whats the earliest age that a doctor will diagnose ADHD?

Answer 1

My pediatrician told me that an actual diagnosis of ADHD can't be truly made until the child is at least 6 years old. Whether doctors follow this or not is another story.

Answer 2

I'm pretty certain the earliest a doctor will diagnose ADHD is at the age of three, but people are working on lowering this age all the time, and theoretically can diagnose at six months.
This will obviously vary in different situations with different children, and so far doctores have managed to lower the age for diagnoses from four to three.

Answer 3

3

Answer 4

This ones kinda tough. I see what others have said. Here is my take though.

I was diagnosed around 4 1/2 -5 with it. Its not always genetic. But there is a 50% chance if one parent has it that the child might have it also. I have 4 children here. My oldest is, he is now almost 12. He was diagnosed at the age of 5 1/2. But looking back at how he was as a child, as well as toddler, he was distracted constantly. He would do a task, or play with a toy for only 3-5 minutes, then off he went onto something else. None of my other 3 children were like this as toddlers.

I know one sure sign of it is also that they seem to need step by step instructions. You cant just say to an ADHD child, go get your dirty cloths out of your room & bring them down here to the laundry basket. They get sidetracked. You have to say go upstairs & get all your dirty cloths together. Let me know when your done. Then you go upstairs, and tell them bring the cloths down to the laundry basket. They ALWAYS need one step instructions.

As to one of the comments about bipolar misdiagnosed. There could be more to it then that. I know that dyslexic children are almost always diagnosed at bipolar when they are younger. This issue (dyslexia) is hard to diagnose before the age of 11. The only way to know is to get an appt. with a dyslexic specialist. Which is also another thing my ADHD son has. (This was diagnosed by a specialist when he was 8.)

Any disability, like ADHD or dyslexia have side affects. The children get frustrated easily, they get moody, sad, say negative things about themselves all the time, or defy authority. They dont know whats wrong, so they get down on themselves, Unfortunately!!! They need to be encouraged all the time. They have no clue why they are different then others their age, & they dont do as well as them. Its an all around illness. There is hope though. There are many different medications out there offered today for this. Back when I was diagnosed with it, the remedy was coffee without sugar. Caffeine has a reverse affect on pre-puberty children, as long as its not sugared it helps. This is fact.

So when in doubt, think back to when they were toddlers, think back to how they played with toys, how they interacted with others. And think of how they are now. Are they moody, depressed at times, defiant, or down on themself? These are all key signs of ADHD!

Best of Luck to you! And I hope this answer helped some.

Answer 5

Depends on the doctor...

It really shouldn't be done earlier than school age (5-7 years old). There is something called a Conner's Checklist or Rating Scale {http://www.adhdtesting.org/conners%20rating%20scale.htm} That the parents and teachers and doctors can fill out. It's important to find out -specifically - the areas of his life the behaviors are showing up. Lots of docs might want to rush a diagnosis, but it's good to have a vision of the behaviors that differ between home and "work".

Answer 6

In my experience, they have diagnosed children at the age of 2 BUT the medications that are out there are only for children 3 and up.

Answer 7

It depends on the child. My daughter was 3 when she was diagnosed with adhd. What you can do is ask your pediatrician to refer you to a psychologist or psychiatrist, I can't keep them straight. and they have tests that they can preform to see if your child is add or adhd. What state do you live in I might be able to find out more info for you.
Amy

Answer 8

My son was diagnosed at age 5.

Answer 9

Usually around 6-7 school age. My son is ADD, I would treat it with lifestyle changes if possible instead of meds. My son was tried on meds. I'm a nurse and I pulled him off due to them causing him Migraines every time he would start to " crash" on them , around 2-3 pm everyday. He is 15 and is doing great and is not on meds. We tired 3 meds in 6 months............ It wasn't worth it.

Get your child tested in the school system, They can modify his lesson plan, such as not timing them on tests since children with this dont do well on a time limit. They cant think about anything but the clock.

Answer 10

i was diagnosed at age 5 but i think you can't truly diagnose a child until they are in 1st grade at the least. children under the age of 6 are naturally hyperactive and their attention spans aren't very long

every dr varies on what age they think is appropriate.