can nursery staff suggest adhd assesment for child under three

[maxfin]

can anyone please advise. L am concerned for my grandaughter who is extremely distressed regarding comments from her sons kindergarten staff. Her son at almost three they say has been hitting other kids. H is a sweet little boy at home showing no signs of temper or hitting, but if he does hit others at kindergarten, i think it is just because he is a little boy and will grow out of it but the staff say he has adhd and want to refer hin somewhere for treatment. I a furious do they have the right to mak such statements about atwo year old, my grandaughter is really distressed

They can say the child displays attributes similiar to ADHD. ADHD assessments aren’t normally carried out before the age of 6.

ADHD is about a lot more than hitting and temper.

No, you can only get referred for adhd from 6 in the uk. How exactly have they raised it, nursery staff have a lot of experience with 3 year olds and if they are worried it’s worth seeking a second opinion, maybe your granddaughter could contact her health visiting team?

Is this in the UK?

The nursery cannot refer for assessment at 3 -and it would be assessment, not treatment.

Hitting and 'temper' are within the range of expected behaviours at 3. I would agree with contacting her health visitor to discuss this. I would also recommend she calls a meeting with the nursery to get a full picture of what they are seeing and what their concerns are.

You can be referred earlier than 6 years old but like I said it’s very rare.

How long has the hitting being going on for and how frequent is it? And what else is happening? For the staff to be suggesting ADHD, I presume it must be something beyond how a normal 2 to 3yo behaves.

Why are you angry about this?

because i do not believe this is more than just three year old behaviour and i didnt bleive they had the right to refer him for assesmenr(which as he isnt 6 years old is true) this has caused my grandaughter much distress

I’m a former nursery nurse. You can absolutley see neurodivergent traits in young children well before diagnosis in many cases.

I could see it in members of my own family when very young. I’m sure if they’ve mentioned ADHD it’s more than just hitting others, It’s complex and has many sides. They’ve probably mentioned it to mum because she has no idea. Also it’s not a bad thing for it to be flagged early. Early support can really help.

However it sounds like your daughter and yourself don’t want to even explore it/think about it:

Instead of getting angry why doesn’t she arrange a meeting with the nursery to discuss the issue and what everyone can do to support him?

Children under 6 can be referred for ADHD under 6, although it is rare to be diagnosed.
Children can however, be referred with it in mind that a developmental review is needed and the process started to access support.
Yes, hitting and difficult behaviours can be a typical part of a child's development but Preschool staff raising this issue with your granddaughter are almost certainly trying to flag up an issue with her son's development, that is outside of what is typical for children of his age.
Accessing support can take so long that nursery/preschool are right to try and start this process now, so that her son can have any support he needs in place for when he starts school, and so early years interventions can be put in place in his best interest's.
Its really important to build a working relationship with the people who work closely with your child, especially if they have any additional needs. Having good communication with school and any professionals involved with your child is crucial for them to get the best help moving forwards.

We recognised DGD, aged two had ADHD - because at times, she was like a human whirlwind in the house. She also didn’t have normal play.

The nursery and an Ofsted inspector commented when she was about four, that she was the most active child, they’d ever seen!

DS asked me, when she was five if I thought she had ADHD - I told him me, DH, DD2 (who has ADHD) and her OH all thought she did. He denied it; but the school admitted she was the most distractible child in the class. He applied for an assessment under Right to Choose. She was assessed 10 months later, when she was seven. She was diagnosed with severe ADHD and significant autistic traits.

There is no point in being angry OP! Either DGC has it or they don’t, and burying your heads in the sand, won’t change that! The nursery were right to raise concerns - because it can take years to get an assessment; and it’s better to be on a waiting list, as soon as possible, rather than DGC struggling through school until they get an assessment at ten! Some ICBs are rationing assessments under Right to Choose now.

The nursery is correct to raise any concerns. Good for them. If he needs support, early identification is important. Remember the nursery will have seen many children. Your granddaughter needs to engage and discuss with them.

@maxfin just have a think. The nursery see hundreds of children at the same developmental age over a period of years. They decided that this child behaves in a way that concerns them. Why would they do that?

ADHD is very specific, but often people veer towards something they know. It might be another developmental issue which has parallels with ADHD, or it might be ADHD, or neither.

I would go to the GP and ask for a referral to a developmental paediatrician, who can assess his skills and decide if he has differences or delays compared with children of the same age.

DD1 is just having ADHD assessment at the age of 20. We've known since she was a baby.

• Couldn't sit still in the supermarket trolley (would lift her feet for kisses constantly)
• Didn't sleep at night at all in the early weeks, then only for a few hours.
• Climbed before she could walk
• Couldn't walk but would crawl away at fast pace to escape and explore
• no sense of danger
• no impulse control
• we had to keep a stair gate at a friend's house to stop her escaping upstairs
• we had to have just a mattress in her bedroom because she would hurt herself
• we had to have two stair gates stacked, with a piece of wood below it to keep her in her bedroom at night
• we had to line the banisters with perspex sheets to prevent her from climbing them and falling
• we had to fit an electromagnetic lock on our front door to stop her escaping onto the road

The list goes on. But she has other disabilities that meant an ADHD assessment didn't matter because she was already in special school at 6.

Tell your granddaughter to have an open mind. Early support is the key.