Hyperactivity

[Anonymous]

OP, I think it is just wonderful that you could get rid of the TV for 10 days. That takes character. I think your instincts are right. Don't give TV as a reward other than a treat on the weekends. If he is learnign to occupy himself with reading and playing by himself, don't undermine him by tempting him with TV (or letting him tempt himself). I agree with the PP, you need to set the rules which you think are best for him. I have never read any research that says that TV is good for young children's mental development.

As for his difficulty regarding sleep, maybe think of keeping a log for a week from 5 pm onwards to see if there is anything that pops out and would shed light on why he has difficulty falling asleep. Maybe show it to your pediatrician or a good friend to see if s/he finds anything. I wonder if you are putting him to bed too late and he is over tired and can't fall asleep. It seems that way to me. My children were overtired since I too put them to bed rather late when they were young. They also had great difficulty falling asleep. 10 pm sound familiar. It takes a lot of effort to develop a routine that gets the children to bed at a reasonable time. Make sure the routine is calming and routine.

[Anonymous]

I think my point about the tv is that it is way less than he used to watch and he is not allowed to watch it if he doesn't listen. his teachers suggested to let him have something as a reward that he really wants...so should I not give him this one backyardigan show for 20 mins as a reward?
I do want to share that sice we started providing consistent structure he has improved. he doesn't throw a tantrum for tv , he spontaneously did his things to do after school today, and before bed time, he laid the table. His teacher said that in school he has improved with listening. he spontaneiously said sorry to a child he hurt by mistake while on the swing, he spontaneously greeted people. So maybe today was just a great day for us with him, but I do see an obvious change.
I am the parent, and but I felt that suddenly taking everything away or providing a completely different structure I should do it gradually.
His friends are going to watch "Iron Man", he asked me and I said no, and he actually did not insist...that's NEW.
I am not sure if stopping TV completely is the ONLY answer to his problem, ofcourse I let him run the show for too long before, and I am suffering with that with guilt, but I see a change in him, one for the better. He still has a long way to go, and so do I!
I wonder what other parents think about this?

[Anonymous]

This has been a very interesting and informative series of posts. We are struggling with some of the same behaviors with our 3 yo son. I have a question about finding the right preschool environment. Our son is currently in Montessori and although he's doing well academically, his social skills and attention span are not where they should be. We believe he would thrive better in a smaller classroom with more focused attention. Can anyone recommend a pre school in the DC/MD area with a smaller environment than 25-30 kids per class? Are there schools that integrate OT and/or speech therapy into the class room? We are open to leaving the Montessori philosophy if we have to as long as we get the best environment for our son.

[Anonymous]

update: routine is working, for school and home. so is the reward of 20 points. he got a toy for his last 20 points. he works hard for them. I have to take them away if he doesn't listen or behave and that happens a few times. Still working on the bedtime routine. PP maybe right that we are putting him to bed too late. The great thing is that suddenly he is playing more, and reading more. He brings two books to bed every night for us to read to him. Still has a lot of energy but definitely better. Thank you for everyones advice. Never using TV as anything except a reward and still keeping it very strict. he wanted to watch Iron Man and we said "no", I told him it's PG 13, and he has to wait. He didn't throw a tantrum and did not insist even though his class mate saw it with his dad He said, which movie is PG-4? that brought a smile to my face. So he is learning to handle dissappointments better. One thing is that we don't get too many toys for him, some of the other kids have all the latest toys and "figures" and they bring it to "share day". He asks for them, but never insists. I wish they would put a rule against toys for share day in school.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone recommend specialists to conduct an evaluation for hyperactivity? I have a 4yo boy who has been 'spirited' since birth. He can focus on books and toys, sit still during circle time, etc. but particularly when he is tired/hungry/etc he can get overly revved up and I have great difficulty controlling him. His school does not suspect ADHD, and says he is VERY high energy but not really a behavioral problem. WHen I asked our ped for an outside specialist he gave us the name of a sensory integration person who does generic screenings for the practice. I'd rather talk with someone with specific expertise in ADHD or other issues related to hyperactivity. Thanks for any thoughts or recommendations!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This has been a very interesting and informative series of posts. We are struggling with some of the same behaviors with our 3 yo son. I have a question about finding the right preschool environment. Our son is currently in Montessori and although he's doing well academically, his social skills and attention span are not where they should be. We believe he would thrive better in a smaller classroom with more focused attention. Can anyone recommend a pre school in the DC/MD area with a smaller environment than 25-30 kids per class? Are there schools that integrate OT and/or speech therapy into the class room? We are open to leaving the Montessori philosophy if we have to as long as we get the best environment for our son.

I think Apple Montessori in Bethesda has smaller classes for students who need more individual attention/special needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone recommend specialists to conduct an evaluation for hyperactivity? I have a 4yo boy who has been 'spirited' since birth. He can focus on books and toys, sit still during circle time, etc. but particularly when he is tired/hungry/etc he can get overly revved up and I have great difficulty controlling him. His school does not suspect ADHD, and says he is VERY high energy but not really a behavioral problem. WHen I asked our ped for an outside specialist he gave us the name of a sensory integration person who does generic screenings for the practice. I'd rather talk with someone with specific expertise in ADHD or other issues related to hyperactivity. Thanks for any thoughts or recommendations!

Not to hijack, but could you provide the name of the sensory person as my son has some sensory issues and I'd be interested in having him seen by a "new set of eyes." Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Sorry - I'm the PP with the wild 4yo. I stopped looking at this thread b/c it seemed to get no responses. However in answer to your Q, we saw Lynn Balzer-Martin in Chevy Chase for a very preliminary screen, referred by our ped. We didn't pursue since it seemed pretty clear to me that her focus (bias?) was toward sensory issues, and we are pretty confident that this is not the issue for him. I still wish that I could find someone who deals with hyperactivity - I'm hoping my son doesn't have formal ADHD, but he does get out of control at times, mostly when he's tired, hungry etc. I've had a little success talking to him about moderating his "engine" which I read about oin this site as a technique used by one of the private schools... but when he's in full hyper mode, he's not always amenable to self-calming.

[Anonymous]

PP, Do you go to CMG? I ask because I believe our group uses her.

[Anonymous]

Yes we do go to CMG - we like the practice a lot.

[Anonymous]

To the PP with the "wild 4 year old," I have a wild 3 year old and similar concerns. We also use CMG which referred us to Dr. Balzer-Martin, although the CMG ped believes that our son is not hyperactive, but merely "high energy." Because we are having a tough time dealing with our son regardless of how one labels the behavior, I feel like we should seek some guidance because my instincts are telling me something's not quite as it should be. For whatever reason, Balzer-Martin never returned our calls so we're still looking for someone. Sounds like she might not have been the right type for us anyway because I do not think sensory problems are the issue for us. If you find someone, I would really appreciate hearing about it. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the PP with the "wild 4 year old," I have a wild 3 year old and similar concerns. We also use CMG which referred us to Dr. Balzer-Martin, although the CMG ped believes that our son is not hyperactive, but merely "high energy." Because we are having a tough time dealing with our son regardless of how one labels the behavior, I feel like we should seek some guidance because my instincts are telling me something's not quite as it should be. For whatever reason, Balzer-Martin never returned our calls so we're still looking for someone. Sounds like she might not have been the right type for us anyway because I do not think sensory problems are the issue for us. If you find someone, I would really appreciate hearing about it. Thanks.

I'm not the PP with the "wild 4 year old". However, I thought I would add to this thread that we are in the process of scheduling a free OT evaluation for our child through the county. If you're a MoCo resident, you are entitled to go through ChildFind for an OT eval. You can call 301/929-2222 to leave a message with your contact info. They will mail you a questionnaire which must be completed and returned before they will schedule an eval. You can also speak to a live human by calling 301/929-2155 although it's admin personnel, not a therapist you'll be speaking with. However, she may be able to answer some of your questions. I was told that they are now scheduling for mid September so you need a few weeks' lead time. Dr. Balzer-Martin quoted us a fee of $750 for an eval which would not be covered by our insurance. I thought it made sense to at least pursue the free option, considering these are licensed OTs you'd be dealing with, same as if you went private. Evals are conducted in Rockville at the Board of Education building. Good luck!