what are the symtoms of adhd in toddlers?

Question

my 2 year old is a real handful, i love her to bits but she always seems to be destroying something or misbehaving.
i know that the terrible 2's are upon her, but even so she seems more hyperactive than that. (i have an older daughter so have been through the terrible twos before!) i am worried particullarly as she finds it really hard to concerntrate on anything for too long.
Are there any parents/ carers out there who have similar experiences that can offer me some advice on this, particullarly about symptoms and stuff- thanx.

She currently has a diet of no e numbers/ sugar- this has not made a huge difference.

message for tiffany- i have no intention of drugging my child !!
i work with kids with ADHD, so i know the symptoms in older children, if she has got a serious problem then i'd rather get her the help she needs, like avoiding certain foods and stuff!!- not just disreguard her as a 'toddler'.

Answer 1

Though most doctors will not consider the possibilty in a child so young, you as the parent knows that something isn't quite right. Most parents who suspect that a toddler or preschooler has ADHD usually finds that they are correct after the first few frustrating years in school. Check out this website and see if it helps you.
Good luck.

Edited to add: Tiffany you are so quick to judge. Not all parents want to drug their children. The sooner we can get a diagnosis the sooner we can start changing behavoir patterns with or without meds. It is also much easier for the child in school if there is already an IEP in the works from day one. Not wait until 3rd grade and the child is labeled as stupid or a problem child. Tools for the parents to learn about ADHD also helps the parent to eliminate the possiblity.
Phish - ADHD is heretitary therefore, the child may have it but one or both parents most likely do too. Treating the child's ADHD generally makes these people better parents because they need to work harder to be more attentive and creative.
RAD (reactive attachment disorder) has similar symptoms to ADHD - RAD is caused by poor parenting.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
what are the symtoms of adhd in toddlers?
my 2 year old is a real handful, i love her to bits but she always seems to be destroying something or misbehaving.
i know that the terrible 2's are upon her, but even so she seems more hyperactive than that. (i have an older daughter so have been through the terrible twos before!) i am...

Answer 3

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Answer 4

ADHD is never diagnosed in toddlers.. NEVER.. and the reason for this is that most toddlers are hyperactive, with no attention span or ability to follow rules. There has been no instance ever of a toddler being diagnosed with ADHD..

The problem with parents thinking their kids have ADHD.... is that they don't discipline, play with or teach their children rules, and when they misbehave, or act up all the time (wild children will) the parent thinks it must be something else.

If your 2 year old is being that terrible, I would look at your parenting approach. Are you being consistent with your punishments? Is she taking in a lot of sugar? ( not just candy, but juices) Does she have rules to follow? What happens when she doesn't follow those rules.

2 year olds generally can't concentrate on something for more than 3 minutes as a general rule.. and that's only if their very interested in it. Don't compare her to her older sister.. all children are different, all children have their own personalities.

Answer 5

The vast majority of children labelled as having ADHD are badly behaved through poor parenting. ADHD probably does exist, but certainly not in the numbers that are diagnosed currently.

Answer 6

As a early years practitioner I have have come across a lot of children with ADHD but at 2 year old it is far too yearly to be labelling children.
You need to remember that not all children are the same and even at 2 they need very clear consistent boundaries.
Say what you intend to do and stick to it. Children very quickly realise if you are making idol threats.
Stay calm and hopefully everything will work out.
Mum's that are stressed pass the anxiety on to their children.
Good luck

Answer 7

I'm afardi there's no hope if you work with as you put it 'kids with adhd', i mean i can't tell you how many things are wrong with that statement and i fear it would be wasted on you but if you are interested in giving your child some chance of survival, i'd steer well clear from any oppressive and self-fulling labels like the socially convenient one of attention deficit.....there may be a lack of attention somewhere but i doubt its within the child.....pleased to hear your anti-pharmaceuticals....keep that up, try creating some special time where your child gets to do exactly what they want for 1 hour and you just give her good attention and help her play and have fun, all she wants is you right now, so maybe there's the root of the problem....good luck

Answer 8

The famous pediatrician/writer T. Berry Brazelton says that one of the signs of hyperactivity in a young toddler is that if you clap several times in succession, the child will startle every time.

Other than that, it's pretty hard to diagnose ADHD in a child so young. They're ALL "hyperactive"!

My older daughter was a handful, but she was NOTHING compared to my younger daughter. Our youngest is forever dumping something, eating something, climbing something, throwing something...it never stops. And she's completely in the range of normal according to our pediatrician.

Hope that helps.

Answer 9

Since working with ADHD children, you might be more in tune with it, and you'll also just have that "parenting" thing going on watching for it. My first has ADD and I knew nothing about the symptoms or anything until he was in 2nd grade. Since then I have researched like crazy to find ways to help him, and looking back and I can now see the signs I missed at an earlier age. So when they say you can't diagnose before school age, I'm not so sure I agree. However, I do have 4 kids, and my youngest is a real handfull, so I'm also very paranoid that he might have ADHD, they say it's generic sometimes. He's only 13 months old, but he climbs everything, even onto the diningroom table, falls and does it again, runs into walls, etc. My pediatrician also says this is normal, so does my mother and then continues to tell me what horrors all her kids (me included) were. However, I'm still paranoid, so I don't know when to be seriously concerned. I guess then that my babbling is of no help. But to those that are against drugs and claim ADHD doesn't exist - I hope you're never blessed with a child that has problems such as these because you'd be the parent from hell. I'm so glad God trusted me with my ADD child because I see parents who are unaccepting of the condition and the channels you may have to go to control it, and I would hate for my child to have ended up with any of you. What would his life be. How sad.

Answer 10

http://www.printablechecklists.com/checklist78a.shtml

Here is a checklist that is given out by most doctors when evaluating children for ADHD. I found it helpful, but had to adjust some of the questions to fit my daughters age. People tend to be vert ignorant on Answers about this subject, so you will probably tend to get answers that just irritate and do not help at all. Please look at some of my recent questions abuot my daughter and her hyperactivity. I did actually get some useful answers. Its not easy, good luck.