My son is 5 and since he was born he has never been a good sleeper or an easy child. He did not sleep through the night until he was 20 months old and has always been energetic and on the go.
I brought up to my health visitor when he was around 2 maybe 3 that I thought he could have ADHD due to traits I was seeing but she said she didn’t see evidence and he was just an energetic boy.
He is very sociable and has lots of friends and his friends parents comment on how laid back and easy going he is.
However, I feel like recently he had massively regressed in his sleep and some of his behaviours are concerning to me.
He developed a tic (eye blinking) when he started nursery but we took him to have his eyes tested to rule out any vision problems and they put it down to anxiety at the change of starting nursery and it went within a month or 2.
When he started school the eye blinking returned, again it lasted a couple of months and went bur was replaced by chewing all his clothes to the point he was making holes in them, this has now stopped but has been replaced by a new tic (shoulder shrugging), he has also now developed a vocal tic (repeating the same word over and over under his breath), fist clenching and chewing his finger nails and toe nails to the point they are almost non-existent.
i have spoke to his school who said he is very confident and happy in school and doesn’t show signs of anxiety.
i took him to the gp with my concerns and she said it was likely just his age and his way of expressing excitement or nerves.
his sleep as deteriorated massively too. He had always been an early riser (5-6am) however now at night he is taking 2-3 hours to fall sleep and is extremely restless. He said he can’t switch his brain off and the tics intensify at night.
I feel like he is crumbling as a person in front of me but he said he doesn’t feel worried or anxious and just can’t stop doing the things he is doing.
he is awaiting an appointment to have his adenoids removed to see if this helps with his poor sleep and I know enlarged adenoids can show adhd like symptoms due to poor sleep.
i am at my wits end and don’t know what to do. Any advice? I feel things are just getting worse and worse and no one is taking my seriously. I don’t know if I’m making it to be something more than what it is.