if your child had social/behavior issues and attention issues - likely ADHD - at 4

[Anonymous]

How did things change by 5? We are going to be in ACPS Child Find preschool soon due to these issues - we were denied initially and I really pushed. My son right now basically wonders around the classroom and does not follow directions. I am so nervous about school in a year. Can you tell me how things changed or did not by 5? He has ADHD, I would say severe at this point. We have medical issues so cannot medicate just yet.

[Anonymous]

5-7 or so were still pretty tough years. After medication started and therapy at age 8 things got a lot better. DD is very mature and well behaved now.

I think even neurotypical kids have rough years when they are that young. And if they don't it probably just comes later.

[Anonymous]

My child has ASD/ADHD. The ASD was diagnosed at 4. He has Asperger's and attends a language immersion school where prek is 100% in Mandarin Chinese, zero prior exposure to the language before school. Obviously we had no idea DS had any issues when we applied to the school.

The ADHD was diagnosed at 7 in second grade. Still at the same school and we plan on finishing elementary school there.

My child wandered around the classroom opening drawers and stuff and not interacting with other children during free play times in prek when I observed him after his prek teacher suggested that DS may have issues. DS could follow directions but needed much more prompting. Our prek classroom was eventually assigned an aide (not just for DS) so there were 3 adults to 18 kids.

By the time DS was 5 and in K, he had an IEP and supports and services. The school assigned a SN teacher so his k class was 17kids: 3 adults - head teacher, assistant teacher and SN teacher. DS main issue was always social communication and engagement/participation. Never had academic issues but did have a lot of behavioral issues in 2nd grade due to personality conflict with new SN teacher and this was when the ADHD was diagnosed and treated. DS had a full neuropsych eval at 7.

DS is doing really well in third grade. Loves school. Still at the same school with an IEP since prek.

Get a full evaluation. DS had AdOS at Children's at 4 and our school did a psychoeducational eval. We also had a developmental ped. Get the IEP now so that your child will have the supports and services he'll need for K.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Dev ped does not think ASD right now because he is actually trying to initiate play and social, he is just SO inattentive that he wonders off to the next thing, and there is, if anything, too much joint attention - he constantly wants others to come see what he is doing. So, I guess severe inattentive ADHD, with some hyperactivity and impulsiveness to boot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dev ped does not think ASD right now because he is actually trying to initiate play and social, he is just SO inattentive that he wonders off to the next thing, and there is, if anything, too much joint attention - he constantly wants others to come see what he is doing. So, I guess severe inattentive ADHD, with some hyperactivity and impulsiveness to boot.

You should take him for ADOS/ADI-R. Even the dev peds at Children's and KKI will send kids with HFA there to definitively rule out ASD. My DS is highly socially motivated and has excellent joint attention but he still has ASD/Asperger's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dev ped does not think ASD right now because he is actually trying to initiate play and social, he is just SO inattentive that he wonders off to the next thing, and there is, if anything, too much joint attention - he constantly wants others to come see what he is doing. So, I guess severe inattentive ADHD, with some hyperactivity and impulsiveness to boot.

You should take him for ADOS/ADI-R. Even the dev peds at Children's and KKI will send kids with HFA there to definitively rule out ASD. My DS is highly socially motivated and has excellent joint attention but he still has ASD/Asperger's.

will do - will they recommend it if they think it is necessary or should I ask?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dev ped does not think ASD right now because he is actually trying to initiate play and social, he is just SO inattentive that he wonders off to the next thing, and there is, if anything, too much joint attention - he constantly wants others to come see what he is doing. So, I guess severe inattentive ADHD, with some hyperactivity and impulsiveness to boot.

You should take him for ADOS/ADI-R. Even the dev peds at Children's and KKI will send kids with HFA there to definitively rule out ASD. My DS is highly socially motivated and has excellent joint attention but he still has ASD/Asperger's.

will do - will they recommend it if they think it is necessary or should I ask?

They should recommend it but if they don't ask.

[Anonymous]

Not OP, but the above posts give me some hope - DD has ADHD and is in first grade - it's been a tough year. When she was 4 - 6 (PS - K), she had trouble transitioning and following directions. In first grade her behavior has worsened - issues with transitions, following directions and when she gets frustrated/angry - sometimes responds by hitting/kicking/etc - which she did not do in PS - K. She recently had a neuropsych eval at Childrens and she has started therapy and meds, although haven't found the right med yet. We're hopeful that as she ages things will improve. We're also doing a lot of reading on parenting challenging kids to shift our parenting approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dev ped does not think ASD right now because he is actually trying to initiate play and social, he is just SO inattentive that he wonders off to the next thing, and there is, if anything, too much joint attention - he constantly wants others to come see what he is doing. So, I guess severe inattentive ADHD, with some hyperactivity and impulsiveness to boot.

You should take him for ADOS/ADI-R. Even the dev peds at Children's and KKI will send kids with HFA there to definitively rule out ASD. My DS is highly socially motivated and has excellent joint attention but he still has ASD/Asperger's.

I wanted to clarify about the joint attention. DS is always wanting to share and show us and anyone else around, adults and other kids, his projects and interests. His project, the key word being what HE is interested in. It is completely another matter getting him interested or getting any response at all if another child is the one initiating and choosing a subject matter. DS has an IEP goal that he has to respond in a back and forth manner when a peer initiates a conversation in a subject of the peer's choice that DS normally has little interest in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but the above posts give me some hope - DD has ADHD and is in first grade - it's been a tough year. When she was 4 - 6 (PS - K), she had trouble transitioning and following directions. In first grade her behavior has worsened - issues with transitions, following directions and when she gets frustrated/angry - sometimes responds by hitting/kicking/etc - which she did not do in PS - K. She recently had a neuropsych eval at Childrens and she has started therapy and meds, although haven't found the right med yet. We're hopeful that as she ages things will improve. We're also doing a lot of reading on parenting challenging kids to shift our parenting approach.

Ask for a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and a behavioral intervention plan (BIP) done by a board certified behavioral analyst (BCBA). The If you are in public school, they should have someone who does this regularly. When my DS was about to be removed to SN school with public funding in 2nd grade, the BIP made a world of difference just a much if not more than the ADHD meds. The FBA/BIP will provide positive structure to her school environment and will only make it better if well done. Worth a try. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My son also had severe ADHD from a young age and could not be medicated until he was 8 due to medical reasons. He was a lot like your son - didn't stay in his seat, wandered the classroom, rolled around on the floor during carpet time, etc. It didn't improve until he was able to be medicated. As he got older, like maybe 10 or 11, maturity kicked in and he began to be capable of managing his work and chores. When he was finally able to take medication, we realized that he was learning - before medication, he wasn't able to demonstrate the things he learned. So, until he was 8, we thought he couldn't read or write or do math. At that point, things really seemed better to me because I was able to stop worrying that he wouldn't be able to learn. Before that, it was kind of scary to watch the years go by without him even being able to do the basics that kids get out of kindergarten doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son also had severe ADHD from a young age and could not be medicated until he was 8 due to medical reasons. He was a lot like your son - didn't stay in his seat, wandered the classroom, rolled around on the floor during carpet time, etc. It didn't improve until he was able to be medicated. As he got older, like maybe 10 or 11, maturity kicked in and he began to be capable of managing his work and chores. When he was finally able to take medication, we realized that he was learning - before medication, he wasn't able to demonstrate the things he learned. So, until he was 8, we thought he couldn't read or write or do math. At that point, things really seemed better to me because I was able to stop worrying that he wouldn't be able to learn. Before that, it was kind of scary to watch the years go by without him even being able to do the basics that kids get out of kindergarten doing.

That sounds so much like my child - what were the medical reasons? Mine has seizures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son also had severe ADHD from a young age and could not be medicated until he was 8 due to medical reasons. He was a lot like your son - didn't stay in his seat, wandered the classroom, rolled around on the floor during carpet time, etc. It didn't improve until he was able to be medicated. As he got older, like maybe 10 or 11, maturity kicked in and he began to be capable of managing his work and chores. When he was finally able to take medication, we realized that he was learning - before medication, he wasn't able to demonstrate the things he learned. So, until he was 8, we thought he couldn't read or write or do math. At that point, things really seemed better to me because I was able to stop worrying that he wouldn't be able to learn. Before that, it was kind of scary to watch the years go by without him even being able to do the basics that kids get out of kindergarten doing.

That sounds so much like my child - what were the medical reasons? Mine has seizures.

Mine was Failure To Thrive and anorexia. I never even knew that young kids could have anorexia. It didn't actually resolve until he was 11, but by 8, his weight was almost at the first percentile and the doctor prescribed meds. My son is about to turn 14 and he is doing very well. He still has issues related to the ADHD. He can't seem to perform on command, but he will get everything done by the deadline. He shifts from one foot to the other whenever he's standing. He constantly moves his legs when he's sitting, but has learned that when in school if he sits on them, he can control it. When he was younger, we worked a lot on developing habits and systems, which has really made life easier for him.