How do you know if your child has ADHD?

Question

My son is 5. He started school this year. Last night when I was doing homework with him. I notice he was moving a lot. I was tring to read to him, but was getting a little upset because he would not sit down and listen. We have never had problems with him before. He also goes on the bus, we have been having a little bit of trouble there. The bus driver said he does not keep his hands to himself. He is not a violent child. Also when he plays PS3 on weekends, I noticed he starts to jump up and down alot and getting a little hyper. When he plays with his gameboy he does not do this, does he just get excited when he plays. Is this normal behavior or would he have ADHD?

Answer 1

You can have him tested by the school but he doesnt sound adhd. My son is adhd i had him tested in kindergarden and re tested in 1st when he was accually diagnosed.

Answer 2

How was he when he was an infant? I knew with in a few weeks something was different about my daughter who is now 11 and has ADHD. She would scream horribly if she was still. You couldn't just hold her, you had to walk. You couldn't lay her down to sleep, she slept in a infant swing. I couldn't get housework done unless I put her in the swing in front of the TV. When she turned 4 months she learned to scoot across the floor and finally stopped screaming, but then she never stopped moving. She walked at 8 months and never sat still long enough to color a picture or watch a commercial. I can't really get my point across how much she moved and still does. It wasn't until 1st grade that she was finally diagnosed. She wasn't able to stay focused long enough to write her name on a paper, or copy a few words off the board. She was constant 3 assignments behind the whole class and homework was an all night chore. Trust me ADHD doesn't just develop overnight, it is something you notice from the start.

Answer 3

Maybe. Is he prone to anger? Try giving him soda before school. Caffeinated soda. Caffeine is a stimulant. So is ritalin, a medicine used to treat ADHD. If he focuses better, he might have ADHD. And as always, check with the doctor before making any moves with medication. But remember that a large percentage of children diagnosed with ADHD have been misdiagnosed.

Answer 4

ADHD is NOT real!!! Teachers have made this up because they do NOT know how to teach normal/active/rambunctious boys. They prefer the boy be medicated; leaving him no brain function and sit all day in a chair like a wet noodle.
Change the diet - change the behavior.
NO JUNK FOODS, NO MEDICATION AND NO SWEETS!!!

Answer 5

You would know he had ADHD because he would have been tested for it and diagnosed by a doctor. I doubt if he is adhd, rather undisciplined...he needs to learn to keep his hands to himself on the bus.

Answer 6

All sounds perfectly normal to me. Dr's over label kids these days. Kids are forced to sit all day at school to learn then they come home and have to do homework, they have to sit on the bus, then they are being sent to bed early, oh yeah and don't forget sitting in the tub for a bath and then the video games and the computer and tv watching. Of course kids are going to have built up energy and have a harder time sitting still. They just want to move around which they need to do. Find activities for your son to do that require him to move around and get energy out. Go outside and play before doing school work to release built up energy from having to sit at school and on the bus. In the mornings if he seems full of energy you can do a morning excercise routine (yes even at 5 years old). If he has trouble learning then he may have some areas that require even more attention. In my experience everything that people claim to be ADHD is fixable without meds by taking time to help them. "ADHD kids" require more activities to keep them busy and have trouble concentrating if their energy is built up. I am really tired though of parents labeling energetic kids (or kids with other problems) ADHD and getting them on meds. The best way to know for sure is cut out sugar and red-dye (many products contain this). Give him activities to do that have nothing to do with sitting still, like take him outside for baseball or soccer or football or something like that. Have him study short periods of time and get up and walk around in between (like 20 minutes study, walk/play activly 20 minutes and back to study). If you notice learning difficults in school look into a tutor to help him learn. Just keep in mind that labeling a child ADHD is basically like putting a red flag on your child that says "I am a difficult child" and teachers have a hard time dealing with that and lower their expectations and most teachers aren't good with kids with labels like ADHD, ADD, Bipolar and similar "disorders". Sounds to me honestly like your son is sitting way to much and needs to release the energy. Try the lowering sugar and elminating red-dye from his diet, also cut back or cut out caffine in his diet. Make sure he is having active moments every day and cut back on PS3 time and Tv time. Encourage other more active and positive things.

Answer 7

well for one he doesnt need video games they cause excitability they over stimulate the child and so does being tired. my son is hard to read to at night also and he is only four some of it is the age they dont have a very long attention span specially when tired