Reply to ADHD Behavior therapy for 3.5 year old

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[quote=Anonymous]I was the poster asking about ADHD and my 3.5 year old in another posting.  I wanted to start a new posting on the question of therapy....

The dev ped recommended intensive therapy for a few months, with the likelihood of meds in a year or so.  I'm skeptical about therapy for the following reasons:

- he's 3.5. A lot of people on here have expressed skepticism for therapy at this age. 
- His ADHD is hyper/impulsive, and not inattentive or any defiance. He's an exceptionally well-behaved kid -- just one who moves around ALOT and when his hyperactivity level escalates, he loses physical self regulation. He is pretty perfectly behaved at home (save for some bouncing and jumping) but loses his sh*t at school.  He knows that some of the stuff he does is wrong, but when he loses control and escalates, he can't control himself. It's hard enough for me as an adult to self-regulate in situations where you feel out of control. So I struggle to see how a 3.5 year old is going to benefit from learning coping skills to control their behavior when said behavior only happens when he is out of control.  
- As parents, we've been pretty attuned to his "differences" since he was an infant, and we've already implemented a lot of things that were common sense to us that have minimized his issues. I've read a lot about hyper kids, sensory issues, etc and have implemented a lot of the guidance that is available online. His teachers are also pretty well versed in the area and implemented a lot of great ideas. As said in the previous bullet, he's actually a really well-intentioned good kid when he's not hyper, and I think that's in part because we've been working so hard for so long already on techniques to adapt and adjust to his behavior.  Obviously, a therapist is going to be an expert well above and beyond what we're doing, but my point is that there aren't any fundamental issues that a therapist is going to magically turn around.

I think what would be really helpful is 2 or 3 sessions with a therapist and both parents and my son to talk about high level techniques we can implement at home. And also another session with teachers to talk about strategies at school (they are very accommodating and would be happy to get more advice).  But I'm skeptical that twice a week for 4 months as recommended by the dev ped is going to do anything.  I would be open to therapy when he's a bit older and has settled down a bit (which according to a bunch of you on here and the dev ped, will probably happen a bit in K or thereafter).

And I know people are going to say "it doesn't hurt to try", but I'm of the mindset that it does hurt -- because it costs a fortune and is super stressful to pull my son out of school twice a week and for me to essentially take two half days off work every week.

I am interested to hear anyone's opinions on this.  
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