A few years ago I asked our pediatrician about having our son tested for ADD/ADHD and he kind of blew me off with a "Boys just have a lot of energy!" kind of response. My husband and I know that our son's behavior goes beyond this. He is very hyper almost ALL THE TIME, unfocused, disruptive. While he's very intelligent, he is at times so hyper that he doesn't process what is being said to him or asked of him even though he can repeat the words back to us. This isn't discipline issue. We are consistent with our rules and following through with consequences. We have three children and our other two are not like this, nor are countless other children that we know. We need help for our son and help for ourselves as his parents because he's very difficult to deal with on a daily basis. He is 6 1/2 now and we really are having such a hard time managing on a daily basis. I have waited this long to seek outside help because I don't really want to medicate him although not totally against it. We really need some coping strategies and resources. Where can we have him tested in a private setting?
As a former teacher in So Cal I would highly recommend The Drake Institute:
http://www.drakeinstitute.com/
If I remember correctly they have two locations one in Irvine & one up in LA.
The reason to have him labeled as this is if you are looking for services from the school and/or regional center or you feel he is so affected that he needs medication. The problem that I have with seeing a doctor and then they label your child is that now all they do is prescribe medication of which is so damaging for your child in so many ways (the boys all having enlarged hearts and dying at their game of sports is one example).
Here is what I have done and know that many others have done and it has worked to either reduce the problems or eliminate them completely. Take a look at his diet. Seriously. This is huge. Do you notice any changes right away after he has eaten a certain meal, snack? Is there a difference in the time of day and behaviors?
Remove ALL dyes from what he is eating. Red seems to be the biggest culprit.
Remove ALL fake sugar. Best to use only real honey, maple syrup, and Stevia for sweetening things.
Remove Nitrates - processed meats, in fact most meats. There are lots of places that sell 'clean' meat, bacon, sausage, and such.
Go Organic as much as possible.
Now, for two weeks no Gluten of any kind. No wheat, barley, rye, oats (oats are not gluten but unless it says gluten free on the package they are usually cross contaminated). You may think this would be hard but nowadays it is SO much easier. Yes, this will take some creativity and some work on your part but there are so many ways to replace things. All of my pasta dishes are made with a rice pasta and you will be blown away by how much better even you will feel after a meal made with this. If you have truly gone two weeks without ANY gluten, let him have something like a bagel and see how he behaves. This is called an Elimination Diet, taking a food completely out and then reintroducing it at a later point in time.
After you do this with Gluten then do it with ALL Dairy/Casein. Then all Soy. I did it cold turkey with my daughter as we did a blood test that showed us what she was reacting to. We removed ALL gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, yeast, and 16 other things. Guess what? Behaviors (her nickname was Dr. Jeckell and Mr. Hyde because her behavior would change at the drop of a dime -turns out whenever she ate gluten). Also, she got off all four of her asthma medications and did not miss anymore school because of bronchitis, ear infections, breathing difficulties. With my son, his severe ADD, no more. Now, his boredom because he was never challenged in school is a problem and too late to do anything about that one.
For help with diet, I always send everyone to www.tacanow.org - a site for families with kids on the spectrum, mainly Autism. No, your child doesn't have autism but they are probably overly toxic in their bodies and it is affecting behavior. There is a GF-CF Diet section - Go There. There will also be lots of other information that you will be able to use, like finding a doctor, testing that should be done, methods for working with him.
Please, start with diet. It is not an easy fix with a pill. For some kids, they do need it but should also be doing some diet modifications. For most, it is a bad option and will make the problem worse over time. Read the latest news on Risperdal and funny how it is not on the front page. That happens because Pharmaceutical companies own the media (all of the ads). http://www.mcknights.com/the-verdict-is-in-johnson-johnso...
My son was evaluated by Lisa Walpert, at So. Cal Peds in Rancho Santa Margarita. http://www.socpa.com/about-us/nurse-practitioners/lisa-wa... She does all their ADHD testing.
As far as medicating, please take a look at my (lengthy) response over here:
http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/13829678000251142145#r...
I used to be a "no meds" mom, before my son was diagnosed. With a little research I quickly discovered that this is a neurological condition; their brains just work differently. If it were merely a "discipline" issue, I'd feel differently about meds. This is something that can be controlled with meds that help their neurons fire. If my son had diabetes, would I withhold insulin? Of course not. I feel it's the same about ADHD meds. He has a treatable condition, and I'll do anything to help him.
Good luck to you and your son!
p.s. Driving home this morning from dropping my kids off at school I heard this: http://www.npr.org/2011/03/30/134962888/fda-probes-link-b...
I do not have much to offer by way of reccomendations, however, you said that its not discipline. Could it be diet? What is he eating? Drinking? How are his sleep patterns? My 4 year old has energy to burn!!! I have to constantly make a conscience decision to monitor her sugar intake...She only drinks water and I push for plenty of protein. Could that be a factor?
Good Luck...
Look up CUIDAR online, they have alot of resources and they may even do the testing. I am currently taking a parenting class through them at Choc hospital and they service OC.
Does he have trouble at school too?
Or only at home?
If he only has trouble at home, then I would hesitate to deem him a certain condition.
IF a person has a real condition, then they will act that way, no matter where they are. They cannot turn it off/on like a light switch or at-will.
If he is having trouble at school too, then has the teacher complained about him/his behavior?
Your Ped, should be able to refer you to a professional.
readdress it w/ the pediatrician. I had the same problem, and when the kid is 4 the Dr isn't going to do anything. once they are in school, and they are disruptive....that is another story. DO NOT let any one guilt you about drugs. My son is suddenly smart. he can read. He is on al ow dose and he takes high grade fish oil. I need to do both, individually they didn't do enough. Plus, I dont think there is "test". it's info from parents, child care, teachers etc...
good luck
when my children were tested it started with the school suggesting it. We then went to the pediatrician who had me, and the teacher fill out a questioner about my son and then the school was required to do certain academic tests and report all of that to him to review and determine. Boys do have a lot of energy, but dr's do not like to consider ADHD on a toddler/preschooler. It is more as they are school age.
I personally do not medicate because it actually made things worse for my kids either in how they behaved or with adverse reactions. Some children it works great for. Talk to his teacher at the next parent conference and see how he is in class. If it is just at home he just may feel for what ever reason he needs to compete with the other two children and it results in this behavior.
http://www.mcintoshneurology.com/about.html
Dr. McIntosh is a pediatric doctor who does the ADHD testing.
