Do my 3yr old son have add/adhd

[Daddad]

His preschool teacher says its hard for him to stay in the line, he goes from toy to toy, he runs looking the other way and collides into other kids,he sometimes cant sit and listen to a book reading gets up and start playing with toys. She says he will not do these things if he has someone watching him and telling him to do otherwise, but hes the only child hes use to us guiding him he just started preschool Dec 1. 2007 should i be concerned, should i take him to get evauated or should i change schools???? PLEASE HELP???

[goncrazee]

I think your son is acting like a 3 yr old should.  They are hyper  and dont alyways listen. i had the same problem with my son  when he was three. Nowadays some teachers dont know how to deal with '"hyper" kids so automatically they are ADD or ADHD. he is too young to be tested . I did medicate my son at a very early age and i truly regret it . one doctor told me that the agression he has now does come from years of different meds. at age 9 he has been dianosed with a mood disorder. i wish you the best of luck !!

[SueNYC]

That is still alot of kids for a three year old to negotiate.  At least he likes the school.  I wouldn't get to hyper about it yet - if you go in now they might even start pushing the drugs earlier.  When your child is about to start Kindergarten I would sit down and have a heart to heart with his teacher.  I would ask her to keep a communication notebok.  It might help if you have pre-printed sheets that go over his class schedule and then she puts a smiley face, or a sad face, or a w for warning.

My son is in fourth grade and his is:

unpack
independent reading
math
recess
social studies sciences

and whatever speciality class he has that day - and then she makes the symbol and puts a coment if something went wrong.  Don't accept he had a bad day and let it go - ask for specifics so that you can wrap arounfd in your head why he is getting distracted.

My kid was a terror - an absolute terror - an unless he is showing signs of autism I would relax.  Dr. Barkley has the preferred method of dealing with ADHD ny most clinics.  Dr. Cook is a good approach for the more holistically minded.  I am not against meds - they worked for one kid and not the other.    

[Daddad]

im sorry its like 20 kids in one room i counted today and its like 4 aides that help he i there from like 9 to 5 and his baby sitter he dont wanna go back there he says he rather go to school.

[SueNYC]

that is a large preschool group for a three year old.  Ho many classroom aides are there?

[portuguese mom]

I think that 10 to 15 kids is too big a group for a 3 year old that never was exposed to many other kids in a school.  Is there more that one person that takes care of these 10 to 15 kids?  I believe that he should be with someone that takes care of 6 kids at his age (maximum of 8), most of all if he is having issues.  How many hours is he in this school? Did his old babysitter tell you that he was having issues of hyperactivity and paying attention when he was with her? He probably is overwhelmed by the size of his class and the length of his day ( I am assuming that you are keeping him there 8 to 10 hours so that you can work).  I would find a smaller environment. Or see if the old babysitter (assuming you like and trust her) can take him back and he only attends this school 3 or 4 hours per day. Good luck and God Bless you.

[Daddad]

his class is like 10 to 15 kids i will wait it out i think hes cool just like any other kid and he came straight out of a baby sitter she never took him out side he stayed in the house til we picked him up she didnt let him play around in the house either so i think he just getting and immature about how to act with a bunch of kids hes the only child he not use to alot of kids and a big paly area so i think he just for right now think hes in chucky chesse am i right or wrong?

[portuguese mom]

He just started this school and maybe he is not used to it.  Is his class size small such as no more than 6 or 8 children? is the teacher organized?  He is too young to be tested. I would try another school with small class size, organized schedule and calm environment. If he still is hyper and not paying attention (age appropriate) when he is 4 to 4.5 years old, and the new school complains too, I would get him evaluated by a private ADHD doctor and also by your school district.  He is only 3, he is a boy and may not mature enough for his age. Give him time to mature. Good luck.

[SueNYC]

Well, I have two with ADHD.  One goes to a special school with costs 50K a year (which we have to sue the state over) and one just sees her psychiatrist for her adderall once a month.  I didn't medicate my daughter until she was 7 and my sone had horrendous reactions to the medications (becoming manic and aggressive).

If you want get your child evaluated - but please do it carefully.  States tend to over diagnosis children - so see a professional first.