Loud and attention seeking 6 year old

hello all,

I would like your opinion on this.
I have a lovely 6 year old girl however I am experiencing a lot of behaviour problems with her.  She is generally VERY loud and as a result of this her voice is always strained and very deep.
She shouts a LOT and is generally very noisy.  

She also looks for a lot of 'negative' attention. If I have visitors/relations she will do ANYTHING for attention.  This includes bad language (which is not allowed at home) or she will shout/scream at me, or her brothers.  She has an older and a younger brother but they are not like this.

I find too she has a problem sitting still at the table (she moves around a lot) whereas we always sit as a family for dinner.

Looking back she has always been like this but we passed it off saying that she was very small however this is now becoming unbearable and I feel that people do not like her.  I really want to try and solve this for her own sake.
She is a bit hyperactive too however she is a good sleeper and I do NOT have any concentration problems at schoo.

Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks

Margaret

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Margaret,

A couple of things might be useful. First, be sure to set limits on the types of behavior you don't wish to tolerate. It's on thing to be loud - it's another thing to misbehave. When your daughter violates your rules, at any decibel, be sure to intervene.

Second, she may display Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Overactivity and loud, frequent talking often typifu such youngsters. Don't rush headlong into such a diagnososis, but be aware it's a possibility. Some children are, by nature, rather loud, though they don't really dispalay any emotional disorder or condition.