speech delay

[bebololee]

my son was diagnosed when he was 1 year old with adhd. now he is 2 years old and is showing several signs of late development especially in speech. does this confirm the diagnosis?

[Melissa0116]

I do not think a child can be diagnosed with ADHD at 1 years old.  They have not even developed the understanding to concentrate on a specific thing for more than a couple of minutes.  My son was a wonderful, patient, and could concentrate till he was about 5 years old.  That is when we first saw some signs, and he went to preschool and had no problems.  It was when he started Kindergarten, when he actually was diagnosed and the problems were definitely there then.  

My cousin has a little boy that was diagnosed with speech delay when he was 2.  They were concerned when he was 1, but the doctor told them to wait at least till he was 2 and could develop more.  Once he reached 2, and still was not talking then they enrolled him in speech therapy and now he talks your ear off.  He is 4 now.  Some children are slower than others.  I would talk to your doctor or get a second opinion.  At 1 years old, they should NOT go on any meds for ADHD.  This would harm the child severely at that age.  Their little bodies cannot handle the stimulation that the meds are used for.  I just cannot believe that a Doctor would even diagnose a child at such a young age.  I mean they still did not even lose all or sometime any of their baby teeth and as far as being hyperactive, what 1-2 year old isn't.  I would definitely get a second opinion.  

[Sandman2]

I guess it is possible to diagnose a child with ADHD at One, but I never have heard of it.  And given the way its typically diagnosed, I would say its almost impossible to do with any degree of reliability.  Are you sure it was ADHD he was diagnosed with?  And late development does not confirm the diagnosis in my opinion.  There are several other things that could be going on - like autism for example.  You need to talk with the doctor in charge and figure out what is going on.  If it is something like autism, the sooner it is identified and treated, the better the chances for recovery.