ADHD or Gifted...Any parents who are questioning their kids too?

Question

My daughter (just turned 4) is in junior kindergarden and her teacher has referred us to a child development center to be assessed for ADHD. She is a VERY bright little girl who has problems sitting still and taking direction. Although I have read that ADHD kids can't concentrate on tasks. My daughter can color the same picture in extreme detail for at least an hour or read a book for an hour without losing her focus. She doesn't seem like a "gifted" child but has certain quirks about her such as an unbelieveable memory. She doesn't really need very much sleep and has disrupted sleep. She is an only child and is pretty spoiled as well. Her teacher is having difficulties with getting her to pay attention in class, unable to follow directions and will just get up and walk away when something else interests her. Anyone have any ideas or thoughts? Please don't make mean comments, this is my child and it would be hurtful if you made dumb comments just to get 2 points. Thank you!

Answer 1

A teacher who is concerned with the concentration abilities of a 4-year-old is not a very experienced teacher. My son is 8 and has ADHD, and it not the kind of thing you wonder about, it's really apparent if they have it.

I wouldn't worry about your daughter yet. Until she is old enough to read and is in regular school, she is not eligible to be fully evaluated for learning disabilities. A that young age, you can't expect kids, ESPECIALLY smart kids like yours, to be interested in the same stuff as all the other kids. If you're already paying for her to go to school, you might want to look into an accelerated program. They would be able to teach her things that would challenge her and hold her interest better. Good luck and don't worry!

Answer 2

You pretty much described myself and my wife as children. We both have some form of ADD, and are both taking Adderall for it. This isn't something she will probably every really grow out of. The symptoms you are describing do indeed sound like ADD. The fact that she can focus on coloring for a long period of time is not surprising. My wife is an amazing artist and very creative and can spend hours on a single project without blinking. However if you try to carry on a conversation with her she'll interrupt you every time. I have heard that ADD causes the brain to work too fast (sounds odd) so the fact that she is rather intelligent falls right in there also. However since her little brain is working so quickly it needs a lot of and the right kind of stimulation. I use to get snapped at all the freakin' time by my teacher in school, especially math. I learned to hate math. If it is presented to me in a practical manner instead of an abstract symbol that is suppose to have a quantity value I could care less. Good luck getting me to pay attention. When my wife was young her mom would get her puzzle books and she would spend hours solving them. Because her brain got the stimulation it needed she was far less likely to misbehave. Here are three things I think you should try. One, give her brain plenty of stimulation with puzzles of various kinds and drawing/coloring books. Two, talk to the teachers and see if they might be able to adapt their teaching style to make it more relevant and interesting to her and she will actually WANT to pay attention. Finally talk to your doctor about medication such as Adderall. NOT PROZAC, NOT RIDDLIN! If that is what you doctor wants to give her, he's an idiot, go find a new doctor. Doctors should have a checklist regarding ADD symptoms and should be able to prescribe meds based on that checklist. You may even want to look on the internet for an ADD specialist in your area. My wife found one doctor she went to that way. I hope this info helps. I know how hard it was for me growing up and being told I was lazy, stupid and that I needed to buckle down and do my school work. Anybody who knows me, knows I am not stupid...A little odd maybe, but not stupid.



Oh, one more thing, 80% of ADD cases are hereditary. Might be a good idea to look at all your relatives on both sides to see in anybody else has symptoms. The reason I say this is because a lot of my aunts and uncles have “busy hands.” They have to constantly be playing with something (I’m guilty) That’s another symptom of ADD.

Answer 3

I have ADD, and I was able to focus on things that I enjoyed such as reading and coloring. My ADD was a problem when I was about 7 and I couldnt keep my mouth shut or suppress my impulses. I think you should take her to the center, but just use it to gather info and possibly evaluate her. If she is four and reading, and coloring well then she is already ahead and so there really isnt anything negative being caused by possible ADD. If it later becomes a problem, you can deal with different treatments then.

Answer 4

I agree that four is really young for that kind of a diagnosis. I would start with trying to evaluate the sleep situation. Do you have an evening routine that prepares her for sleep? It is a good idea to set up a routine and try to do it at the same time each evening, getting her into a good routine of sleep (bathtime, read a book together, etc.). Lack of proper sleep may be causing some of the other problems.



Be consistent with her when it comes to behavior issues that happen in your presence. I think the book Parenting with Love and Logic could be helpful as well.



Daughters are such a special gift. Good luck with your precious one.

Answer 5

It is so hard to diagnose ADD or ADHD at that age. Four year olds are supposed to have trouble sitting still and taking direction. I would be very cautious to label her as ADHD without extensive diagnosis from a few different experts. If she colors or reads for an hour at a time, it sounds like her attention span is amazing! Maybe your daughter and the teacher just aren't clicking. That is more likely than ADHD, which is grossly overdiagnosed in this country!

Answer 6

hi, I have a 12 yr old Son whom is ADHD. During school he is on medication. When not in school such as weekend and recesses he isn't. If something really interests him he can put full attention to it. When not, forget about it. He is a very bright child. Just has a problem focusing!



It won't hurt her to be assessed for ADHD. She just might be Spoiled as you stated! I wouldn't worry about until she is in real school. However do it now. so that she won't miss out on school and disrupting class. As my son did in kindergarten.

Answer 7

4 is too young to be tested for ADHD or ADD. The studies I've read say until a child is about 10 it really hard to tell, one way or the other. Yes in some cases you can tell, but in a lot of cases you have to wait.



The SCHOOL, claimed my son might have ADHA or ADD, I didn't' think so, but the school, brought in a bunch of counselors and I agreed to have him test by their doctor, the test came back as needing more testing. I read the results and compared them to the chart that was attached, on ONE test he was borderline, the rest were normal. They pressured me to have him retested, they made all kind of promises, if he wasn't they would get him a little help in the areas that he was having trouble with, he needed some PT and OT and they would make sure he got help.

So I did have him retested by a Dr. recommended by my Dr. and one of the best in the state.



He wasn't and suddenly the school wasn't interested in him anymore, I'm paying for his PT and OT.



All the school wanted was a little check mark by his name saying he was ADD or ADHA and they'd get more money, a lot more, and they wouldn't have to do anything for it. After all he would just take a pill in the morning, (they won't give out meds in the school). When they found out it might cost them money they sudden didn't think there was a problem.



I'd have her Dr. check her out for her sleeping, keep an eye on her. And if she can't keep up on her school work, or she's have trouble in other areas then have her tested. But really I'd wait until she was at least 7 or 8 before I'd be too worried about it.



If she does come back with ADD or ADHD have her retested by a Dr. not connected with the school.



Then make your decision, if she need meds then she needs meds. The Dr. I took my son too said if he was ADD or ADHA he would prescribe meds, no question, but he added he had taken many kids off meds.



But, if you really look I think you’ll find she’s way too young for the test to be of any use.



Hope it helps, good luck.

Answer 8

It is true that a lot of ADHD children are in fact gifted. I was diagnosed with ADHD at six or seven and in the fifth grade I had an above college reading level, my nephew was also being told he had ADHD (my sister in law took him out of school and home schools now) and in first grade was reading at third or fourth grade level. He also at six years old said that he wanted to be a brain surgeon and when ask he he knew what one was gave a very detailed explanation of brain surgery and the job the surgeon does.



I do believe that children are wrongly labeled as ADHD when they are gifted and really ahead of the class and bored (like my nephew), but I also believe some out there are ADHD and gifted (Me).

Answer 9

part of it sounds to me like she's bored. she's not bored when she's reading a good book or enjoying coloring a picture. if you realistically think she has learning gifts, maybe the class isn't challenging enough. is she learning "new" material in class or does she already know it and it's a review?



another part may be just what you were hinting on. as an only child, there is a lot more freedom and probability of doing what you want, when you want to. at school, it's just not the same. you are expected to play/work with a group doing the same thing at the same time. you may want to talk with her a little and try to explain that at school, she may have to do activities when she doesn't want to do them. a perfect time to instill this idea is have her help you put away her clean laundry or dust nonbreakable furniture and such. but have her do it AS SOON AS you tell her - not when she wants to. it's not that she doesn't know how to do things or even dislikes doing them, she's just more interested in other things. just like any other 4 year old.



at this age, i think it's a waste of time and money to be tested for ADHD.

Answer 10

I was misdiagnosed with adhd when i was 6.. and put on ritalin when i was 7 or 8 (i'm 22 now so i dont rememeber when) but i do rememeber that the side effect of that was wetting my pants in school, but not at home.. the medicine made me not be able to know when i needed to pee. ur daughter is 4, its too young to tell until shes about 5 or 6.. get her tested then. but PLEAS dont put her on ritalin.. my peditrician told me when i asked him about it just to know.. that its the "MOST MISDIAGNOSED DISEASE IN CHILDREN AND MOST DOCTORS JUST PRESCRIBE RITALIN OR STRATTERA OR SOMETHING ELSE THAT DOESNT DO ANYTHING BECAUSE THE KID DOESNT HAVE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE." the only reason that was in caps is because my doctor said it, and 3 other doctors that i've asked said the same thing.. so i wanted it to be emphasized and i cant bold or italicize it.

Answer 11

hey! im 14 and i have ADHD. kids like me with adhd have a very hard time sitting still and paying attention. alot of people that dont have adhd dont relize just how hard it is for us to pay attention and sit still. we usally want to do something that intrests us! so if your boaring or we dont want to do something we tune it out and focus on something els. when she gets up and gose to do something els or cant pay attention she has no clue that she is actually doing that she feels its a regular thing every kid dose. when she is older i think you should get her medication. i take wellbutrin. i recently started conserta because i have been on wellbutrin scince 3rd grade and just dosent do the trick anymore! medication dose wonders for me and makes me calm down and make me pay attention to one thing. as she gets into 2nd and 3rd grade and the hard work starts comming she will start to get frusturated with her work and its very stressful! one of my teachers have 2 children with DHD and she understand everything about kids with it. she tells my mom some tips and kids with adhd like to speak there minds. so if they tell you " mom i really hate this project" try to understand and just tell her that you no she hates it but she needs to do it and then it will be out of the way. let her say what she thinks but when things she dose or says are just plain rude still disipin her. i like exsplaining my adhd to people who have it or have a child with it. i really hope i helped you...... also my mommy has a book called understanding girls with adhd. the book tells you everything you need to no about adhd. its written by kathleen nadeau. conserta.net has some good vidios about adhd also. goodluck!

Answer 12

some kids can concentrate when at home by themselves but get VERY distracted in a roomful of kids in a social environment.

Her behavior at home is not necessarily how she behaves at school. She may get overstimulated in that environment.

Answer 13

I work for a pharmisutical company that manufatures drugs for kids with ADHD, if you want to send me an email I'll send out info on ADHD to you . It sounds if she does have ADHD it is a mild case.