How in the WORLD can you tell if a 3 or 4 year old has ADHD??? Don't they AL!
Question: I am a special education teacher and I work mostly with children diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, Autism, or some kind of combination. In one aspect you are right. At that age a lot of kids can't sit still, or focus enough to learn something. They may appear to be climbing the walls, day dreaming, intentionally ignoring things around them, making loud noises, innappropriately interacting with peers, etc.....but at age 3 or 4 PLEASE DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS. This is much too young an age to run and get a diagnosis. Wait until your child is school aged, meaning in the first and second grade. Stay in close contact with teachers during these years, and volunteer your time in the classroom intermittently to see for yourself. A lot of parents want a diagnosis for an "overactive" kid because in a school system a child with an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) gets a certain amount of special treatment. BUT you must be carefull. If your child is overactive and can't seem to sit still and listen in the classroom in his/her first grade/second grade year, try first getting him/her involved in an extra curricular activity, run out some of that energy at night. Next make sure that you have your child on a routine, they should wake up at the same time each day and go to bed at the same time each night, no matter what happens. Also check your child's sugar intake. A poptart in the morning may be quick and easy, but right off the bat you are loading him/her with sugar. Give them Kellogs special K Cereal and a banana or make them some eggs. Watch sugar intake at lunch and at dinner too! When you can start to worry once your child has been through some schooling is when your child is sooooo overactive that it is apparent they just aren't catching on-and I mean not even the tiniest bit-to the curriculum. In the third grade if your child can't add or subtract, it is a good chance that something else might be going on. Over activity and a significant delay in academic functioning can be a great indicator. If you are saying to yourself, why wait until they are behind to get help. This is not what I am saying. What I am saying is before getting a diagnosis make sure you have used all other options. Check to make sure your child's teacher is teaching to all learning styles. Check to make sure that your child isn't listening because he or she is just too bored-in which case he/she could be above average in intelligence. There are so many things to check, Please, as a teacher I beg you to not rush into a diagnosis, but explore all options first. In the long run it will do more good, than running to get a diagnosis and making excuses for all the things your child may be able to do, but a diagnosis prohibits. Beleive in your child!
Answers: I am a special education teacher and I work mostly with children diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, Autism, or some kind of combination. In one aspect you are right. At that age a lot of kids can't sit still, or focus enough to learn something. They may appear to be climbing the walls, day dreaming, intentionally ignoring things around them, making loud noises, innappropriately interacting with peers, etc.....but at age 3 or 4 PLEASE DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS. This is much too young an age to run and get a diagnosis. Wait until your child is school aged, meaning in the first and second grade. Stay in close contact with teachers during these years, and volunteer your time in the classroom intermittently to see for yourself. A lot of parents want a diagnosis for an "overactive" kid because in a school system a child with an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) gets a certain amount of special treatment. BUT you must be carefull. If your child is overactive and can't seem to sit still and listen in the classroom in his/her first grade/second grade year, try first getting him/her involved in an extra curricular activity, run out some of that energy at night. Next make sure that you have your child on a routine, they should wake up at the same time each day and go to bed at the same time each night, no matter what happens. Also check your child's sugar intake. A poptart in the morning may be quick and easy, but right off the bat you are loading him/her with sugar. Give them Kellogs special K Cereal and a banana or make them some eggs. Watch sugar intake at lunch and at dinner too! When you can start to worry once your child has been through some schooling is when your child is sooooo overactive that it is apparent they just aren't catching on-and I mean not even the tiniest bit-to the curriculum. In the third grade if your child can't add or subtract, it is a good chance that something else might be going on. Over activity and a significant delay in academic functioning can be a great indicator. If you are saying to yourself, why wait until they are behind to get help. This is not what I am saying. What I am saying is before getting a diagnosis make sure you have used all other options. Check to make sure your child's teacher is teaching to all learning styles. Check to make sure that your child isn't listening because he or she is just too bored-in which case he/she could be above average in intelligence. There are so many things to check, Please, as a teacher I beg you to not rush into a diagnosis, but explore all options first. In the long run it will do more good, than running to get a diagnosis and making excuses for all the things your child may be able to do, but a diagnosis prohibits. Beleive in your child!
For the love of God, don't get all Ritilin happy already. That's a huge problem today, parents have kids that may be a little hyper, and then they start throwing Ritilin everywhere like it's freaking candy. When they are 3 or 4, they're bound to be a little hyper....wait a few years before you diagnose them with ADHD, in the meantime, try doing small focus activities with them, make them do some small, easy tasks, that require some concentration. Keep doing things like this until they can do it without losing track.