Heres my question...My son is 9 yrs old. Hes always been a "talker", but always done fairly well in school. Although he talks alot, he catches on to new things easily. Hes not very "active". What I mean is Ive known other kids with ADHD and talk to other mothers and my son doesnt fit the characteristics of that. Even when he was younger,he didnt bounce from activity to activity. He was always able to sit still and focus on one activity. He could sit and do puzzles early on, and can now stay in his room for hrs doing his 1000 piece puzzle he has.
His 4th grade teacher "thinks" we should get him checked out by the dr. Im not in denial at all. But, I have friends who have other boys the exact same age, and they get the same reports from the teachers(all at dift schools), that they are talking alot, playing with things in their desk, distracted at times? I can honestly say I have 3 friends with boys the same age who get the same behavior report.?
How do you know when its ADHD, or just boys being boys?
My son does not have trouble staying focused on his homework at home, he sits down, does his work and is done. His teacher said he is easily distracted at school and talks alot? Does all this mean ADHD?
I have no problem taking him to the dr to get their opinion, but was wondering what behvavior is normal and what is not?

By Mcrosby57 on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 03:37 pm:

There are many, many symptoms of ADAH and ADD. As we learn more and more about the syndrom, we also learn subtle differences and more symptoms. My son was diagnosed at the age of 17. He has a certain kind of ADD that only shows up when he has to use high levels of concentration. He also has a spatial relations disability which made it difficult to tell he has ADD. He is 20 now and takes medication when he knows he will need it, not all the time. He has learned his weaknesses and strengths and knows when he must accomodate for them or use them. All I can say is that the more information you have about your son, the better you can help him prepare for life. His talking may just be his personality or it could be a sign of a disability or it may be sign of ADHD or ADD or it could be his style of learning. Any of those reasons if reason enough to check him out. If it's his personality, you'll be better quipped to deal with him. It it's his learning style, you will be better able to help him learn. If it's a disability or another other syndrom, then you will have more information to help him. I believe that more information is good. I also understand people's reluctance to go through such time consuming processess or to end up with a lable or even their opposition to medication. I also know that I would do anything for my children that will help them become the best at whatever they can be. I want their school experiences and childhood to be happy and healthy. I want them to have good habits to deal with their own issues. Two other things you should consider. First, the teacher sees your son amoungst many other "boys" and the fact that she sees him as different, should raise "flags" based on her experience. If you doubt her, ask last year's teacher what she/he thinks. Secondly, you can have him tested for anything but what you do with any information you get from any tests is totally up to you. You can keep information confidential, you can choose who is priviledged to the information. It really is up to you and you can always just not do anything and wait to see if the situation just solves itself. Of course, you could loose valuable time doing that, too.

Mary

By Pamt on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 06:43 pm:

Here's the official diagnostic criteria:
http://lib-sh.lsumc.edu/fammed/intern/adhd.html

From what you have described it sounds like your son is just a talker and very social. I have 2 of those One who finally learned to rein in his tongue in 3rd grade and another is yakking up a storm in 1st grade and spending "fence time" on occasion at recess

I honestly do belive that ADHD is a real disorder and does exist, but I also believe that it is waaaaay overdiagnosed in boys and perhaps underdiagnosed in girls. I see it with my therapy kids all of the time unfortunately. And if you have a report from a teacher and the "right" (or wrong, depending on your POV) pediatrician, he/she will almost certainly say, "Well, it sounds like it could be ADHD. Why don't we try him on a trial of Concerta/Strattera/Ritalin and see what happens?" The problem is that this is no tried and true test for ADHD and it is mainly subjective opinion. Some of it coming from stressed out, overworked, and underpaid teachers. If you decide to pursue this I would STRONGLY suggest you see an educational psychologist and/or a developmental pediatrician for the diagnosis and accept the label only after extensive testing. If indeed the specialists do believe he has ADHD and you, in your mommy gut, agree, then I would try counseling and behavior modification first and turn to medication as a last resort IMO. It really sounds like he just likes to talk and visit a lot and the temptation of being around friends makes that worse. Keep us posted

By Jackie on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 06:57 pm:

Pam,
Thanks for your input.The funny thing is, when he comes home with a bad behavior report from school. He gets punished at home,just put on restriction. Then hes good for one week, teacher will even comment on how well hes trying and behaving. Then 2 weeks later hes back to talking.It gets frustrating to me and my husband.
I was talking with his Sunday school teacher today. There are 17 kids in his Sunday school class, the teacher said yes my son talks alot, but half of them do in his class.
So you think a their regular pediatrician is not a good place to start? I really like his dr, she is younger,maybe in her 40's, and very down to earth. I dont think she would be one to push any type of drugs. She really talks to the kids on "their" level.
Thanks again for your advice, you gave me alot to think about.

By Lauram on Sunday, February 15, 2004 - 07:29 pm:

My son does have ADHD and drugs do help. I was totally in shock when it was diagnosed and didn't believe it- until the drugs WORKED. I mostly didn't believe it because he is not hyper. He has most of the other issues however (when he doesn't take the meds). One thing I do know is the symptoms need to be present in multiple situations- which from your write up doesnt sound like it is the case. To get me son to do his homework is kind of like climbing MT Everest- even on meds. Transitions are really hard for him and he needs to leave the classroom about 6 times a day to take a "stair break" (running up three flights of stairs twice) so he can focus in class. Anyhow, Just MHO.

By Bubbels~admin on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 08:28 am:

Jackie:

I was the one who first suspected that my 11 y/o had ADHD. I became concerned around third grade, but was convinced by fifth grade, which is when the parents are taken "out of the picture", so to speak, and the students are required to become totally responsible for being organized and keeping track of their assignments.

I knew he wasn't hyperactive, because he too has always been able to sit for long periods of time and do things that he himself really wanted to do and enjoy. But I had a hard time getting him to focus at home on tasks that required a high level of attention for a moderately long period of time (i.e., writing book reports, studying for exams.) Also, he had a somewhat difficult time remembering multiple tasks he has been requested to do (if we ask him to do more than one thing.)
If I was helping him study, and the dog walked in the room, I'd lose my DS. His attention would be distracted by the dog, and he'd be unable to continue studying. Even questions I had asked him earlier to which he knew the answer, he couldn't remember now, until I put the dog out of the room. He was very forgetful and lost things often, and he was an unorganized mess. His school bag and folders were a disaster, and his teacher showed me his desk at school when I went in to talk to her one day, and it was crammed full of crumpled papers.

I did some research on the net about ADHD, and he fit just about ALL of the DSM criteria for ADHD. The DSM is the established "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders". According to it, a person would need to meet 6 or more to be considered ADHD. My DS has been diagnosed as "ADHD, predominantly inattentive type."

Here's the link if you'd like to review them: http://www.turnertoys.com/ADHD/APA_diagCriteria.htm

My first step was to see my pediatrician about it. She was hesitant to prescribe medication until he was diagnosed by a psychiatric professional. So I had him undergo a psychological evaluation by a psychiatrist, and he received the diagnosis. Then and only then would my pediatrician agree to prescribe the medication. And now my DS also receives counseling. My DH and I do also to learn how to help him.

Hope this helps.

By Cat on Monday, February 16, 2004 - 09:16 am:

Technically, symptoms must be present in two or more environments. If the "symptoms" are only present at school then it shouldn't warrant a dx. You could always ask your ped what he/she thinks. My youngest is very social and does occasionally get in trouble for talking at school. It's always in the back of my mind that he could be ADHD given that his brother is (and several other cousins, aunts, uncles, etc). I've asked a couple teachers over the years if they thought he could be and they've said NO. Now of course these are teacher's that have several years experience and have seen lots of kids. I wouldn't ask a first year teacher this question. lol They all say he's just social. Do your own research. Don't let your son's teachers dx him. That's not their job. It IS their job to alert you to any potential problems. Sounds like she's done that. Good luck.