how do you know the difference if the child has adhd or is mental?

Question

The child has been of adhd medication for four years give or take a few months. The problems are getting gradually worse. She has no patience with anything, cant sit still. I know that is a normal kid though but as she gets older it is like she is also getting younger. She is ten years old but she acts like she is 6. It isn't only when she dont get her own way it is all the time. I need real advice about this. What can i do and what is treatment available? Please explain in detail your findings. What is the difference between the two and what do you think is wrong?

she has been off the medication before and it got worse

it has even been changed, still dont work.

Answer 1

Most ADHD patients are highly intelligent, when they are on their medication they can sit peacefully working on their chosen activity for hours. Mentally retarded patients are lacking in mental/ social development. This retarded development can occur at any age...but usually appears around the age of 5. I can honestly say that the child sounds retarded to me (of course you understand that is the term used, I'm not trying to be mean or offensive). You can try taking her off the medication and see if she becomes DRASTICALLY more active and if she does then there is still a chance that her behavior is at least partially due to ADHD, have her switched to a different medication if possible. However, if she doesn't seem much different at all or only slightly different after 3 weeks of no medication then you know for sure that ADHD is not her primary disorder. I urge you to try to treat her as much as a small adult as you can...in your attitude towards her, not in what you allow her to do. As this may help relieve her of some of the feelings of having to have what she wants. Explaining everything you two are doing or are getting ready to do will relieve her of anxiety as well, which will make your days go so much easier. If you have any other questions or more specific questions you may contact me by clicking on my name and choosing contact coloryst. Best wishes

Answer 2

Have you tried reducing high phenol foods? Many of these kids have an impaired PST enzyme which reduces their ability to process phenols. This in turn affects how the MAO enzyme has to process neurotransmitters, including tyrosine...the only phenol containing amino acid, also a precursor for dopamine.

Sometimes, seasonal allergies can intensify behavior. I have a child with adhd who changeds dramatically around fall and spring and it takes a couple of months for her to return to a lower level of adhd-ness. I recently took her to an allergist and found out she's allergic to weeds (fall) and a number of trees (spring).

Also, there could be blood sugar issues at work here. In some sensitive people, insulin can stimulate the production of adrenaline. It's hard to ration with someone on an adrenaline rush.
Many kids in the US today are significantly insulin resistant. The insulin receptors are dulled, yet there's excess insulin floating around in the body.
There was a recent study that came out which revealed that smarter kids simply develop more slowly than others.

She behaves in such a way due to theory of mind. It will be harder for her to understand others and will take a lot more to help her relate to others.

She will most likely see a lot of improvement around age 12.

If she behaves like a 6 year, it's because socially she is a 6 year old, but the intelligence is likely high. (Again, the good news is they do tend to catch up). It's going to take a lot of work to help her relate to trying to thinking in a social context and understand that others have a point of view or feelings. She might be someone who benefits from social stories. Lots of visual aids will help her understand social concepts better (and as to how others perceive her or how her behavior makes others feel).

I would consider experimenting with a low glycemic type diet so the blood sugar isn't in pendulum motion. I would consider cutting out high phenol foods for a short time.

Chocolate made my daughter terribly reactive.

Keep searching for answers, give her patience and time. You just have to be as consistent and firm as Annie Sullivan. Understanding some of her perceptions are not working properly...yet. They are beyond her capability at this time, but she will catch on fast in a couple of years.

Answer 3

Mental as in how do you mean. You need to provide more details

her meds might not be working
her dose might need to be adjusted

also as a side note a lot of childhood ADHD is Miss DX.
BI-polar is often miss dx as ADHD

Answer 4

No doctor would diagnose that over the internet, and the rest of us are fairly worthless on that one.

Obviously if you have her on medication she has seen a doctor, you might want to try a different one.

She is approaching the teen age years, which is not going to help.

Good luck with that.

-Dio

Answer 5

adhd I know a mother and sun who are both adhd and they are not mental in anyway hiper but they dont act as if they are getting stupid or younger so the kid must be not all there.

Answer 6

Make sure you get the child to the doctor so he can see if the medication needs to be adjusted

Answer 7

adhd and mental is the same , both are diseases affecting the mind . theres isn't nothing you can do for a mental disease,you can only take medications to help control it

Answer 8

Ween her off the meds and see if that helps. She may no longer need the meds.

Answer 9

you won't know and neither will any of the so called professionals on here. take her to a real professional. before you get salty on me, look at my source: