Help W/ 4Y/o Girl and Adhd like Symptoms, and Preschool from Home Type Work?

Regarding your preschool age child--I'm a teacher, and I find it much more important that a child learn to identify lower case letters and to identify them by sounds rather than the name of the letter. It makes for a much easier transition into decoding (sounding out) words, so as you're working with her be working on the sounds of the letters too. Regarding the other issues, I totally agree that it is up to a professional to diagnose any disorders. Most pediatricians can provide you with a questionnaire that will get you started in the process of testing. With that said, many of the symptoms you describe also describe sensory integration disorder which is often mistaken for ADD or ADHD. Do some research on the topic. It is very interesting and there are sensory diet activities you can do to help the symptoms.

omega fish oils and phosphatidylserine are supplements that i think have been shown to be helpful for attention issues. ask at your local healthfood store or go online to find them. good luck!

First of all, if you're concerned about ADHD, you should have your daughter assessed by a professional. Depending on your insurance & referrals, etc, it can be a slow process to you may want to start it now. But second, as you said she is 4....all of these behaviors are typical to 4 yr olds. Sounds like you've got her right on course to be ready for K but keep in mind that a HUGE part of K & school is social so as another person suggested, I would enroll her in a preschool a couple of days a week for the social aspect. Or look for a class where you leave for the duration of the class so that she can make friends & socialize on her own w/o having you to fall back on.

Sounds like academically she is doing awesome. I would suggest tho for social skills and turn taking that she attend a playgroup or even preschool a couple times a week. Circle time, playing games should increase her attention span. I would agree that she is showing signs with what you have said always moving, gibberish, falls alot that completely warrant a referral to see a specialist either in OT, ADHD or other spectrum challenges.

Who knows if your child has adhd. It seems like nowadays if a child doesn't sit quietly in his/her seat in kindergarten, they want to label and medicate them. My granddaughter's kindergarten teacher kept telling me he thought my granddaughter was a little adhd and asked me to give her some coffee in the morning to see if that would calm her down. It didn't. Now she's in third grade and her behavior is just fine. more days than not she gets an "outstanding" for her behavior. Some times (most of the time) its just a matter of maturity and actually learning how to sit still. Since you're preparing her for kindergarten, you should also prepare her to sit still and listen to directions. Instead of just "teaching" her, try playing school with her where she will sit at the desk and you teach or let her teach you and you in essence will be teaching her how the student is supposed to act. don't label her at this point; give it until at least 2nd grade before you give too much support to adhd.

Sounds like you are doing wonderfully with her at home!! I am a former kindergarten teacher--now a stay at home mom. There are no academic requirements for K--but all the things you are doing are perfect--along with some fine motor work--like play-dough, puzzles, cutting, legos, etc. She may just need some social skills exposure since she is not in pre-school.
One great resource is MOPS (Moms of Pre-school kids). It is a low cost option.

Trouble focusing could very well be ADHD or it may not. We have a son with ADHD. I would encourage you to talk to your daughter's pediatrician for a referral to a specialist like a child psychiatrist or neuropsychologist for a full evaluation if you feel there's any chance it could be ADHD.

There are no home remedies for ADHD (although plenty of misinformation out there and a lot of people scamming parents of ADHD kids with "natural" remedies). Medication combined with therapy have the best results in helping people with this brain disorder. Diet, supplements, detoxing, etc. have been shown not to treat ADHD. The only "natural" option with any promise has been Omega 3s, but they are not cure-alls in helping (and only help with focus), take a long time and tend to be used in conjunction with medication. For factual information and resources on ADHD, visit the websites for ADDitude magazine and CHADD.

As far as kindergarten here in California, she will need to know how to write in upper and lower case letters. Our public school tested kids before kindergarten and this was a major component to the evaluation. For more specific requirements as far as registering, I'd go to the website for your school district. Kindergarten registration will start in the next few months for fall of 2011 session.