ADHD/ADD - What age was your DC when Diagnosed and how did you get it

[upsetlady]

DS3 is 4.6 and has difficulties especially with behaviou and concentration. Whilst at Nursery he was under the care of PRESENS and was allocated 1:1 funding.
Now he is at school and they do not have funding for this but instead the clasroom assistant spends most of her time 'managing ' him but he is beginning to disrupte the other children when they are working. At his after school club he is also allocated 1:1 care at all times
I have researched and strongly feel that he could have ADHD /ADD but am finding it almost impossible to get him a diagnosis. He was seen 18 months ago by a paediatrician who talked to me for 40 minutes, observed him for 10 then decided there was nothing wrong with him.
My HV has been great, she is liasing with the school and has referred him to several people.

What were your experiences and any ideas of places I can go for help and support both for him and for me. Also have DD2.8 and 34 weeks preg and single parent

Has he been assessed by developmental pediatrician ? This is the first step you need to take via your GP. Although he is still quite young, they should be able to give you an idea. My son was dx ADHD at 6.5. We also had an OT, SALT and child psychologist involved. My son was observed at home, in the park and at school over a matter of weeks.

yes, he was seen by a paediatrician who observed him for all of 10-15 minutes 18 months age, but with support of my HV am requesting another assessment by paed via GP referral. The school SENCO and SALT workers are involved and referral has been made to an educational pyschologist. Think that observation over a long period of time is just what is needed to make a proper diagnosis.

What help has your DS been given since diagnosis. Have you been able to claim DLA or get any support for you / the family

For my ds's ADHD assessment, we were referred to a clinical psychiatrist (CP) who asked us to complete the Conners' questionnaire for parents. My ds's teachers were asked to complete the teacher's version of this questionnaire. My ds was about
5 1/2yrs old when he was assessed and although he met the criteria for a dx, we were not given a dx because we did not want to medicate him.

If we'd wanted to pursue the medication route, it seems that we would've got the dx

MannyMoe where do you live ? My son is not medicated, but has formal dx - this is bloody awful

We also went through the Connor's scoring (school being much higher than in other environments)

DS school are being really good I think - yes he has got SENCO involvement and also the school has a SALT worker who also sees him

I have felt for a long time he had problems - but I think if he was my first I might have taken longer but have 3 older children and he was so different to them, so much more difficult from the start. If anything its taken me this long to conince other people that there is something wrong, more than him just being a 'boisterous boy ' or a lively toddler. As he is getting older the difference betweeh his behaviour and his peers is wifening and in a classroom setting very obvious.
At times when he was younger I felt like I had Munchausens by Proxy as I kept trying to explain there was something wrong with him and being told he was fine

DD has just been told she has ADHD/ADD/ODD by CAMHS. DD is nearly 12. She was always on the go since being little, full of energy, funny, day dreamer, independant, can stick up for herself etc. Although she has channeled it into singing and dancing which she does 24/7 school highlighted the problem.
From what they say about her she is so different to home. Not going into some classes, getting up and leaving if she has no interest in what she is doing. Doesn't like moving class to class. Has trouble with peoples emotions and picks people up wrong. Sorry rambling now. Although I feel its not an oficial DX as its not in writing. CAHMS are now working with her in school and if I need any help they are there to support the family.

devientenigma - interested to know if your dd will receive an official dx - or if this is not an 'issue' for you or her. The reason I ask is that it seems to vary so much depending where you live, who your child sees etc. There are already several examples of varied dx/treatment on this thread alone
upsetlady sorry, forgot to mention that I have not claimed DLA

J first saw a paed aged 3 (I think) as his behaviour was so bizarre and dangerous. The paed said he thought it was ADHD + something else and wanted to wait for a bit first and get an Ed Psych to see him. So the nursery did that and I was applying for a Statement at the same time. The paed then said he was positive it was ADHD but only CAMHS could dx and CAMHS only saw kids aged 5 plus! In the meantime, the violence got worse and CAMHS eventually saw him aged 4.10 and dxd ADHD. Then autism also dxd aged 6. I would ask for a CAMHS referral via GP/ school and get everything documented via school too, so you're not dismissed.

J got DLA before any dx. It's not based on dx (nor is a Statement), but on needs (though a dx helps formalise those needs).

My DS was 9 when finally diagnosed with ADHD and possible Dyspraxia. I had seeked advice for many years before that but HV told me he was just behaving "as boys do"! DS would wander around classroom, leave when he felt like or wasn't interested in lesson, poor concentration, fidgety, disruptive, poor impulse control and could get aggressive. I took medication route and DS is a changed child. He has progressed well at school, can hold concentration in class and behaviour at home improved no end! I used to get called in by the teacher at least twice a week but in his last two years at school I have only been called in for one incident and that was initiated by another pupil, DS just reacted poorly. I know medication is a frowned upon choice by many but it worked miracles for DS and we have a better relationship for it.

Sorry, forgot to say DS was diagnosed by Community Paed after I requested referral through School Nurse.

Thank you everyonr for your experiences. my DS has now been referred to the educational psychologist and re referred to a paediatrician with the school fully involved as well as m fantastic HV so hoping he will soon get a diagnosis and the help he needs.

We are going through the formal diagnosis at the moment. We have just filled in teh Conner's questionnaire, and the forms are being sent to dd1's 2 schools for their feedback too. We have assumed for a few years that she has ADHD, and have even been referred to an ADHD nurse specialist - who read dd1's notes and pointed out that she has never been formally diagnosed. We have seen a Clinical Psychologist, and a CS who specialised in children with brain injuries (like dd1). Dd1 is 8 now.

Good luck with the tests, glad your HV has been helpful.

my son is in the process of assessment for adhd and aspergers.he is 9yrs old now and we have been asking for a referral to camhs for years got referral last year following conners questionaire school had one aswell.had a choice appointment in november then had to wait till feb for next appointment had one appointment just for parents since and my son has had two further appointments.had a observation in school last week by camhs although school senco had arranged for my son to be excluded from normal activities and given a practical task to keep his attention and keep him calm.this is not normal arrangements for my son.i cant see how that enables a normal account of my sons ability or lack of for an observation.i called camhs an asked them to get the doctor dealing with my son to call me back as just found out my nephew has adhd,that was last week still not returned my call.i assume that she will call me back once she has report of observation which will probably be weeks away and then we will have to wait weeks or even months for next appointment its so frustrating in the meantime we continue to just about survive this nightmare with no help or support its crazy.my nephew got diagnosed within a few months and now has medication which works tremendously but then he lives in a different area. JUST PROVES IT REALLY IS A POSTCODE LOTTERY HOW WRONG IS THAT?

my son first went to portage at age 3 but was told basically to go away till he was at school now aged 6 he is under cahms but they are very reluctant to dx under 7 so they told me but i've spoke with a few mothers on here & there children got a dx under that age so i would say it depends on where you live but after a school observation & a very high conners he got referred to a consultant for a dx of adhd/odd but the whole process from first been sent to cahms took 6 mths

so how do you get to see camhs? ask dr?
ds1 has seen develpmental paed, specialist and ed pysch. senco work with him at school-ie school action IEP. paeds just seem to brushing us of saying they think nothing is wrong, they dont want to saying anything concrete till hes at least 6-next feb.

agree with you uddy, bumbling along with no support, not knowing if were taking the right approaches to behaviours/rountines and counting the days till the nxt appt.

waited from june till sept for paed refferral, saw in nov, saw again end may, nxt appt this nov. last appt, they just repeated what they asked at the first appt-eg history/what he was like as a baby etc...pointless and no further forward than we were in nov

either go to gp and ask for a referal to camhs or ask school to ask ed pysch to ask for conners questionaire.you will get one to fill in and so will school.this is all specific questions if the answers are high they will see you.but this is along process i recently bought a book from waterstones ADHD the essential guide its a really useful book.also is your ds on school action plus or has ds got a statement?is it just behaviour or learning or both? is ds very far behind? get back to me.my ds has been on an IEP at school action plus since he was 5 been excluded 3 times and spent time at pupil referal unit. lots of other agencies involved in his care.I might be able to tell you what help to ask for from school and where to go if they wont help but i need to know how much help he gets

he started school last sept and has been on school action but not action plus. no statement. They say its behaviour rather than specific learning problems as such, I dont think hes behind in his learning although school have not been great at communicating and things have only got better this last few weeks, so who knows, it may be better with a different teacher next year.

We did connors questionaires and he scored ones and twos on mine and the teachers too. however consultant said it was inconclusive, which i find hard to beleive as many of the answers from home and school would of been similar/the same. ??

how long ago was conners report as it can be re done after 6 months.in september ask school for learning support assesment if you dont get it from them contact your la and request one.ask school to call in behaviour support as they will arrange social skills groups for your child and they will look at other support aswell.they will set up strategies for teachers to use and give you tips aswell.theres no right or wrong way to deal with behaviour but i give my son clear short rules and then give a clear count to 3 it took a few weeks for him to learn i meant it but it is affective.always make eye contact with him and always let him calm down before you attempt to deal with him. i do this by simply saying count to ten and take your self off to your room or if we are out maybe just down the street a bit where he can still see you.dont panick else he will get worse.hope this helps if not call parent partnership service they will tell you where to get help