3.5 yr boy, behavorial or medical?

[Meleia]

My 3.5 yr. grandson seems happy and well adjusted but so out of control.  No temper-tantrums really just constantly talking, moving, getting into things he knows he's not allowed, picking on his 5 yr brother, never sitting still, always has to have everyones undivided attention and over excited.  We have used quite a few discipline techniques consistantly but no success. He turns around and starts doing the same thing again. He does sleep well (thank goodness), 8pm-6am and a nap every day.  He gets individual attention and his nursery school teacher says he is very smart just routy and a busy body(and extremely cute!). My daughter is a great mother and is at her wit's end.  She and the father are now divorced but maintain a good parenting relationship and the father is actively involved in the children's life.  Both parent's nature is laid back and patient, but this is definitly trying.
Lately we have noticed the grandson's hair thining in the crown and a hollowed look under his eyes so my daughter has been giving him a vitamin and Voot (vegetable supplement) every day.  For the past year he has had a recurring swollen cyst like on the back of his head/neck.  It comes and then goes.  He had his 3 yr. check up not long ago and everything came up fine.
Also, when he was conceived, his father had a meth addiction (he is now 2 yrs sober and doing great) could this in some way affect the child physically in any way? (My daughter left him when she learned of his addiction and was 5 months pregnant.)
Please help.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Yes, intrauterine drug exposure can certainly have an influence on a child's development, but at this point it is a moot point because it is water over the dam, so to speak, and there is no intervention to address it. Now, it is possible that this little boy will ultimately be diagnosed with a hyperactivity syndrome, but it's really too early to settle on that issue because you'll have to see how his development proceeds over the next couple of years. In the meantime, straightforward limit setting and discipline (when rules are broken) is very important. Your description of his physical health indicates that there may be a problem. Did the doctor order any lab work?

[aam9]

if the mother takes anti depressent drugs (lexotanil) in poregnancy does it hurt the child?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Lexatanil (Bromazepam) is a bedzodiazepine. It is an anxiolytic, not an antidepressant. And yes, there is risk to the unborn child if this medicine is taken during pregnancy. There is also risk if it is taeken during lactation.