Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New profile posts
Latest activity
Internet Search
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Parent Support Forums
General Parenting
Labels
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Malika" data-source="post: 409945" data-attributes="member: 11227"><p>My (adopted) son is four years old. Ever since he has been a small baby he has been physically hyperactive. He is certainly impulsive, has some problems with aggressiveness (though he contains these much better in public than he once did) and can be "oppositional" and continues to have tantrums when his will is thwarted worthy of a 2 year old... Since I have been reading and thinking about it since he was small, I naturally wonder whether he has this somewhat controversial condition called ADHD. More recently I wonder whether he has ODD as he certainly displays most of the signs of that (though is not mean, cruel or vindictive to animals, for example - rather the opposite). He certainly has almost all the symptoms, except for one... He has always gone to sleep very easily and quickly and does not move around restlessly in his sleep... He has been followed by two pyschologists until now, recommended by our paediatrician because of his physical hyperactivity... One of them told me that true ADHD is very rare and that she was almost certain my son did not have it. His two teachers so far seem to think it is unlikely, because he doesn't seem to have particular or extraordinary concentration problems though I think it is clear his brain does not conceptualise in the normal way... He is clearly bright, speaks two languages fluently, etc, but cannot recognise colours despite years of people trying to teach him, has some problems with recognising written numbers and does not seem to be learning the alphabet very easily. His relationship with the ordinary, material world also seems rather flimsy - much of what he says remains in the realm of fantasy or imagination and is very surreal... We are shortly to begin all the round of psychological testing, etc.</p><p>So where I am going with all this...? It looks like ADHD/ODD but... here in Europe, they rarely diagnose ADHD before the age of six or seven and do not medicate for it below the age of seven except in truly exceptional circumstances of a child being so aggressive that they cannot function in school or whatever. And I for myself do not want a diagnosis before then... Although it looks like ADHD, why set things in stone before it has become really obvious and problematic? There are other possible causes to his behaviour, I think, even if the balance of probabilities is that he does have it. And then, even if my son does get a diagnosis in a couple of years time, I am not at all sure that I want him on Ritalin or a similar drug. Again, that seems to me like a big decision, not to be taken lightly. What I would like is for him to receive any appropriate help with his learning difficulties, not to have a label put on his head. And certainly not for him to start taking very serious drugs as a matter of course...</p><p>What do other people feel about these issues?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Malika, post: 409945, member: 11227"] My (adopted) son is four years old. Ever since he has been a small baby he has been physically hyperactive. He is certainly impulsive, has some problems with aggressiveness (though he contains these much better in public than he once did) and can be "oppositional" and continues to have tantrums when his will is thwarted worthy of a 2 year old... Since I have been reading and thinking about it since he was small, I naturally wonder whether he has this somewhat controversial condition called ADHD. More recently I wonder whether he has ODD as he certainly displays most of the signs of that (though is not mean, cruel or vindictive to animals, for example - rather the opposite). He certainly has almost all the symptoms, except for one... He has always gone to sleep very easily and quickly and does not move around restlessly in his sleep... He has been followed by two pyschologists until now, recommended by our paediatrician because of his physical hyperactivity... One of them told me that true ADHD is very rare and that she was almost certain my son did not have it. His two teachers so far seem to think it is unlikely, because he doesn't seem to have particular or extraordinary concentration problems though I think it is clear his brain does not conceptualise in the normal way... He is clearly bright, speaks two languages fluently, etc, but cannot recognise colours despite years of people trying to teach him, has some problems with recognising written numbers and does not seem to be learning the alphabet very easily. His relationship with the ordinary, material world also seems rather flimsy - much of what he says remains in the realm of fantasy or imagination and is very surreal... We are shortly to begin all the round of psychological testing, etc. So where I am going with all this...? It looks like ADHD/ODD but... here in Europe, they rarely diagnose ADHD before the age of six or seven and do not medicate for it below the age of seven except in truly exceptional circumstances of a child being so aggressive that they cannot function in school or whatever. And I for myself do not want a diagnosis before then... Although it looks like ADHD, why set things in stone before it has become really obvious and problematic? There are other possible causes to his behaviour, I think, even if the balance of probabilities is that he does have it. And then, even if my son does get a diagnosis in a couple of years time, I am not at all sure that I want him on Ritalin or a similar drug. Again, that seems to me like a big decision, not to be taken lightly. What I would like is for him to receive any appropriate help with his learning difficulties, not to have a label put on his head. And certainly not for him to start taking very serious drugs as a matter of course... What do other people feel about these issues? [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Parent Support Forums
General Parenting
Labels
Top