Does DD have ADHD ?

[Willowisp]

I posted on behaviour, had a couple of responses, but think this might be a better place to post....

I wonder if anyone can offer me any advice for Dd1 who is just over 8yrs...ever since she was a baby then toddler she had been hard work. I've posted her countless times but have never got to the root if the provlem. She rarely walks, usually bounces all over the place, she literally forces herself out of sleep in the morning - I've seen her do it. She's always touching her younger Dd (5). She's like a big bouncy labrador puppy. Crashing, loud, can't listen, talks ALL day long. She is driving me mad. I end up telling her to be quiet, sit still, leave DD2 alone & she can't do it.
I'm at the point where I don't want her near me, which is horrible.

I know she suffers from low blood sugar & needs to eat as soon as she is up or else she is very bad tempered. At school she manages to hold it together but literally growls at me when I collect her from school. Within about 10 mins of eating she is better.

I've always thought that mothers who left their children were terrible, but find myself plotting to do just this.

What do her school say? Do they find problems with her behaviour? Does it affect her work? Have you been to your GP and asked for a referral to a developmental Paed? At 8 she is old enough to get a DX of ADHD after assessment, I think 7 is the youngest age they'll consider it.

We can't DX or even give a strong opinion here, obviously, but we can offer advice and support. You sound like you are at the end of your tether. I don't have experience of ADHD, my DS has other issues, but there are people on here who do. Hang on in there.

Hi willow, welcom to the SN board, I read your post in behaviour but rarelty post any where other than here.

Your Dd sounds like my Dd1, she is 22 now but still very active. when she was younger I used to describe her as a pin ball, pinging around the house and garden.

She was unable to play she just ran around mostly unless I sat with her.

Out side she used to go down the slide, kick the ball, ride the bike, swing on the swing, down the slide, etc etc.

She makes noise all the time even now.

She was assessed between 8 and 9 but didn't get a Dx of ADHD.

I also think she has Aspergers. But again she has no Dx.

My Dd3[8] is currently being assessed for aspergers but she can also be very fidgety and loud. But she does sit and concentrate for long periods on things she is interested in.

I think you should go to your GP and tell him/her whats going on with your Dd. Make some notes so you don't forget what you want to say. Ask to be referred to a developmental paediatrition[sp]. Once you have been referred keep a diary so you have hard facts for the proffs.

Try to ignore as much as you can, choose your battles and try to say something positive before she goes to bed. Hard I know but it helps if you can put her to bed with a positive thought about her.

Good luck.

What do school say? I'm not that up on ADHD but if I remember ADHD isnt the type that they can control as it's all about impulses.
I would keep a diary for a few weeks ad then take it to GP.

Thanks for your replies. I spoke to dd's teacher when she was yr 2 & she said she could see traces in that DD would become quite excited & have difficulty calming down.
Since yr 3 DD has been with a new teacher/class so lots of adjustments. I think she holds it together but then takes it out on me when I collect her. At school behaviour is fine - although she is perhaps slightly below average academically. Again I think this is because she finds concentrating so hard. Dh is very clever & slightly perturbed by this !
I'm wondering if there is food/low blood sugar connection as she can behave horribly....? I did ask if she could have a snack around 2pm, but it never happened, so I give her something to eat as soon as she comes out.

We are on hols at the mo, so now over the initial newness, things are settling down a bit. Basically I've left Dh to it as I've had enough.

We are doing some work books with her which we're hoping will improve her concentration & the rest of the time is spent in the swimming pool or playing obsessively with her build a bear & dominating younger DD !

"I think she holds it together but then takes it out on me when I collect her".

That to me is a clear indication that her additional support needs at school are not being met.

You are her best - and only - advocate here and no-one else is better placed than you to ensure her additional needs are met. This is also because no-one else is going to do it for you.

The best thing you can do currently is to keep a written diary of events and insist to the GP that your DD is referred asap to a developmental paed. Something is causing all this and it is certainly in your interests to find out what that is before your family further falls apart for instance in the period immediately following a return to school.

It may not be anything to do at all with any potential blood sugar problem. Has this actually been medically confirmed?.

Teachers and or school are patently not qualified to diagnose any special needs.

Is she eating her lunch? Because DS was having school dinners, hating them, telling me he loved them and being a complete monster at pick-up time. School eventually picked up on it and he now has a packed lunch. Much better all round. Although he will still often have a paddy at pick-up time because school is hard for him and he is basically spending 6 hours holding it together.

I would do as others have suggested, keep a diary and get a referral. Good luck with it.

Thanks again for posting - yes, you're right meerkat & this spurs me on more, rather than thinking I am fussing.

She takes a pack lunch, but sometimes has been desperate to play outside & had only had a mouthful so she can play with her friends. She tends to have a cheese & marmite sandwich, yeo valley yogurt stick & water. Anything else is too much. As I said she has a big bowl of porridge & fruit at breakfast.

The blood sugar hasn't been medically confirmed but within 10 mins of eating, she is (normally) a changed girl.

I feel as though there is a flick in her head that's not properly connected. Having said that, she plays nicely with her friends, is a good girl at school.

Willowisp I feel like I could have written your post for you! I am currently wondering the same thing about one of my 6 year old boys, has he got ADHD or Aspergers?

From when he was born, the Paediatrician noted a "constant writhing movement", i.e. he couldn't bloody stay still!

He has learning disabilities (no explanation as to why, despite tests) and he is in a Special School. He didn't talk til he was about 3 but now he talks CONSTANTLY. It's so wearing. He also follows his sister around all the time. Trying to hug/kiss/copy her. I tell him to back off and he does for about a minute but then it's like he's forgotten.

He also can't listen. He asks a question and then doesn't listen for the answe. I've said this phrase to him to many times, he repeats it before I've finished it "JXXX, you have to learn to listen, and wait, and stop talking".

We can literally be 10 minutes into the day and I'll have to say "Jxxx, stop talking".

Re blood sugars...my son eats a lot but is stick thin. He sleeps well but wakes mostly because his autistic (twin) brother is up from the crack of dawn crashing about. I think if he was in his own room, he would sleep a lot longer.

Sorry to barge in on your thread but it really hit home to me that perhaps I should be raising the issue of potential ADHD/Aspergers with his school.

If you get any progress/info, I'd be grateful if you'd post again.

Thanks.

Our son got a diagnosis of ADHD just over a year ago. For him to be diagnosed both we and the school had to fill in a form about his behaviour. From what I understood he had to show a similar behaviour at school and at home for a diagnosis, but I could be wrong. In our case the school had more of an issue than we did, as he cannot sit still and constantly fidgits - we tend to try and be out and about a lot, not an option for the school unfortunately.

So once you have a diagnosise for ADHD, what happens next ?

I came over to the special needs forum wondering whether there might be some answers about DS's behaviour and found myself reading this thread. DS is 26 months and has v.poor speech, is constantly on the go - way more than any normal toddler. He had breathing difficulties when he was born and had to be given oxygen, and again at 12 days when he stopped breathing again. We've wondered for quite a while about his behaviour, thinking he might have ADHD or some other condition. He never stops from the time he gets up to the time he goes to bed, he tantrums a lot, can't settle to anything, throws toys at us and DD (with amazing accuracy and intention to hurt). He also insists on cuddles all the time, which is lovely, but is possibly excessive to the point that DD is often pinned to the floor and can't move (she's 5 and he's amazingly strong). I'm on the point of calling our HV to see if there's any sort of assessment we can get or whether she thinks it is too early. Is it too early? Am I worrying unnecessarily? I'm not sure.

Hi Jaffacake. I think if you have concerns you should be asking your GP or HV for a referral to a developmental Paed. You know your DC the best and gut instinct shouldn't be ignored. The process to getting any sort of explanation or DX can be really long and 26 months isn't too young. No-one on here can tell you what, if anything, may be the problem, your Paed will do that, but if you are concerned I'd get it checked out.

You may get more advice if you start your own thread, but you've come to the right place for advice and support.

Willowisp, before we had even got the diagnosis we had tried eliminating all sorts of foods, but nothing made much of a difference I am afraid, which is not to say it mightn't for your child. We cut out sugar, processed foods, glutens, dairy products etc. Given how behind our DS was at school we did go the medication route, which I am sure a lot of people will disapprove of. He is now on medication when at school and it has made a big difference on his concentration, but he is still very much behind the others in his class. The only side effect we have noticed is that he isn't hungry in the morning and tends to eat less during the day, but makes up for it at night time when the medication has worn off. Even with medication our DS is quite a live wire, but it does take the edge off. I found a book called "Parenting the ADD child, can't do, won't do" has been very useful as well. It suggests things that help such as very regular routines, rewards, special time with your child etc., which I guess help with any child, but more so with ADHD kids.