What are the signs of ADHD in toddlers?

[Mamabear04]

Can anyone tell me what signs to look out for re ADHD in toddlers mainly 3yo's? When can kids get tested for it?

mine never slept, maximum of around 4 hours a night. Like the Duracell bunny despite no sleep, always on the go, couldn’t sit still, quick to be frustrated and lose temper/lash out. We asked the HV for help from a very early age and was basically told it was learned behaviour! We spoke to the nursery teacher who said all was fine too! we were finally referred to CAHMS for assessment age 7, eventually assessed age 9 and told “In 9 years of doing this role I’ve never seen a more hyperactive child’ so how HV/nursery teacher didn’t consider it is beyond me.

Some quite good info here.
www.gosh.nhs.uk/conditions-and-treatments/general-medical-conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/

It is important to rule out other conditions that can look like ADHD and it is therefore important to have a professional assessment to check for these, which may involve a broader group of professionals such as Speech and Language Therapists, Clinical Psychologists and Occupational Therapists.

A diagnosis of ADHD can be considered but will not usually be confirmed until a child is around six years old and starts school but can also be noted later as challenges are sometimes more evident for children with inattention in secondary school.

Most toddlers would meet the criteria for ADHD in the Diagnostic and Statistics manual "Does not seem to listen when spoken to directly" "Easily distracted (including unrelated thoughts)" "Leaves seat in situations when remaining seated is expected" "Talks excessively" etc etc

Attention and self-regulation develop over time as the parts of the brain involved in those skills mature. That's why it's not diagnosed until much later (and many would argue that it's still too early). Some parents may be able to look back feel that there were early clues something was 'different' but if you followed a whole group of very lively toddlers you'd find that most would settle.