If your child has ADHD, could you tell me how you knew?

[1991all]

DS is 5, I first talked to the GP about him when he was about 18mths.
His nursery never shared any concerns, but there were lots of issues
Now his school doesn't seem to be having any concerns, nothing out of the ordinary, but he's only been there since Sept

I really don't know whether to go further with this, but his behaviour concerns me a lot

Everything I read sounds like him, but with slightly different angles

Could you describe your child's behaviour in a nutshell, I'm guessing it's way more complicated than that.
But I really don't know where to start
GP says a report from the school would help, but I think they would prefer for him to settle in a bit longer

Ok, ds1 is nine.

I say "go and put one pants on"

Ok mummy.

10 minutes later.

"Have you put pants on yet?"

Doh! I forgot.

Repeat conversation for about an hour.

Also, the most used phrase in my house is "Sit DOWN!"

Thanks Colditz, DS gets distracted doing things like that, but I guess he's a bit younger

Sit down definitely gets said a lot
He jumps all over me

My DS who is 7 has both ASD and ADHD.

It was the ASD which was diagnosed first off all and then the ADHD. At first it was thought the ADHD was sensory problems.

My DS is hyperactive, very impulsive, can't concentrate etc He is medicated now which is a god send to me! You cannot reason with him and disorganised etc!

Would it be helpful for you to share some of your concerns (from both now, and back when he first demonstrated behaviour that concerned you) and we could give you some sort of idea if that's thought to be 'typical' of children his age?

thanks KF
I always find it hard to put my finger on it

Basically, he never ever stops
from the moment he opens his eyes, until about 10 seconds before he closes his eyes to sleep
It's like his brain works overtime and his body just reacts the best it can.

He's very bright, very excitable, largely uncontrollable.
Very physical, always jumping and never keeping still, if i kneel down to get something off the floor, he will be jumping on my back.
I have never been able to get him to walk nicely. He runs and jumps and pulls on my arm. He cannot be trusted to stop at the road so I have to keep a tight rein on him. He will still run away.
His impulsivity is a bit worrying.
Cannot be reasoned with unless he is very very calm, which is very infrequent
Has a bit of a problem figuring out what is real, he seems to think that what he sees in cartoons can happen in real life!

He takes about an hour to eat a meal, he will get up and down. Forget that he is eating and start doing something else entirely

He can concentrate.
He can do short crafty stuff
He can sit still for a whole movie
He asks a lot of questions, and figures out a lot of stuff for himself.

Okay, this was mine as a toddler ... was on reigns if we were ever by the road, would run away and never seem to worry if I was there or not, shopping was a no no unless he was asleep, supermarket were a nightmare unless he had a french loaf stuck in his gob , parties were stressful as he would run, climb, jump and ruck with anyone. Starting school aged 4 he could not sit still in the classroom, listen to instructions, complete any recognisable work. He had to move all the time. He interrupted conversations, always went to the front of any queue, overly boisterous with other children although would never intentionally hurt anyone, acts the clown. Now, aged 9 finds school easier as he has learned coping strategies, can concentrate for reasonable time, has friends, still acts the clown and talks way too much, still has to check himself when intruding in personal space, is funny, sensitive and kind. Still has to move about and his teacher is great .. gives him lots of jobs to do and he is her carrier pigeon He has always been able to concentrate on stuff he likes, loves art, loves cinema and stays seated throughout, is very inquisitive .. - always been a good sleeper.

From 9 months till nearly 6, he was like a boisterous toddler.... One who'd been taking large amounts of illegal speed . When he actually took prescribed stimulants, activity reduced to 'average' boisterous toddler level.

Joking aside, I think I knew in utero that he'd be hyperactive, he never stopped kicking. I printed out a list of tips for ADHD kids when he was 2 and stuck it on the fridge. I remember carefully deleting every mention of "adhd" before saving the document, because he obviously didn't have anything medical, it was just that I couldn't cope and needed some new strategies

MadameSin, that sounds scarily similar, everything is the same.
Does your son have medication?

Maria, i definitely need coping strategies!!