ADDHD or Normal 7 year old Boy Behavior

[AKR1]

I'm concerned that my 7-year old son could have borderline ADDHD but at the same time, could this just be normal 7 year old boy behavior? When seeing him play baseball for instance, he loses focus on the field (can't stay in the "ready" position, rolls around in the grass, always looking around himself and not at the game), is constantly "goofing" around in the dugout and doesn't seem to listen to the coaches instructions. I don't see any of his teammates acting in the same manner. At home, he has a hard time listening and following instructions, we have to tell him several times to do or not to do something, he interrupts my husband and my conversation, changes subjects when talking mid-stream, and has a tendancy to be very talkative at times. When playing with friends, he never knows when to "stop" goofing around, often to the frustration of some of his friends. However, having said all of this, he is doing well with his schoolwork (I never struggle with homework issues), has a good focus with his piano lessons and has plenty of friends at school. He never has had serious discipline issues at school and the teachers/coaches/principal say he's a very sweet boy that is well liked. However, in seeing a lot of the other boys in his class, my son appears more immature and rather impulsive. Would you consider the above behavior typical for a 7 year old boy or could he possibly have symptoms of ADDHD?

[politicallime]

ADHD Is not what most ppl think it is not a child that is very distracted or all over the place it is a child who is very deep thinker they will be very apoligetice i really think it should be explained alot better for parents there is a perfect video on youtube that shows a adhd and a normal kid answering questions and it is perfect to many teacher have convinced parents that there kids are adhd and medicated these poor kids for being nothing more than kids that teachers or some parents are to lazy to raise kids and just medicate them it is somthing that has really bothered me for years so many young boys drugged for being nothing more than boys alot of the time for girls and boys alot of problems rise when  a father is not present females you may get angry for someone saying this but the stats say that kids with no father around are 85% more likly to go to jail and quit school and just have an overal crap life m wife says i am sexist I am just a fact follower and am not politicly correct because its stupied the truth sometimes sucks lol. no it does not sound like your son is nothing more than a normal boy one thing you could try is wearing his butt out like work exersise and also teach him how to deal with his anger

[specialmom]

There is such a wide range of what ADD/ADHD and normal looks like, isn't there?  I think all things should be considered normal unless they are impacting a child's ability to function in the environments they are in (home or school or what have you).  If they aren't able to function, then a parent can dig deeper as to what the issues may be at the root.  Intervention CAN make a huge difference.

[Paxiled]

Listen to Mom, political.  ADHD, like autism, is on a spectrum.  While you are absolutely correct that ADHD is a fad diagnosis that is way overused and the current psychiatric diagnostic manual makes pretty much every human behavior including thinking a lot a mental illness -- though if you look at human history maybe being human is a mental illness -- those who truly have ADHD aren't all the same any more than anyone else is the same.  I also think your 85% figure is way way too high and is probably not something that can be known -- if you know your science at all, the only way to truly know is to take the same folks and have all of them turn out to have perfect lives by giving them a father and you can't do that so these studies can't ever be truly double blinded.  Not to mention that parents have no training in how to be parents and so every set of them is starting out blind and usually messing up, and so are kids.  She would call you sexist because you may have a tendency of being a bit simplistic about human behavior, which is much more complicated.  Some truth in what you say, but also some that isn't.  Which pretty much sums us all up.

[Bex587]

I have an 8 year old daughter who shows some of the same signs. she plays soccer and basketball she doesn't have any problem concentrating on her sports. She does how ever have a lot of problems concentrating on everyday tasks like house hold chores and school work. I try to make her chores simple and to the point. not giving her multiable things to do at the same time. Like I will tell her to pick up toys in a small area and put them in the toy boxes. She will start to do the task and not even a min later she is off in another room doing something else. When she comes home from school I give her an after school snack because she is usually hungry. Once she has had her snack It is Homework time. She starts her work and then her mind starts to wonder. She will get up wonder around the house, she will start talking about animals and why she likes them or about the dirt outside. Often when she is talking she will change subjects mid sentence. I can keep her sitting and not wondering around if I sit next to her and don't place my attention anywhere else. But as soon as I move she is up and about. I have four children and I do give her time to talk to me each day and have a conversation with me. I have tried different approaches to after school and homework. Like playing for 30 mins before she starts homework in hopes that maybe she has pent up energy from sitting at school. She still does the same. At school she makes good grades. She doesn't get into trouble. Her teacher says she is sweet, smart and caring. Last year in school she did get called on a lot for talking in class and helping others with there work because she always finished quickly. This year she doesn't talk as much in class. But she rushes through her work. This year she don't seem to care if the answers she gives on her tests are wrong. She always loved reading and I always encourage her love for Reading by getting her lots of books. She read over 200 hundred books when she was in Kindergarten and has Read just as many every year since. But the past nine weeks her Reading grade has dropped six points. and she wont hardly finish one book before moving on to another or she will try and read two or three books at the same time. I have tried to get her to only read one book at a time so she can focus on that one story and know what is going on. her focus is going else where and I'm not sure what to do. I dont really want her on medication. And am open to any advice that I can try to help her focus more. I dont give her soda often usually two to three times a month. she drinks mostly milk and maybe a glass of coolaid a day. I give her candy once a week. other than Halloween then she has candy for as long as it last her. She eats good and has no known allergies to any foods. She sleeps well at night sometimes she stays awake a little late. But that is rare. I have not had her tested for ADD or ADHD. I was told I had ADHD when I was her age and was put on medication in which my mom had me taken off of very quickly because it made me Zombie like and Loose a lot of weight which I was small anyways. I know medication helps for some and some it is just not for. I would like to try all I can first to try to help her without the use of medication and keep that as a last resort. Any advice. thank you..

[Sandman2]

   It is very common for 6 year old boys to not listen and move a lot.  And he is a very young 6.  Hopefully he is in K and not first grade.   Big question I guess is how does he compare to other boys of the SAME age?
   In basketball class, thats a tough skill if you have never done it.  Practice with him.  Start easy and slow and slowly work up.  This can be done at home.
Chances are he will be more attentive if he gets a chance to run around before practice.

[confusedmomwithhienergykid]

My son is going to be 6 years old in 2 months. He was having hard time listening. In fact there were times when he would run on the road in zebra crossing(when he was excited when his friend was around) - we had given strict instructions and he waits before zebra crossing nowadays. Now, I see that in school, he sits quietly when he shouldn't move, but doesn't listen to teacher. If she says raise your hand if..., he would simply raise his hand without listening to if clause. Same thing I see happening in basketball class. He is not listening to instructions like, "bounce the ball, touch as many circles as you can and count them". He only bounces the ball. He doesn't bother to touch the circles at all, leave about counting! When kids are asked to throw ball to each other, when my son is waiting for his turn, he doesn't stand still, he keeps dancing. What should be done for my son's listening skills/taking instructions?

[Sandman2]

   First, the only way he could turn into a zombie is if he has a doctor and parents who don't communicate and also don't understand what to look for.
Yes, unfortunately kids do get overdosed.  And that is always the fault of lack of communication/information between the doctor and the parent.   Medication done correctly will make the situation better not worse.
   Now having said that, there is no way to know yet if he has ADHD.
Typically a public school is much better at dealing with issues like ADHD.  The parochial schools typically just don't have the resources or experience to do so - but there are exceptions.
    So what do you do?  You make sure that you understand what ADHD is.  And if he turns out to have ADHD - you make sure that you become the expert in it.  Because it is really you that will make a difference in his life.
     So, do look at the survey to understand what they are looking for.  
     Here is a link on the different types of ADHD and what to look for.
             http://www.help4adhd.org/en/about/what
    My bigger concern is that he is a very old first grader and he is behind in reading.  What happened to get him into first grade so late?  I am guessing that his K teacher had him held back?    This may be more then ADHD.  There could be some real learning problems and a parochial school is not the best place for that. Given his age, he should be getting lots of extra help.  I think that a public school would be the best place for that.

[AnnMargo]

Thank you so much for this comment. My son just turned 8 on  Dec.29th, he is in the first grade. He is the most kind , loving kid. He is in title one, for reading. I thought he was doing pretty good, until I got a note of concern from the teacher. Her and the title one teacher have noticed some concerns that he is catching on to some things and not a lot of the other things. They are sending a list of things to watch him for survey they call it. Looking for signs of adhd. He daydreams a lot, I talked to him about it, and he knows he does it, also I help one day a week in the classroom, and it is a wild crazy class. The teacher is good, but, she talks really fast, it is all so fast pace, it is a perocial school, would he have better luck in a public school? I left out, he has a huge imagination. Help! I want the best for him,and it would crush me if he turned into a zombie. Also, he is very well behaved, respects, stays still, can talk loud sometimes, he is always, always positive.  What do I do?

[Sandman2]

    A very nice reply,  Unfortunately, its to a very old post.  You have to carefully look at the dates on these things.  How did you run across the original post?

[karenweath]

He needs the speech issue addressed first and foremost.  That in itself will cause some anger issues from a very young age. It makes it hard for them to make friends and they often get put down for not being able to speak well. It really hurts their self-esteem.That would be my first priority. Speech therapy does WONDERS and its free through the school even as young as 3 years old. They do not have to be school-aged. There is a program if they are less than 3 where they will come to your house and work with him. I don't remember what it's called, but it is also free. He also needs some type of goal chart and whenever you catch him doing something good, whatever behaviors you want him to have, you put a sticker on the chart and at the end of the week he should get a reward for however many stickers he has. The more stickers, the bigger the reward. He needs firm boundaries and consistent consequences. My first son was just like you described.

[argarlap]

This is exactly the same same thing that is happening with our son. I will give it a try.

thanks

[Sandman2]

  Sorry I missed your post.  How old is your son?  How is he doing grade wise in school?  Oh,  and how old are your daughters?

[specialmom]

I personally feel that it is so helpful to identify when underlying things are going on and to address them.  Wow, did it change my son's world.  He has sensory integration disorder.  Labeling is one thing some mention as 'bad' but I feel so differently.  It is how I understand what my boy needs to feel good.  Early intervention makes all the difference in the world and I hope no one is ever afraid to do this for your child.  good luck to all

[Louiseemaxwell]

I went for a walk with my son along the beach today. The walk took around 45 mins.  He basically had one sentence that lasted that entire time, barely pausing for breath.  I think sometimes they just want to talk. My job for the whole walk was just to listen.

It was a great day. :O)

[Louiseemaxwell]

Calm down. don't beat yourself up.

really look at what is going on in your lives. When you are with your son, be present with him - don't make dinner, don't have tv or radio on. Demonstrate to him what it is like to be present, to listen to hear and to reflect.

Once you model this behaviour and these skills, he will follow. It will start with you.

[Louiseemaxwell]

Don't be so quick to label your kids with ADD.  I was the same with my son at first, but the truth is we are teaching our bright kids to divide their focus and attention all the time. This learned behaviour is them played out in the classroom and other activities. Your kid may just have learned to divide his attention across a multitude of activities, or expect a wide range of information from a number of sources.

We looked at home for the culprits - us!  we had the TV on during breakfast and dinner, and were still asking questions like 'Have you packed your school bag or how was your day.  Once we switched dinner to the dinner table and had the first 5mins of the meal no talking, our children were better able to focus on the activity in hand only, instead of dividing their attention constantly.

[melas]

my sons behaviour has gone down hill in the last 2 yrs. he is very aggressive towards me and his dad he does act out at scool but mostly at home he throws things and when they break he say i didn't mean it. i went to the docs last november about this and they have sent a letter to the hospital but we still waiting 4 a reply.. yesterday he pushed one of his teacher and has been given internal exclusion which he doesn't seem to care i am very worried about my 2 daughters safety when he does have one of his moments. should i get in contact with the doc again and demand that she does something about it as i am at the end of my tether with him.... when he is gd he very gd...

[Sandman2]

       As a retired elementary school principal, I can't believe that a teacher would be sending a kindergarten child to the principals office rather than working with the child.  Have you ever visited the classroom to see what is going on?
      Anyway, I also am the CL here - http://www.medhelp.org/forums/ADD---ADHD/show/175    ; Why not post here and we will have a discussion about the possibility of ADHD as he does show some of the symptoms.
     Oh, when did he turn 6?

[caseygirl1982]

This all looks so familiar. My son Logan is 6 yrs old. He's having so much trouble in school. It started in PreK not paying attention not taking naps and they'd put him in the hall alone :( Now in kindergarten he has trouble listening to direction, paying attention, he makes alot of loud noises repetitively when he gets annoyed or confused. Logan is so smart and sweet most of the time but really has this agressive other side to him. I hate to see him struggling so much. And the teacher is no help because she just gives him bad colors and sends him to the principals office. Our kids are not programed robots they are not all going to act the same that doesn't make them bad kids. I've wondered if Logan should be diagnosed with something I dont know if that would help or not. Maybe they'd try to understand and work with him differently? Good luck everyone. Good or bad ,rotten or sweet they are our children we must love them unconditionally and treat them with respect and patience.

[Sandman2]

   They could just be repeating what they observe from your daughters.  If you have concerns definitely talk with your doctor.  The sooner it is dealt with the better for the child.

[Sandman2]

   He has had a huge change in his life and - wow - Texas?   Thats an even bigger change.  He is only 7 and doesn't have the tools to express himself.  I would think the school would be a bit more understanding.   You might try talking with his teacher and telling her what a change it has been for your son.  Maybe she could find some other way to work with him.  
   Has he been in school since early Sept. or has he just recently been enrolled?   It makes a difference.
   You might try some books by Adolph Moser who is a psychologist that runs a holistic based youth center for kids with challenges.  Here are some of the titles-----------"Don't Pop Your Cork On Monday" and "Don't Rant and Rave on Wednesday" and "Don't Feed the Monster on Tuesday" and "Don't Despair on Wednesday" and "Don't tell a Whopper on Thursday" and "Don't Fall Apart on Friday" and "Don't be a menace on Sundays".  These are part of his emotional impact series and are written well with good illustrations
   And, I think, he really needs a friend if possible.  See if there is any one that you can invite over for a playdate.  
   If he did not have these problems in the UK, then a lot is definitely due to the change.

[mumwithfive]

I have two autistic daughters and im starting too see traits in my two sons very emotional wont concentrate have too repeat questions get obsessive about one thing like things done a particular way need an crave routine is anyone else experiencing this ?

[Edunn]

Like nearly everyone on this very long list, I have a 7 yr old son who has always been a bit of a handful. He is very clever, funny, kind, loving, and can be quite vulnerable at times. However he has since moving to Texas from the uk been getting into trouble more and more regularly at school. He gets easily distracted and likes to mess around and play fight with other boys but when he is told off, gets angry and struggles to control his reaction. This gets him into trouble with teachers who consider his reaction or in some cases attempts to argue with the teacher and explain the situation from his perspective disrespectful and inappropriate. He also gets into trouble for deciding he does not want to join in with certain activities in class like dancing or singing. Every time he reacts badly he is sent out of class and now he has been sent home! We talk with him daily about the right way to react and not to answer back when told off, but this makes no difference. If you shout at him or get frustrated he cries and tell you you are hurting his feelings so we talk calmly to him and try to get him to understand the impact of behaviour and that it is not his choice what to do at school. We are talking to the school psychologist and trying to make a difference but really do not know what the problem is or how to help him stop this. Help!

[tammy645]

I am looking for a supplement you decribed for my 7 yr old grandson the teacher says hes very smart but can t stay focased really concerned

[Sandman2]

   Thats interesting I have never heard of that.  You don't have a link to the study do you.  I would love to find out more.   I have seen lots that show no sugar link to hyperactivity - but nothing that ever looked at the type of sugar.  The idea that you could make anything good for you out of beets has always amazed me.  
   Anyway, the nice thing about diet changes is that  it is something that is can be done and modified till it works or it doesn't.  Thanks for the post.

[Marycary]

Haven't read the report you mention but  a British medical study in 2011 took 100 children with ADHD of various levels, (all statemented) and found 60% of them had a beet sugar intolerance, amongst others, but beet was the highest common factor. When removed from their diet, all children's level of ADHD reduced significantly. My son's behaviour has also improved considerably since removing it from his diet, and school pronounced it a miracle. Although we still have someway to go yet with his behaviour,  beet sugar continues to be avoided. There is bound to be a mineral / trace element factor involved in this difference of sugars and wish someone would establish what this  is, as Cane sugar seems to be fine.