much more if it had.

[Badvoc]

Sen bashing yet again!
Must be the season for it.

[minouminou]

Good point, Jake. This is why OP might be missing a trick here.

[AllThatGlistens]

A label isn't a bad thing.

A diagnosis has given my DS counselling, a statement of sen, a support worker, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, access to sports programmes tailored for his individual needs, and when he's old enough, access to a very highly regarded specialist high school.

Without his 'labels' he'd still be seen as that weird kid that lectures everyone about dinosaurs.

I know what I'd rather him have

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

Yes.the OP knows her child. But when DD was 4 I still didn't fully accept she had autism. And she does..severely.

I obviously dont know the OP or her child but would suggest the assessment would rule it out if there were no issues so worth it for peace of mind.

[minouminou]

Booge - did you find you'd get told off for whatever, not give a damn/forget, then go and do whatever it was again? After several tellings off, you just get crafty and deceitful.

Another one here who's been in various sorts of trouble..."Go on....it'll be a laugh! Hur hur hur.... Oh...."

[ImTooHecsyForYourParty]

You don't always know your child best though! Sometimes it takes someone else to see what you cannot.

In all likelihood, theops child doesn't have adhd, if the school don't think so, the op doesn't rhink so and the hv is saying it based on nothing more than a description of an active child! Cos adhd is about a lot more than beingactive! Obly someone who knows nothing about it would syuggest that.But the point I that an assessment does not infect a child with the condition being assessed and ifnthere is something, early intervention leads to a better outcome.

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

Why is it not the same?

[ImTooHecsyForYourParty]

Why is it not the same? Why is it daft to say that certain conditions seem to have a stigma attached while others don't!
What is daft about that?
Do you feel it is incorrect?
Cos I have to tell you, my experience of attitudes towards my childrens autism and adhd is very different to attitudes about their glasses, my youngests asthma and anaemia or my oldests erbs.

[ouryve]

Davsmum - I'll send DS1 your way for a couple of hours. Unmedicated, if you prefer. Have the gin ready because it's NOTHING to do with discipline, I assure you.

[JakeBullet]

I must admit that when DS was 4 it was just becoming apparent that he was not like other children of his age. At the time he was hugely active but I had never considered this....I just though I had an active and quirky child. Not until he started school did we realisw how different he was.

Now at age 10 his differences are very apparent.

Interestingly the Ed Psych did not agree with the ADHD diagnosis because he said "children with ADHD are usually climbing the walls" while DS was a compliant child (unless upset when he wpuld retreat under a desk).

However there is no doubt that medication has helped him cope with school. He is still about three years behind his peers but finally able to read and write.

[MammaTJ]

I do believe both myself and minouminou have provided information as to the physical cause of ADHD, a part of the brain not working properly and needing stimulating. So not 'daft' to compare it to other conditions with physical causes and medical solutions.

Shove 'em all in a 'special school' out of the way of 'normal' society is not going to help these children flourish into productive adults.

Medication to manage the condition can and does.

[ReginaPhilangie]

As someone who listened to her mother and not the professionals I'd say let your dd be assessed. She may well not be hyperactive and then at least you know. If she is, then you may not need help now, but at some point down the line you will need it and it's far easier to access when you have a diagnosis.

I had several people (doctors and teachers) tell me I should get dd1 assessed when she was 3/4. Instead I listened to my mother ranting that there was nothing wrong with her and how dare those people imply that there was. As it turns out I finally managed to get her assessed when she was 8, oh and low and behold she has ASD, she's also severly Dyslexic. How much easier would dd's life have been between the ages of 3 and 8 if I'd bloody well listened in the first place and had her assessed. How much easier would my life have been! Now I'm I'm just eaten up by guilt.

Don't be bloody minded OP, try and see past your pride and do what's best for your dd. In the long run only good things can come from having her assessed. She's still your dd, she always will be.

With my dd it now means that I can tailor my responses to her behaviour now I know why she does and says the things she does, and the same goes for school.

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

Exactly. .it is the same.

To say otherwise just means you don't fully believe in it and think its just a personality trait being labelled.

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

And why not give them drugs for ADHD if it is fine to give them for epilepsy, diabetes etc.

They arent sedative drugs.

Please do some reading davsmum.

[JakeBullet]

Davsmum, I broadly agree with you about medication only helping at school. I would MUCH rather not give my son this highly addictive medication. The paediatrician more or less said "its just to help him through school" BUT it has also helped him to ACHIEVE at school. I strongly believe that he would still not be reading but for medication. And that is in a school which has bern vedy supportive of his needs.

So it DOES have a positive function too.

[tabulahrasa]

"Not if it is NOT a medical condition in a particular case!"

Well if a parent thinks their child has been misdiagnosed and is not struggling with the behaviours that were observed by medical professionals - that's a completely separate issue to be honest. They have all the routes of getting second opinions and private experts in that are open to any other condition that they believe to be misdiagnosed. They also have the choice of whether to medicate or not as medication is never prescribed without in depth discussion with parents and without parents agreeing to giving their child it. They also have the choice over whether to disclose medical information to other people and even to schools in most cases.

If I meet a parent with a child who has been diagnosed with ADHD in my local authority area, I know that that child has been assessed by a non expert medical professional, the parent and the school/nursery have been asked to give a background about that child, they are then assessed by a medical professional with expertise in that area in a medical environment, then a different medical professional with expertise in that area observes them in school/nursery without the child knowing that that is what is happening. The parent is then put on a parenting course to deal with the issues that they are having and the child is assessed by both professionals again, only then is a child diagnosed...that to me seems like a stringent enough process that it's unlikely that many children are misdiagnosed.