7 year old boy with ADD?

Question

My 7 year is a very big (tall) intelligent and articulate child. He has a number of the classic ADD symptoms like bouncing around, lack of focus, no attention span etc, but still does well in school and actually picked up reading very quickly, so doesn't have any issues with teachers or grades.

He's played baseball and football the past year or so, but the lack of focus and inattentiveness is making him fall behind and struggle with things that should be normal. He can ask you a question and while you are answering the question he just asked, his eyes will wander or he'll bring up something else totally off topic like he didn't hear a word you said.
He is also easily frsutrated to the point where simply playing catch in the backyard is a chore. He can catch the football 5 times in a row and then drop 1 and start stomping his feet and be to the point of tears.
I realize he'll need an evaluation, but teh fact school is going well is throwing me

Answer 1

My son is the same way - he's five and will be starting kindergarten in a week. I have had him evaluated by two different pediatricians and a child psycologist and the consensus is that his brain is just a hundred miles ahead of his actions. All agree that ADD is not a factor, but I still worry, especially now that he is starting school. I have heard that teachers are the best evaluators for ADD/ADHD, so if his teachers haven't come to you yet, you might not have anything to worry about. If you DO seek evaluation, tho, I would suggest going to a therapist rather than a pediatrician - the therapist took a lot more time with my son than either medical dr. did. Hope it helps.

Answer 2

Do check with your pediatrician about an evaluation. My son is 8 and has ADHD. A lot of the things you have mentioned do sound like ADHD. Be very grateful that your son is not having academic trouble. I tried every treatment I could find from special diets and exercises to behavior modification techniques, but after being held back a year in school, we had to resort to medication. Perhaps with your son, another option would work. I know I would not have chosen to use medication if my child had not been suffering with falling behind in school. He has improved dramatically with only one morning dose. New studies have shown that the earlier you intervene (be it with medication or other forms of treatment) the better the children develop in the long run. Here is a site with some really good resources:
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/category/disorders/adhd-and-add/
I wish you all the best friend.

Answer 3

Eye contact and consistency is key. When asking or answering questions, have him sit with you and breathe relaxing breaths first, to bring him into more of a relaxing mode, so to speak and tell him with gesture of your two fingers from in front of his eyes to yours say "focus" now what is the questions. When answering use the same "focus" gesture until completing your answer. You may have to repeat the process a few times until you get through the whole answer/question process. In time he will adapt to this as routine. Speak to his teachers of the method you are using at home, should he find it difficult concentrating in class on tasks assigned to him etc...it may be benefitial for his teachers having that info. In addition, not all children have A.D.D because of inattentiveness. He could simply just be a very active child full of zest for life. Be very cautious to not be pressured into medicating your child just because teacher/s think he is A.D.D. or want an easy way out. Do your research, and take time to investigate for yourself what type of teachers he has. There may be reasons for poor communication between child and teacher/s. He is young and easily frustrated, and is still learning what behaviors are acceptable and not acceptable. That's where time out would be implemented for the not acceptable and a lot of consistency. Usually using the time by the child's age is a helpful guide to go by for most parents. Therefore at 7years of age=7minutes time out, and so on. Have your child evaluated by your family physician, and ask questions regarding A.D.D. Hope that helps some, best to you's and thanks for asking.

Answer 4

ADD kids can super focus when they are 'into' what they're doing. My daughter is ADD and she loves school so she does well even w/o meds. But I have noticed with meds (adderall xr) she has surpassed herself, gets straight A's and most of all behaves better. No jumping around, in and out of her seat, pays attention. I can actually have a conversation with her now without her jumping from topic to topic before I even finish answering her. Get him evaluated soon, it'll help him feel like he's more in control of his actions and his life.

Answer 5

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