does my 4 yr old have ADHD

[Janet-M]

I am suprised with some of the patronising answers in this thread .

as a mother of 3 children with varying levels of disabilities the one thing I have learnt is trust your own instincts .If you feel there is something wrong then theres something wrong .. ok you may not know exactly what it is .

I would do as Bookworm has said and immediatly start asking for a multi discipline review .If they refuse then write to EVERYONE who you feel should be involved saying you are concerned and you feel noone is taking your concerns seriously .. believe me, from my experience , they soon will once you put it in writing .. no one listens until you MAKE them

Edited September 15, 2008 by Janet-M
speling .. for a change grrrrrrrr lol

[Guest sharonsmith]

I have an appointment with my new health visitor as she is coming to intriduce herself as we have just moed to the area. i also have the day off work so that i can see her too. im hoping she will be alot better than my previous one. i will keep you posted on what she says.

Thanks guys

[tiglet]

Please do - I accepted for years what other "professionals" said about my son, including school, GP, health visitors etc. He's now going down the multi-disciplinary assessment route and things have become easier as each piece of the jigsaw fits together. So far, each and every time I have disagreed with a professional, I have been proved right and they've been proved wrong. So your instincts will definitely be spot on.

 

It does take time, however (my son had his first SALT assessment in January and now we are having the CAMHS assessments, having had a few like audiology, Ed Psych etc. in-between) so I would advise you not to expect someone to instantaneously give you a reason.

 

Of course, mnyspider could be right (and I hope she is)- but could also be wrong and a lot of heartache could be saved if there is something "wrong" (I hate that word in this context) and it's discovered now.

 

While this will be worrying you a lot, I wouldn't want anyone to get in the terrible state I was in a few months ago, so you will need the support of your partner on this - none of us are superwoman, we are just expected to act as if we are Battling him and battling for a diagnosis will exhaust you to the point of ill health. Perhaps you could show him this thread or let him have a look at some of the ADHD/ASD websites which may make him realise that tough discipline is not necessarily the way forward in every situation and that you need to support eachother for your son's sake. I still have that argument with my OH, especially when my son loses it or appears to be obtuse for the sake of it.

 

You sound like a good Mum who cares deeply - do keep updating here, even if it's just for a whinge about the crappy day you've had with him or the stress you are feeling - I've completely gone BLAAAAAA on CAG when it's all become too much and you'd be amazed at the support, sympathy and similar stories I got in response. All of which really helped.

 

Take care

 

Tigs xxx

[Guest sharonsmith]

i do keep showing him sites ive read, and things ive printed off, but he just dont seem to understand. and all he says to him, its whats wrong with you. he just doesnt understand the fact that he might not actually be able to help himself when he does things. and thats what i want to know, cos i dont want medication for him, i just want to know if he can control what hes doing becasue he has got adhd, or whether hes just a hyper kid and trys his luck all the time.

[tiglet]

Unfortunately, you won't know that until he's properly assessed - we can only tell you our experiences on here.

[emmaf01]

I took time to come to terms with my son being different- mainly due to the fact I didn't know he was different as he is the only one I have! In a way that has helped, though now that I see him with other children it sometimes amazes me how far ahead they are in speech, comprehension and focus. But he's my boo and very lovable.

 

It has put me off having more children though, because I would find it upsetting if they developed "normally" and if they were like my son I would have very little hair left after a week!

 

I'm so glad you will be seeing the health visitor- they may be able to offer help- mine organised the paediatrician referral, audiologist and speech therapist.