My six year old boy seems to have "Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder". What might be done? ?

Question

Short attention span, restless and inability to concentrate in class

Answer 1

Army mom gave you a good answer about the process.  Whether you choose to medicate or not is a personal decision based on your child.  As a teacher I have seen kids who function so much better with medication and kids who seem over-medicated or medicated unnecessarily. I've seen parents and schools push to medicate  children who are clearly normal.   It's true that six year-old boys have short attention spans.  Then there is the occasional child who cannot sit for a moment, say 1 or 2 minutes, even to listen while a short picture book is read aloud. There is a difference between normal restlessness and clinical hyperactivity.  There are alternatives to medication.  Google them and try them before you are encouraged to medicate your child.  If you choose to medicate please don't feel guilty, as this is your choice, and it isn't others business to judge you or your family.

Answer 2

Put him on fruits and veggies..healthy eating will help..

Answer 3

Cast your mind back to when you were 6 years old, did you concentrate for long or did you wander off into your own little world thinking about what you will do as soon as school is finished? That's what kids do so don't try hanging some crazy half baked name tag on him.

I bet you are an american

Answer 4

My 11 yr. old was just diagnosed w/this(mild, doc says) after years of troubles at school, etc. He was evaluated by a child psychologist. Now, he will begin his "therapy" w/same doc-mostly talking w/him. He does not want to start meds yet-we tried the Metadate(controlled release form) a couple years ago. It made him sleep even less, made him nauseous, etc. I would have a Dr. do an evaluation-may help you if trouble at school starts, my son was suspended, and it was a real nightmare last year. Don't rush into the meds-they don't help every child, I also don't like the "labels"-my son has anger issues, I'm sure are do to us(Dad and I) getting a seperation, among other issues. Good luck to you!!

Answer 5

Go to your doctor. He might be able to officially diagnose your kid with ADHD. If he really has ADHD it can be treated with drugs, such as retalin.

Answer 6

6 year old boys do have very short attention spans, and if they are active will find it hard to keep still. he sounds normal from the short info you have provided. you'd have to get professional diagnosis

Answer 7

All six year olds have short attention spans.  Many of them are restless and can't concentrate in class.  Most of them are this way because their teachers are boring and their classwork is meaninless to them.

If your son does not have these problems at home, he does not have ADHD.

Instead of labeling your child, check out his classroom.

All the best.

Answer 8

This is what you would need to do. go to his pediatrician, He/She will give you 2 forms to be filled out by you and one for the teacher. Once you both fill out the forms the pediatrician will evaluate them and compare his behavior at home and in school. My son has ADD not ADHD. He just cant focus in school. He is on a lowest dose of Concerta. At first he had a slight tummy ache and didn't feel like eating, after 2 weeks, he is fine. He has been on Honor roll for 2 years now. I know some people are against the drug and look for other alternatives, I was one of those parents and found nothing that helped. I've tried everything, even changing his diet. I know you don't give a hyper child sugar, but he wasn't hyper. One of my older boy's who is now 22 years old, took the meds at 7 years old because of ADD, he was only on it for 5 months then taken off and still did very well in school years later. He just need that boost in training his brain and learning to concentrate. Some may need to be on it longer. Don't worry, your pediatrician will monitor him every 4-6 months. Who would know better, but a doctor, Right?

Answer 9

We were asked to fill out those questionnaires during the year.  We have an active 6 year old son.  

I have taught for a long time and don't like medicating kids.  I would rather let them stand up and stretch every now and then.  No normal  6 year old boy should want to write at a desk for hours at a time.  

I am not convinced that ADHD can be effectively diagnosed by a questionnaire asking for symptoms.  Does your doctor diagnose any other disease this way?  Sometimes, when I have a few aches or creaks somewhere I go on the internet trying to figure out what is wrong with me.  After about an hour I can usually find, to my horror, that I have at least a few terrible diseases.  Of course, I don't actually have those diseases and if I go to my doctor and assure him that I have MS because I have tingling in my fingers etc he will laugh at me.  

In my case I knew my son happily read (or looked at) books quietly at home, played intently with his lego for hours, enjoyed drawing etc for long periods of time.  He was easy to manage and wasn't bouncing off the walls. He was very active, could be forgetful and loved being silly but I never felt I couldn't control him.    He loved climbing trees, playing in the park etc but was good at remembering safety rules, had no trouble fighting with others etc.

I discovered, to my horror, at the end of the year, that my son was in the lowest reading group in grade 1.  I knew my son was reading well for grade 1 at home with me every night out of our own books and library books.  

I had to get a loan on our line of credit to do it, but I was determined to find out what was going on.  I got my son fully evaluated by an educational psychologist.  He worked often for the board but we paid for it ourselves as the testing was our idea. The waiting lists are so long and my son was getting by well enough that I didn't think the school would test him.   (I found him through the provincial college of psychologists website).  When he first interviewed us and we described some of our son's in school behaviours he said it sounded like ADHD could be a concern.  I described him at home.  

The psychologist said ADHD kids could focus well if they were interested but testing would help to reveal some things.  He wouldn't dismiss ADHD.  The testing took over 3 hours and involved intelligence tests and academic testing in many areas.  

After testing we got his report.  He told us "I have no concern about ADHD.  Your son is the classic gifted child.  He is bored in school."

He finished very high in the testing,  He does, it turns out, have a problem with writing but that doesn't mean he can't read! His reading tested at grade 3.  Of course he was inattentive in the lowest grade 1 reading group.  He was completely bored.  

I thought my son was bright but I had never suspected he would do as well as he did.  I had hounded him all year about the notes from school, putting him in his room etc.  But he was so good at home, even doing homework without complain that I felt perplexed and bewildered.  It was as it some other boy were going to school, pretending to be my son.  

The psychologist's findings and designations of gifted and LD in writing will be presented to the school and they have to accept them. My son can be programmed for, not drugged.  The psychologist also gave me advice about activities etc that can help my son develop his writing skills.  As he is so young he is at a great age to work with and there is a likelihood that with practice and help he will no longer have this disability in a couple of years.  

I don't object completely to ADHD diagnosis but why is it so often the first diagnosis for inattentive children?   Once the medication is started, often in grade 1, the child is kept on it for years.  A bright, enthusiastic child is often just drugged into submission.  The side effects can be completely unfair and very young children may not be adequately able to describe all the side effects.  Drugging a young child should be a last resort, not a first.  Because filling out a questionnaire is free for the board and psych testing is over $2000 they opt for the easier path.  That doesn't make it right.

I didn't want to borrow the $2000 dollars.  We will be full year paying it back.  But even if the diagnosis had been ADHD I would have felt that I had done my best for my child.

Answer 10

well first, you should be sure that he has this condition by consulting professionals. There are medications like Strattera and other for this condition nowadays..