did your child age out of ADHD?
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Anonymous
| Just wondering if anyone had the experience of a child's ADHD more or less going away as they age. I know this can happen in theory, but am interested in hearing real stories. How old was your child when you or they noticed the symptoms were abating? Thanks. |
Anonymous
Well my DS had ADHD and his 18 years old now he just have ADD. he was hyper till 8th grade now he just have problems paying attention. He still takes pills for it but is not as bad as it was when he was in elementary school. Adderall helps me do better in school, |
Anonymous
| OP, I don't really think you "age out" per se, but I do think that if it is diagnosed early, and treated appropriately, kids can learn how to manage and overcome their symptoms. Is that what you mean? |
Anonymous
|
People say that more about ASD but with ADHD there is more evidence kids grow out of it. The hyperactivity part starts to go away in tween and teens and by their 20s many people's brains "catch up" and the inattentiveness is gone too.
I forget the percentage but it's high. |
Anonymous
DS's psychiatrist told me that 2/3 of kids with ADHD no longer qualify for the diagnosis by their mid twenties. |
Anonymous
My son has both ASD/Asperger's and ADHD, combined type. We don't expect DS to ever lose his ASD diagnosis. |
Anonymous
| I think what you might be referring to, is the frontal cortex of the brain (governing things like impulsivity,ect) congeals in your early to mid twenties |
Anonymous
| My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD when she was 5. She's now mid 20s. The hyperactivity isn't there anymore but I can def tell if she doesn't take her meds. She's loud. Physically she's clunky and distracted in her movements. Boisterous angry kind of and definitely distracted. ADD is not something you grow out of but yes the older you get the less hyper. |
Anonymous
|
I think it varies a lot by kid and also depends on other challenges. Our child has dyslexia and add, and now that she is in an appropriate school setting to address the learning challenges her add symptoms are much more manageable. It is sometimes hard to tease apart the other factors like anxiety that are also in play.
That said, our original doctor suggested that she may lose the add diagnosis once the other challenges were under control if we taught her skills to manage the most typical add challenges. She is still using medication at school, but we've begun taking breaks from it on the weekend because her behavior is more manageable. I know this is different for each child, but it is possible. |
Anonymous
| Maturity and medication really helped with impulsivity. Time and teaching of skills and constant practice really helped with organization and executive functioning issues. But my son has definitely not grown out of ADHD. I honestly don't expect he will be capable of going away to college at age 18 like most of his peers. It's going to take a lot more time but that's ok. |
Anonymous
NP here. Thank you. My DS is 11 and he is combination type. However, the hyper aspect seems to be what is manifesting the most now. Our developmental ped told us not to expect any major changes until he is well into his 20's. |
Anonymous
DS does not have academic/learning issues and is above grade level across the board academically. His IEP addresses social communication/behavior issues. For DS, his ADHD caused more issues than the ASD ever did so that was reassuring to hear and yes, his psychiatrist thinks there is a good chance that he will lose the ADHD diagnosis at some point. I am not sure though. I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult after DS was diagnosed. I also did very well in school, Ivy undergrad and law school, and while I learned to cope, it is still obvious to me that I did not really grow out of it so much as learning to compensate and not always in positive ways - I have a lot of "weird" OCD behaviors when not on a stimulant. |
Anonymous
It doesn't happen in theory. It happens in misdiagnosis. |
Anonymous
Well, since ADHD is diagnosed on reported behaviors it isn't too far fetched that people no longer qualify for the diagnosis when those behaviors are no longer present. |
Anonymous
Meaning that the kid didn't really have ADHD, so didn't truly grew out of it. Just matured. |