4-year-old with possible attention issues

Today I spoke with my child's Pre-K teacher.  She said that my daughter has been flagged for ADHD.  My daughter was 4 in mid-July, so it might be immaturity.  However, she seems to be unable to sit still during group activities such as book readings and music lessons.  She has intense concentration when she's interested in things, and can play for some time and follow a logical thought to broader and more interesting topics.  Should I be taking her to a Child Psycholgist for an evaluation.  I read through a checklist of ADD symptoms, and she doesn't seem to fit the criteria.  However, the criteria seemed focused on older children with various questions about homework and the like.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

You are wise to note that development can be a central issue in relation to the behaviors your daughter is displaying. While it is certainly possible for a four-year-old to display ADHD, care must be taken to have the child undergo a systematic evaluation. The challenge of diagnosing ADHD in a pre-school-age child is that the several clusters (inattentive, hyperactive, impulsive) of symptoms associated with ADHD can be typical of normal pre-schoolers. So, the main issue is not so much whether a pre-schooler happens to be somehwat inattentive, overactive, or prone to impulsive behavior, but rather the degree to which those types of behaviors are occurring and whether the behaviors are an impediment to mastering the normal developmental challenges of the age. An evaluation is very sensible.

[jdtm]

Yes, I would have your child evaluated by a child psychologist.  By the way, children suffering from anxiety often display ADHD and/or ADD behaviours in social settings as school but when they are in a comfortable and perceived "safe" environment, these behaviours are non-existent.  In either case, both these behaviours will require further treatment and the earlier the diagnosis, the better the prognosis.

[beccaw35]

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