# Diagnosing ADHD



## babyhopesxx

Hello everyone, just a brief explanation. Ever since my son was very young I've had family saying to me they think Shane might have slight autism. My sister would say it a lot and she used to work with a couple of children with autism and Shane showed the same signs. When he was in nursery they had SENCO in to assess him but nothing really came of it.....

Anyway every year his behavior has been gradually getting worse and when he started junior school last September I had a word with his teacher because i was at my wits end with him, family life was really hard. She said Shane shows signs of ADHD and small signs of Aspergers.

As part of the diagnosis we had a speech and language therapist come in the school to assess him and I've just had a phone call from her and she gave me a briefing on her report.

She said Shane's memory was way above average. Out of 100 children he would be no 75 in terms of the average memory for a child of his age.

His grammar and meaning of words are just above average.

He is just below average in the ability to follow instructions for a child of his age.

And his language skills are about average for his age too.

She picked up that he really struggles with social understanding. Things like keeping on topic, interaction, picking up body language, non verbal cues and tone of voice he really struggles to understand and can't master these things.

He will refer him to a child development center to rule out things like ADHD and Aspergers. She can't diagnose anything like that but if she didn't think he had it then she wouldn't refer him, would she? :shrug:

She also will put in the report that he's not what they would call a naughty child but as she said he struggles with social interaction and cues and it would be helpful for the school and other people to know this just so they can try and help him.

I must admit i shed a little tear after the phone call, i don't know why, I just hope that now Shane and me can all get the support we need to help him :cry:


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## Lucy139

Sounds like your explaining my son lol... We have just had an MDA (multi disciplinary assessment) because of very similar reasons to what's going on with your son, the peadiatrician is pushing towards ADHD and boarderline aspergus although this is not a definate answer we have to go back on the 3 rd of April to see the psychologist to get her report. If you are worried take Shane to your local health visitor and they will get in touch with the right people who will assess him.. Hope you get some answers soon :) x


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## babyhopesxx

Hey, thank you for your reply. How old is your son? I hope all goes well on 3rd April, let me know how he gets on :flower:


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## Lucy139

He's 4 and a half, I will let u know how we get on tomorrow hopefully get some answers :) x


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## Lucy139

P.s the process is very long been going to these appointments since Leo was 2, but hopefully getting somewhere now although they will only diagnose aspergus as ADHD can not be fully diagnosed untill 7 years old so still another few years before a solid diagnosis even though all the people who have seen Leo think he has adhd x


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## babyhopesxx

I can understand why it takes so long to diagnose ADHD because young children wouldn't be children if they were not hyper :winkwink: and if your'e like me did you just keep thinking that things will get better, and he will calm down a little, as he gets older? I have found the complete opposite to be true :dohh: 

Good luck for today x


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## LoveMy2Boys2

My son is almost 3 and we are having similar issues :/ the dr is sending him to a neurologist to properly diagnose him. He NEVER sleeps, he wakes 1-4 times night and doesn't need anything, just wants to play or be up, I never cator to him either because I don't want him to think its ok, so I put him right back in his bed and say I love you gnite, and he will go right back to sleep......but only to wake again in an hour or so! 
He jumps off of everything too, and has absolutely NO fear, constantly injured! Full of energy...
He talks at the speed of lightening and repeats himself over and over....
He is extremely smart and uses big words so I know there is not a learning disability....but he also speaks very loud and has no concept as to quite or loud ....
He is extremely shy but once he gets a good hr to warm up he will talk non stop....
He hates large crowds and usually cries or hides 
I can go on and on..... Very frustrating! 
ADHD seems to be an easy diagnosis ..... But I do wonder what is this all about ? 
The dr says that's what he has but I don't want to give him meds :(
He starts school in the fall and I'm so worried!
Is your son full of energy and an insomniac too ? 
Aren't toddlers supposed to be high maintenance ? 
I wish it was that easy :( 
Good luck mama, hang in there! I understand your worries and shared my story so u know your not alone!


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## Lucy139

I had the last paediatric appointment with my son, And the psychologist aswell ( she was useless)!!! 

They are still on track with a diagnosis of ADHD but have said he will have to have a MDA again when he is 7 but until then he will get extra help at school and still see an early years intervention teacher a few times a month! So basically what he's been doing for the last 2 years..
Lovemy2boys:
All toddlers/ young children are challenging to a point but children with ADHD are very hyper 24/7, they don't tend to sleep well and sometimes get very frustrated (a lot quicker and easier than children of the same age), also they tend to be abit behind with learning but are great at other things. They also tend to have either dyslexia or aspergus along with ADHD (according the paediatrician I didn't know this) 

My friends son is 9 only diagnosed 2 yeArs ago an he is very high functioning even with medication, I personally wouldn't choose to medicate unless things got really really bad. Children tend to grow out of ADHD by the time they are young adults :) xx


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## carrieanne

Hi I'm carrie, my son has ADHD Tourette's OCD ODD and slight autism, after years of problems I went to my doctor and we were referred to the hospital it was a long journey with many tests and meetings and assessments we finally got diagnosed he is now 15 still in mainstream school with a statement from the govement to give him his needs and support at school and is on medication as he doesn't function properly without it you will need all the support you can get as its very hard dealing with a child with these complex problems on a day to day basis alone so go to your doctor first x good luck hope I helped


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## babyhopesxx

LoveMy2Boys2 said:


> My son is almost 3 and we are having similar issues :/ the dr is sending him to a neurologist to properly diagnose him. He NEVER sleeps, he wakes 1-4 times night and doesn't need anything, just wants to play or be up, I never cator to him either because I don't want him to think its ok, so I put him right back in his bed and say I love you gnite, and he will go right back to sleep......but only to wake again in an hour or so!
> He jumps off of everything too, and has absolutely NO fear, constantly injured! Full of energy...
> He talks at the speed of lightening and repeats himself over and over....
> He is extremely smart and uses big words so I know there is not a learning disability....but he also speaks very loud and has no concept as to quite or loud ....
> He is extremely shy but once he gets a good hr to warm up he will talk non stop....
> He hates large crowds and usually cries or hides
> I can go on and on..... Very frustrating!
> ADHD seems to be an easy diagnosis ..... But I do wonder what is this all about ?
> The dr says that's what he has but I don't want to give him meds :(
> He starts school in the fall and I'm so worried!
> Is your son full of energy and an insomniac too ?
> Aren't toddlers supposed to be high maintenance ?
> I wish it was that easy :(
> Good luck mama, hang in there! I understand your worries and shared my story so u know your not alone!

The thing is shane has always been a good sleeper so I've never had any problems on that part. He also has no concept of real danger but had a big fear of any flying insect and people in character costumes he will scream, cry and run away :dohh: He does talk very loud because he is over enthusiastic about things and talks repeatedly about the same things for months. I hope the neurologist can help you and your son. 
I've been to his doctors and they won't even refer him to anyone they say any referrals have to come from his school :shrug:



Lucy139 said:


> I had the last paediatric appointment with my son, And the psychologist aswell ( she was useless)!!!
> 
> They are still on track with a diagnosis of ADHD but have said he will have to have a MDA again when he is 7 but until then he will get extra help at school and still see an early years intervention teacher a few times a month! So basically what he's been doing for the last 2 years..
> Lovemy2boys:
> All toddlers/ young children are challenging to a point but children with ADHD are very hyper 24/7, they don't tend to sleep well and sometimes get very frustrated (a lot quicker and easier than children of the same age), also they tend to be abit behind with learning but are great at other things. They also tend to have either dyslexia or aspergus along with ADHD (according the paediatrician I didn't know this)
> 
> My friends son is 9 only diagnosed 2 yeArs ago an he is very high functioning even with medication, I personally wouldn't choose to medicate unless things got really really bad. Children tend to grow out of ADHD by the time they are young adults :) xx

Hi, i know they don't tend to usually diagnose until the child is older because this is typical behavior of toddlers and younger children, but it's good you're getting help now. I wish i had because shanes behavior is just getting worse every year and most days i'm at the end of my tether. The smallest thing will make him blow up with frustration and the screaming and crying starts and then once that's finished he's generally in a foul mood for ages. Does that also sound typical of ADHD?



carrieanne said:


> Hi I'm carrie, my son has ADHD Tourette's OCD ODD and slight autism, after years of problems I went to my doctor and we were referred to the hospital it was a long journey with many tests and meetings and assessments we finally got diagnosed he is now 15 still in mainstream school with a statement from the govement to give him his needs and support at school and is on medication as he doesn't function properly without it you will need all the support you can get as its very hard dealing with a child with these complex problems on a day to day basis alone so go to your doctor first x good luck hope I helped

Hi Carrie, I've been to 2 different doctors and they've both told me that any referral needs to come from his school so i'm just getting any assessments done through the school. I've been looking up ODD and my son also shows all of those characteristics too, how does that get diagnosed?


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## Proserpina

My daughter had evaluations last year for Asperger's, autism, and ADHD. She had a few signs of mild autism, but ultimately the assessment for Asperger's and autism was negative. She did come back positive for severe ADHD. Truth be told, I was actually relieved to have the positive ADHD assessment, and I wasn't particularly worried about Asperger's or autism, either. As I saw it, the guy evaluating her was just giving me information about problems she already has; he wasn't giving her Asperger's autism, etc. When I got the positive ADHD evaluation, it allowed me to put a name on her behavior. 

DD has been on Adderall for just over a month now. I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding ADHD and medications like Adderall, but I have to say, for her it has been an amazing improvement. The very first day she took it before going to church, her Sunday school teachers were like, "She just came in and sat down and started participating! We were like, 'What's up with her?'" The other day, she did her Daisy Girl Scouts Bridge-to-Brownie ceremony at 5:30 PM, having taken Adderall at 8 AM. I tell you, it must have been still in effect, because she was so good for the ceremony---not wandering around, not trying to get out of line, doing the motions to songs with the other girls, etc. When they called her name, she actually came forward, had her old Daisy jersey removed, walked over the bridge and let the next leader place her new Brownie sash over her head. I was just amazed. She seemed so focused. I swear to you that, without the Adderall, she'd have been getting out of line, coming to see me, etc.


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## StranjeGirl

So sorry babyhopes that you are going this. It sounds like your sons evaluation actually went pretty well. Of course it is good that you are having him assessed as they will probably be able to help in the social area.

Please don't get hung up on what you heard from his teacher. She may be right, or she may be wrong. You could flip a coin and have the same chance of being right or wrong with it. Most teachers are very well meaning and want to help, but teachers are not qualified to diagnose and I really wish the ones who try to diagnose would stop trying to do so. It causes unnecessary fear in parents. They are not licensed mental health professionals and for some reason some teachers think they can throw out names of diagnoses to parents and even tell them what medication the child should be given :wacko: I am a licensed mental health professional and even I can not tell a client that he/she needs medication. I can only refer to a psychiatrist or other medical dr to be evaluated for the possible need. The best thing to do is to get an assessment by a specialist, and even then I wouldn't put 100% faith into a diagnoses when cognitively the child is fine. Children are still being misdiagnosed with adhd ALL the time. How many adults do you know with adhd? Those are the ones who truly had it as a child. The rest did not. You don't grow out of adhd, just learn to manage and control it. It seems that anytime a child is defiant and chooses not to participate in things or complete things it is automatically adhd. Yes, sometimes it is, but sometimes it is not. However, even if the child ends up not having adhd the treatment can help at the time. Also, I have never heard of waiting til they are 7. Adhd is a childhood disorder and symptoms need to be seen before the age of 7 in order to given the diagnoses. Dh was diagnosed with adhd. He was also much like your son in regards to social issues. They wanted to hold him back in preschool. He was late with everything- walking, talking etc. But his IQ was high and so his mom did not get him in any therapies. He turned out to not have any issues at all and is actually very smart. He was just a but different than the norm as a very young child. 

Sorry for the novel but I just wanted to share my opinion. I always think it is good to have an assessment and to see if things can be done to improve the situation. It sounds like you are having a tough time with some of your sons behaviors and a specialist may be able to address those issue and give you the tools you need to improve things at home. HOpe everything goes very smoothly :hugs:


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