how do you go about testing for adhd

[twomoms]

my 3 yr old has also been having some behavior issues...it started when he was younger and now is suddenly getting worse...now he will bang his head against walls and the floors wich leave bruises on his face he also grabbs his face and pulls at his skin and that leaves other bruises as well... he destroys his toys bites wheels off of cars and then they are gone which leads me to believe that he is eating them. and he has a hard time following a simple direction of leave your drink on table or give me that crayon. he is so smart though the thing that kills me is he will tell me elyjah was mad so i hit my head on wall mom. at school he doesnt listen or he keeps his class up during nap... he has a hard time following the directions there too and its a head start. i just tried to call my pediatrician and they said to call a behavioral mental heath facility and they wont treat children under 5 and my boy is only 3. i now feel like im stuck in this corner with no way out.. how do you keep your 3 yr old from hurting his self and at the same time trying to stay sain during all this time?


This discussion is related to Does my 3 and a half year old have ADHD?.

[shanchef]

I am not a doctor by any means, but does your child make eye contact with you? does your child play with toys appropriately? How well does he talk? If he doesn't like making eye contact, or play with his toys the way other children play with toys, has any speech delays, you could look into Autism. My 5 yr old son was just diagnosed with it, he is very functional, but I have had a lot of behavioral issues with him. No matter what is going on with your child always remember that you as a mother know your child, If you feel that there is something wrong don't give up if at first you don't find answers! You are going to be your childs only advocate, and doctors, teachers, may all to tell you not to worry about it, they will or might grow out of it. I fought for over a year trying to find out what was wrong with my son, I finally got a Resource Teacher at his School to listen to me and she had him tested. My Doctor thought his speech delay was due to ear infections, at least he was hoping that was what it was. Your best bet is to start with a Child Psychologist, call your insurance company and tell them that you need one that can work with a 3 yr old. They have all the information to find out if they work with that age group, there are some out there! It might take a little bit finding one don't give up, you may even have to call a few before you find one that is accepting new patients, or even one that will call you back if you have to leave a message. I found a psychiatrist for my oldest daughter when she was 3 it was difficult but with the help of my Insurance company we found one, She has a mood disorder, she is now 8 and quite stable. No matter what you do don't give up if you feel something is wrong! I am having issues with my now 3 yr old son thinking he may be ADHD that is how I came across your post. I am looking into changing all of my childrens diets, I think that it might have something to do with all of their behavior. Good Luck. I hope that all you will end up finding out is that he is going through a phase.

[HELPAMOMMY]

YEAR OLD SON, AND HE IS DOING THE SAME THING. HITTING AND SPITTING, AND NOT LISTENING. HE JUST GOT A THREE DAY SUSPENSION AT DAYCARE!!! WHAT AM I TO DO? I CALLED THE DOCTOR(NOT PED) WE HAVE AN APPT. TODAY. I DID YELL AND SPANK HIS LITTLE BOOTY. ( LIGHTLY MAY I ADD) JUST TO SHOW HIM THAT THIS BEHAVIOR IS UNACCEPTIBLE!  I EVEN TRYED THE TALKING TOO APPROCH. NOPE THAT DON'T WORK EITHER.. I HAVE A FEELING HE HAS A CHEMICAL EMBALANCE.  HELP PLEASE!!!!

[lancelover2u]

You know this is a hard one.  I also have unruly children but some of the behaviors he is presenting seems like there is an underlying cause or a bigger problem not yet addressed.  At three, it is normal for a child to throw tantrums, but self inflicting pain on oneself is usually a good indicator there may be more than meets the eye.  If I were you, I would take him to see a counselor of sorts.  Go with him of course, maybe tape one of these episodes and see what a doctor says.  It may be something easy to solve, but it is better to find out rather than wait until it's too late.  I hope this helps a bit