my friends son is angry and we all think that he is adhd, what to do?

Question

He doesnt listen, he gets angry and laughs when he doesnt obey , he makes everyone around him not like him. It has gotten to the point his mom is at wits end.

my friends son is 4 years old, and he has some real issues. My friend has tried all kinds of things, time out, taking things from him, and even went to the health food store and got something to help with attention span. She doesnt want to put him on medication . I really feel sorry for her. She has 2 older girl 10 and 6. They are nothing like this boy.

Answer 1

You can't do anything, but be there for his mother when she needs a shoulder.

What she can do is take him to get an assessment. Insurance should cover this, and if it doesn't there are state funded clinics who she can take him to for low to no charge.

Encourage her to seek and assessment, then there will be no question about whether it is ADHD or bad behavior.

Answer 2

You didn't mention how old this boy is. At any age, physical findings should be followed up on with a physician. Then the parents need to keep track of what is happening during the 12 to 24 hours preceding the outbursts. A log of events and foods is critical to fix this. Several things could be contributing factors.
First, keep track of his diet. Certain food allergies can trigger mood swings and mimic ADD and ADHD. MSG sensitivity was a huge factor with my grandson. We removed as much of that from his diet and we could, and he's a different boy than he was two months ago. Lactose intolerance can play a role, but is usually accompanied by gastrointestinal problem, as is wheat gluten sensitivity. However, begin by watching the diet carefully and comparing ingredient labels of foods just before his "bad" days.

If nothing shows there, then carefully look into possible abuse factors with a qualified mental health professional. Kids who are abused in one way or another often lash out in anger at the world around them, and specifically the parents who are supposed to protect them from harm.

Take it a step at a time and take time to smell the roses when you can.

Answer 3

His mum is the one who has to make the decision on whether he needs help or not. Just because he gets angry and doesn't do as he is told doesn't automatically mean he has ADHD. He sounds more like a typical young boy growing up.

Answer 4

It is amazing how many people immediately snap to ADD/ADHD when it is almost always just a spoiled brat whose parents don't have the time or skills or patience to discipline them properly. This boy is just a brat who's used to getting his own way. Until his mother develops some parenting skills and disciplines him properly I would advise telling the mother you cannot have her son in your home, he is simply too unmanageable.

Answer 5

my son as behavorel problems we thought he had adhd ,,, a few months a go if you go on google and type in conners report it will let you do a online test just rem it carnt diagnose him but it can give a rougth idea on it and see if he has got it,, you need to go to the doctors to refer to pyscology, too my son is just hyperactive ,, we at to cut out things like cola smarties fizzy pop mnargerines anything with suger in it,, he still is hard work n hits me now and then but now we know he is just hyper active it isnt that bad,,, we give him time out when he is bad he need to set bounderey belive me it does work evetually its a long process but with will and determnation it does work,,,, here is example of what my son did,, 1:) he used to beat his brothers friends up at school screem loud shout out in class smack any proffisonal he saw throw things around didnt sleep much :( about two- three hours a night if that,,, also he tryed stabbing me n granma he was a real monster he didnt see any violence anywhere or anything like that he didnt get his own way either i wouldnt let him then one day he tryed to throw him self into the road so i put my foot down and demand he saw a proffisonal agian ,,, PLEASE PUSH THE DOCTORS TO REFER HIM FOR THE TEST ITS HARD WORK AND THEY WILL ASK ALL SORTS OF QUESTION BUT IT IS WORTH IT TO FIND OUT WHAT IS GOING ON WITH HIM,,,, GOOD LUCK HOPE THIS COULD HELP YOU ,,,, ALSO BE WARNED SOME DOCTORS DONT BELIVE IN ADHD,,, ALSO THEY TRY TO GIVE OUT MEDS TOO SO BEACARFULL AND CHECK ANYTHING OUT SUCH HAS RITLAN BEACUSE IT IS ADDICTVE,,, I KNOW BEACUSE MY CUZIN HAS ADHD AND HE WAS ON RITLIN N GOT ADDECTIED TO IT,,,ALSO I JUST WANT TO SAY TRY OMEGA 3 FISH OIL IT WORKS COOL ON HYPERACTIVE KIDS TOO IT STIMULATES THE BRIAN AND IT ISNT HARMFULL WHAT I KNOW OFF WE USE IT WITH OUR KIDS,,,, AND THE OTHER KIDS COULD HAVE IT TO SO HE DOESNT FEEL LIKE HE ONLY ONE,,,

Answer 6

I worry when unqualified folks make a dignosis like you did in the body of your question. This could be many things. Don't jump to any premature conclusions. If it is severe he needs to see a Doc.

Answer 7

if his mom is at her wit's end, then it is up to her to take him to a doctor for a diagnosis and treatment. There isn't a blessed thing you can do.