My 3 year old( almost 4)?

Question

Okay heres the thing, my daughter is almost 4, her dr. diagnosed her when she turned 3 as Adhd, well they put her on medication for it and she got better, well then it was making problems within the family, so we took her off of it. well the dr referred us to a specialist, well she started saying she was austistic( and she shows no sign except she is very hyper and she has little to no attention span) so i discontinued her going there and just quit everything, well now she is attending Head Start and the school has requested us to take her back and get her started back on medication. well my husband now thinks she does have adhd now and so do i but i am scared to go through this again. Does anyone else have a 3-4 year with the same problem. I need some advice on what i should do. Please help me to understand all of this. This is my first child and i don't like her to go through this.

my daughter is in a head start program which is like school that is monday thru friday from 830-230 everyday. she is also in a church program every wednesday and she does alot of activities at home, but she can't sit still long enough to do anything, she gets angry easily and she has a 2 year sister that she hurts constintly. when she gets mad she either hits something , herself or she bites herself. she throws her self down to hurt herself but it takes her a few minutes to realize that it hurt. we have to make her look at our nose to get her to pay attention and most of the time she can't. she won't cooperate at school unless it is on her own term.

Answer 1

i have adhd and it would have made my life alot easier if i would have been diagnosed sooner i barely passed 1st through 5 grade so i was constantly in trouble with my parents as soon as i got on the meds i started passing
im not saying its a miracle cure but it does help
dont make your kid have to be in special ed if she doesnt have to be its hard to get out of it

Answer 2

I won't say there aren't any very young children with ADHD, but I do think three years old is too young to make such a diagnosis and medicate.

The reason is, three year olds ARE rambuncious, they DON'T want to listen, they DO have short attention spans, and they ARE testing thier limits.

Some are more difficult than others and often times the parents are at a loss about how to deal with it and end up taking the child to a psychiatrist who isn't all that familiar with the child or home situation at all, and prescribes medication because that's what psychiatrists do.

I saw an episode of that nanny show where the couple ran a daycare and had two young boys who were absolute terrors. It turns out that the parents couldn't enforce any punishments because they gave in too easily, and the boys were wild because the parents weren't spending enough special one on one time with them.

At three years old, a "naughty chair" is very effective. When she's being naughty have her sit in the chair for three or so minutes (that's a long time for a three year old). Tell her calmly but sternly she's going to sit there until she can calm down. If she gets up befor you tell her to. Calmly put her back in the chair. She may throw a tantrum but be persistant. She needs to know that mom and dad are brick walls. Don't yell and don't give any sign of losing your cool. When she does eventually calm down and sit there and her three minutes are then up, go over, ask her if she's going to be good now and mind, and then hug and make up and tell her you love her.

The gist here is to enforce her limits at home and allow her pleanty of positive outlets for her energy. That being said you need to re-analyize what she gets in trouble for and what she doesn't. Make sure your expectations of her aren't unrealistic, and not annoying thing is deserving of a punishment. For example, if she insists on writing on her bedroom wall with crayons then why not put up a large peice of butcher paper on a wall so she can write on that? As long as she doesn't write on any other wall she gets to keep her crayons.

I hope this helps. I think the first ones usually are the most difficult.

Answer 3

my nephew (who is 4) goes to a therapist they said that he could have what was the beginning of adhd. however the therapist said it was nothing that needed to be medicated and once we got him in some activities to keep him busy or when he starts school and has some structured time, it may all go away. i think at this age its just hard to tell what is normal and what isnt. i know therapy helps him a lot. he doesnt even know its therapy because its all playing. right now he's working on gradually getting his attention span longer and longer. he also gives a lo of good suggestions. maybe if you can, you can get her in a program like that, and see if that helps any. i think medication should be the last resort.

i hope this helped a little. i hope things get better

Answer 4

My son, now six, has always been extremely hyper. He started doing these repetitive hand gestures and dancing around at about the age of four. We had him tested, at the school's request, for ADHD, about seven months ago. He was diagnosed as having Asperger Syndrome (a form of autism). I know how scarry it is to go through this and I feel for you. But you know what? It has helped us understand why he does some things and has problems in other areas. Life is much easier. Good Luck!

Answer 5

Every case is as unique as the individual that has it. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. It is a tramatic situation for everyone. It is not unusual for schools to make these kinds of reqests. You stated that the medication made her better. If that is the case she deserves the chance to have that improvement in her life. We sometimes forget that it is not our feelings that are important as much as those of the one who is going to benefit from the medication. As she begins school through the Head Start program she has the right to given every opportunity to succeed. It is time at this early stage in her life to put her best interests in focus. It could be a much harder transition later. Mom, none of us want our children to go through these things but when there is medical treatment available that has proven to be of some help it's our responsibility as parents to give them every advantage available to them unconditionally. You'll adjust & so will she It's all part of the ongoing bonding process between Mother & Daughter. Don't put yourself in a position that you could regret for a lifetime.

Answer 6

It appears from what you have written that the first doctor was right and the second doctor was mistaken. The Head Start program has confirmed what the first doctor, you and your husband noticed. You said that the first medication worked. So, it may be best to return to the first medication since it was a winner for her.

Answer 7

My brother was the same, and all the docters told my mum that he had adhd but mum wouldn't have bar and new he was just active, and turned out fine, I think the adhd medications messes with the brain because the onse that have been on it for to long seem to be really dumb. But its your desition to make, not the doctors. Personaly from experience I think its is normal

Answer 8

you have to consult atleast 3 physician re: this matter... try to open your mind and accept what is to be done and the best result... you are just being hysterical and getting panic on this matter... calm yourself, and do the right thing - for her goodness' sake... for yourself? - accpet the reality...

Answer 9

I always believe in second options. Get all the adivce you can get