Fish Oils for helping with impulsivity problems??

[alibo]

I am wondering about some ADHD like symptoms that ds has, esp at school with other children. He can be quite impulsive, and has hit out before if someone tries to take a toy off him etc, can get overly excited at playtime, general pushing around etc. His concentration is fine though, and always does homework, completes tasks, jigsaws, pictures, can watch shows, programmes quietly etc. Not hyperactive, not always on the go, not fidgety etc, just the "impusive" things i am worried about. But is not impulsive in other ways, ie has a good sense of danger, is careful, etc on stairs, slides, climbing frames etc. Teacher says he sometimes appears to be slow to follow instructions, then again he has always done things in his own good time as is generally a very laid back child. Wondered if these might help, as i am a bit concerned that he is going to keep getting in trouble if he keeps acting without thinking. He has only just started full time school, and does seem to be getting a bit more used to the "children in his face thing"; but he had problems at preschool before this, and even scratched a couple of children.

Ah Alibo there you are! Trace and I tried to find you through here the other week but no success! We met up one Saturday morning and had a good chat about our boys! We must do it again - your DS sounds exactly like mine. We have tried Eskimo Kids oils which are meant to be good but we have got be careful as some aren't suitable for children with epilepsy. I also worry about any added flavours as that's another area we are trying to be strict about.

You can contact me at [email protected] then we can arrange to meet up with Tracy some time

Hiya! Yep, haven't been on for a while, had family visiting, ds in and out of school with snow, then his birthday, then we've been visiting family over half term! Anyway, would still love to meet up, having a meeting with teacher next week and another teacher who deals with special needs; she is going to observe him in class, but i think we'll be just seeing how he settles for now. He definatly seemed calmer in the last few weeks to me, as kept to only home made food etc, no rubbish,( except in half term gone to pot a bit.). Will still try the fish oil supplements as he doesn't like oily fish etc, so will do no harm to boost his omega 3 intake etc. Have looked into autism etc more and ds doesn't really seem to really fit the majority of symptoms; his main thing is the quick to act thing, gets very "involved" in what he's doing, and tendancy to push, shove without thinking, esp with smaller children.
Even when easily upset over something it's always short lived, as in gets over it in a few minutes, he's never had what i would call a real "tantrum" in his life. So i am still concerned about him being "unpredictable", and am often on pins in play areas etc, in case he goes too far with anyone, if you know what i mean?
I will email you and we can meet up soon..thanks for looking out for me!

A bit of a highjack here, sorry, do you know which types of oil are not good for those with epilepsy? My DS has cerebral palsy, thankfully not with epilepsy at the moment but as he has a much higher risk of developing it I want to avoid anything that may be linked iyswim! I am thinking about giving him the EyeQ brand as they seem well known!
Thanks

My ds is aged 6.5 dx ADHD. They used to call it ADD, but these days it's all under the umbrella of ADHD, and from what you say it doesn't sound like your son has this. I think you may find he is immature and a normal child (is he an only child?). I have two boys and the first one always started a fight in playgrounds or activity centres - I hated taking him there. However, these days he is a lovely, kind 11 year old. Ds2 with dx lacks concentration and attention, flitters from one task to another, but is getting better actually - I have often questioned the dx . He is on EyeQ fish oils and I have noticed a marked improvement - albeit it has taken 3 months. Try looking at his diet as many preservatives, including those found in bread and bacon are very bad for kid. As you can imagine, I have become a bit of an expert is E numbers, additives etc.

Has his teacher hinted at the behaviour being 'out of the norm' so to speak? My ds's issues were first flagged in the classroom.

I have used EyeQ fish oils for my ADHD child. They helped a little and there was a noticeable difference when I stopped giving them to him. The best thing though, is to try and get him to eat Salmon, Sardines or any other type of oily fish because the Omega 3 oils are absorbed much more easily if taken in the natural form (i.e. by eating fish)

The other major thing I noticed was when I banned all sugar free drinks/sweets/food from the house. There was an immediate difference in terms of aggressive behaviour. Sugar free squash may be better for their teeth, but the aspartame causes huge behavioural problems. It may be worth looking at - your child may not have ADD/ADHD. As Icandothat suggested, it could be down to additives, and in my experience, one of the main culprits is aspartame.

hairymaclary I use EyeQ for my ds. I've just read packet and it states you should check with pharmacist if you have epilepsy. I have also heard (not sure how accurate) that people with this condition should not take evening primrose which EyeQ contains.

OMG, yes ... Aspartame is a nightmare - don't ever give it to your kids!!

Thanks for replying... yes he is an only child, and his dad left us when he was 15mths old; didn't actually see his dad from being 2 till nearly 4(dad's choice btw). I have always definatly felt it has affected his "maturity" not having a male role model, and our health visitor once said that it is very common for boys who haven't been brought up with a dad can be a bit immature and also have poor self control. His dad has been in his life for over a year now, comes here to see him every weekend for the day, but it really doesn't compensate for having a "proper" dad there all the time. So, he hasn't really had a normal upbringing, iyswiw, he is obviously very close to me, but surprisingly has never been clingy, and is friendly, confident and likes doing new things, loves company of other people etc..
But again the downside of that is that he is used to doing things his own way, and getting his own way, having things to himself, never having to take 2nd place or having to be the one to back down, etc. I've always been quite firm with him, but he does stand up and take more notice of men, plus his dad is very soft with him, never raises his voice etc, even if ds is being too rough.
Sorry to babble on!!
On the drinks note, yes i have stopped ccompletly giving him cordial, even though hhe's always been a poor drinker, as they did contain aspartame. Since doing this he hasn't hit anyone at school, and just has water now.
I too had thought about eye q , but read on here that the high levels of evening primrose can not always be tolerated...

Meant to say also, i suggested the meeting with teacher as was worried about him hitting out mostly; she said he also seems to have trouble "following her instructions" sometimes. When i asked in what way exactly, she just seemed to say mainly when asked to get ready to go outside, etc, as an example he's nearly always last, dawdling etc. But when i told her he has always been quite laid back and doesn't have a rush in him, she said it could just take him a bit of time to get used to having to do things straight away. So i don't think there's a question of him just not doing as he's told, he's just doing it when he's ready to do it! She also added that he's not the only one who can get involved in a bit of friction when having free play time. He gets very absorbed in what he wants to do or play with, and can be a bit like a dog with a bone over toys etc...-

The more you write about your DS the more you could be describing mine School are getting Ed Psyc involved now to observe him - last year at this time that would have reduced me to tears, but now I just think that if he needs some support at the moment, then that's the best for him.

HairyMaclary - Eskimo Kids was one of the only ones we could find as it doesn't have evening primrose oil.

Icandothat - have you read the Sue Dengate books? I try to follow her suggestions but somehow never quite get it right and end up using something which has some nasty in it! We really think that lots of fruits have an effect on DS and he used to have loads of grapes, apricots, raisins etc at school.

Hi again fatzak! Still having mixed feelings about the adhd thing, as nearly all the info i have looked at , plus other threads on here all seem to have other symptoms, eg hyperactivity as well as impulsivity? Even info about diagnosis, the child must show "X" number of "hyper type" symptoms plus impulsiveness; have you found this?

Alibo - DS's Headteacher doesn't think he has ADHD but realises that he has some problems! He is very impulsive and like your DS has had problems in smacking and snatching toys off other children. He has no spatial awareness and is really clumsy which often results in him hurting other children unintentionally eg stepping on them when he is trying to get past them on the carpet! As I have probably said, he has seizures in his sleep so I am certain that lots of his probs are as he is shattered by the afternoon and just can't cope anymore

When he first started school he was dreadful for not following instructions - he'd eventually do as asked but he just seemed to wander around in his own world, not really aware of what everyone else was doing. I think that this has got better over the last few months!

Not wanting to tread on toes, because I'm a long time lurker and a relatively new poster.

You can have adhd without the hyperactivity = ADD.

These conditions go up in scales, the lowest being ADD, then ADHD (ADD with hyperactivity), then ODD and I can't remember what comes after that (don't look, it's too scary, lol)

Alibo, you mention that your child is often slow to follow instructions at school. Is his hearing OK? Often children with ADD/ADHD also have been found to have glue ear (common and often missed problem because it resolves with age). He may be slow to follow instructions because he's waiting to see what the other children do - and then copying them (because he cannot hear clearly?). It's just a suggestion. I'm not an expert.

Good point about the hearing Alibo - we had DS tested as school wondered if it was his hearing. Hearing was fine, but then I started wondering about auditory processing but didn't really follow that up

Hello Sarahappymummy - we could share names Although I think I would be Sarahknackeredmummy I should change my name as I am named after my cat who sadly died last week

sarahappymummy the paed that helped dx my ds advised me that it was thought (amongst the powers that be) that ADD did not exist and had all been put under the same umbrella as ADHD. ADHD and ODD are two different dx - however, one person can have them both IYSWIM. You are dx with ADHD with or without hyperactivity traits - took me ages to get my head around it. A child can have ODD without being ADHD.

The glue ear comes in to it for 2 reasons. Glue ear is associated with general developmental delay or when a child is not hearing properly, their behaviour becomes affected - they don't actually have ADHD. It's sometimes a case of which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Thanks for more replies folks! Sarahhappymummy, yeah its really quite confusing, as from the info i have looked at when googling "ADHD diagnosis" there seems to be three types. First,ADD, where the only problem is the inattention problems, with no hyperactivity/impulsivity problems. Second problems with hyperactivity-impulsivity (always grouped together), but no inattention problems. And third problems with both inattention AND hyperactivity-impulsivity. Trouble is ds only fits one out of @ 8 of the "inattention" lists, that being "apeears to not listen sometimes when being told what to do". Then, have to display usually at least 6 of the hyperactive-impulsivity symptoms, of which ds fits 2 possibly 3 of the impulsive ones, but none of the hyperactivity ones. This seems to be the case whichever diagnostic criteria that i have looked at. The most informative website i have found is www.addiss.co.uk (sorry cannot get links right!!) The mind boggles doesn't it!
Plus, looking at various posts on here etc, there does always seem to be some kind of hyperactivity problems, alongside the impulsiveness. Just to make my ds more confusing, is that he is far from impulsive in other ways; eg a lot of adhd discussions describe impulsiveness showing in acting quite dangerously, showing no fear etc, when he is really careful even hesitant when climbing, eg climbing frames, slides he thinks may be too high, or tells other children running near roads, "watch out, there's cars coming" etc !!

On the point of hearing, thats interesting that you've both suggested that as i am taking him to gp tomorrow to get this checked. He does often say "what?", and sometimes lifts his hat up if it is covering his ears as he cannot tell what i'm saying. Then again , we have an open plan lounge, and i can tell him something from top of stairs and he hears it ok!? I did read that with glue ear it is common for only one side to be affected, so i think i definatly need a proper check to rule this out. Plus my eskimo oil should be here tomorrow, so will try that as well, and see how he goes; any more input greatly appreciated, it really helps with not having a partner to talk about this and how best to deal with it.
Thanks!

Addiss is a great website! The glue ear thing is not an issue for us because I've had DS's hearing checked and his is fine. A friend of mine has an ADHD child with glue ear and I agree with Icandothat - it is often difficult to know which came first. A fairly good way of checking for hearing is to whisper with your hand in front of your mouth - apparently they learn to lip read pretty quickly if their hearing is a bit hit and miss. I think you're being sensible in your plan to get his hearing checked - eliminate the physical possibilities first! Good luck!

Thanks, will keep updating!

Are you out there fatzak, hope you got my email !

Well, the Eskimo Oil has turned up, and have sucessfully managed to disguise it yesterday in a strawberry yoghurt and tonight in some jelly, Yeeeyy!!

Got your email Alibo - will be in touch - bit hectic at the momentC!! Hope you have some luck with the fish oils.

We have had a much better week with DS - I think a lot is because he was refreshed after having half term off, but also as he has a new teacher - the supply teacher he had seemed to be all out to put him in the SEN box so to speak! They have got rid of the red mat she had for him to sit on at carpet time and I think he doesn't feel so different to the others now!

Thats great, i think its a worry that you don't want them to feel singled out when just starting school. Will fill you in when i see you more, but i went in on last day of half term as i was really annoyed that ds had gone on the traffic light for naughtiness and then for two consecutive days he was left on, and his name was up there on the wall for all to see in the mornings. The naughtiness incident was for saying "stinky poo" in the toilets, and a child ssaid he called him stinky poo. !! They are then supposed to come off the traffic light and start afresh every day, but when i asked why he was left on it was because he was messing/poking somebody during carpet time! Anyway, think she took my point about feeling generally that already being on the traffic light before the day has already started is out of order, as it is so publicly displayed on the wall. His face dropped when he saw that he was still there, ans he said sadly that the teacher must have forgot to take it off. Not an ideal start to the day! Anyway, she has made him a special Wall E reward chart, only had one bad day last week, and been very good for the other 4 days!. Even brought the special toy cat home one day, only given for good behaviour!
There have been several complaints in general @ this traffic light system, as such a big thing is made of it, eg as soon as they come out of class they're talking about who's been on it that day etc, and I am worried it will affect friendships forming etc. Having said that ds loves going to school, has made friends, chatters away to other boys he plays with etc in am when dropping off etc...

Addiss are great - I went to a training day they ran and it was so interesting.

Sadly most teachers and Head Teachers will never have had any training on ADHD or similar, and so when they tell you what they think, take it with a pinch of salt

Loads of children (particularly boys) show lots of the traits, but they have to be showing the same at both home and school. It might be worth getting a professional dx if it is causing problems both at home and school.

Mentioned the impulsive probs to gp when went to discuss hearing tests, and she virtually dismissed it as she said when she has referred ?adhd patients under the age of 6 they get sent back as nothing would be done before age 6 with regards treatment etc (?)Also, we don't have the hyperactivity symptoms plus no problems at home, as no competition from other children IYSWIM? Plays ok with his female cousins at home now, obviously have there "moments" but generally will let them play with what they want and shares etc....

Just another thought about the fish oils, how long would it usually take for them to start having an effect?