All About ADHD : Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

[Littlefly]

Mummies, how are ADHD diagnosed here?


My child has been referred to see a specialist but i was told early intervention helps in his learning. We were initially skeptical and reluctant to send him for review though he did display ADHD-like symptons but we thought its common for active kids to behave like that.

Recently, his kindy told us he has learning disabilities and has assigned a social worker to work with us. Arrgh…

How would early intervention help ?

Would that labelling of ADHD hurt more then help ?

[jedamum]

Littlefly:

Mummies, how are ADHD diagnosed here?


My child has been referred to see a specialist but i was told early intervention helps in his learning. We were initially skeptical and reluctant to send him for review though he did display ADHD-like symptons but we thought its common for active kids to behave like that.

Recently, his kindy told us he has learning disabilities and has assigned a social worker to work with us. Arrgh...

How would early intervention help ?

Would that labelling of ADHD hurt more then help ?

how old is your child and what kind of learning disabilities?

specialist cannot make diagnosis for ADHD for kids below 7yrs old (they can rule out, but they cannot confirm diagnosis for kids below this age). from our last appointment with our specialist, the therapist concluded that my boy is high energy and not possibly ADHD and asked if we want to discharge from NUH. we asked for a last appointment next year for final assessment when kid starts Primary 1 (we dont want p1 teacher to jump back at us to go back to seek 2nd opinion on his behaviour, and then start queuing again).

my ds2's teacher and principal appeal for us to seek 2nd opinion when he was just in Nursery 1. i admit that he behaved a bit quirky and lack in eye contact. he made marked improvement when he hit the 3.5yo mark and made tremendous progress (including seatwork, reasoning skills...even remembering friend's names, he could only at end of K1) that his teachers and the Principal are very impressed. i reflected on my parenting skills, instilled some/major changes in our life to thinking back, feel very emotional (with pride) when i see how far my little boy has come to since he first got 'labelled'. however, his speaking ability never take off (he had speech delay).

ours could be a case of misdiagnosed (that son is never ADHD to start with), or he is at the end of the spectrum, or just high energy, or bad parenting skills, or he responded well to my regime...i don't know. but i can share with you what i did.

u can pm me if u just want to talk.

[Littlefly]

Jedamum, thanks for ur kind offer.


My boy is 5 this year. Haven’t met w social worker yet but he has alot of challenges w writing.

Not sure if he has dysgraphia coz he writes with a lot of effort n v slowly.

My boy has been v active or can be hyper. Lacks focus n concentration. Interrupts conversation. Hates boring, repetitive tasks n cant sit quietly to do work or play by himself. V high maintenance.

I tried playing games to challenge him like who moves/talks first lose and he has never won. He can’t sit still or stop talking. If he’s quiet, either he has dozed off or having high fever. He can self entertain himself n talk to himself while his classmate are napping. He can focus if he’s building his Lego. Otherwise he can’t stop fidgeting.

I don’t know if that’s poor parenting by us. He tries to obey instructions but only for a while then reverts back to ‘misbehaving’. I used to brush it off until his GP recommended us to have him assessed coz he was still behaving in a hyper manner when unwell.

I read that if it doesnt impact a child’s learning then it’s not ADHD.

[fifiyeo]

Littlefly:

Jedamum, thanks for ur kind offer.


My boy is 5 this year. Haven't met w social worker yet but he has alot of challenges w writing.

Not sure if he has dysgraphia coz he writes with a lot of effort n v slowly.

My boy has been v active or can be hyper. Lacks focus n concentration. Interrupts conversation. Hates boring, repetitive tasks n cant sit quietly to do work or play by himself. V high maintenance.

I tried playing games to challenge him like who moves/talks first lose and he has never won. He can't sit still or stop talking. If he's quiet, either he has dozed off or having high fever. He can self entertain himself n talk to himself while his classmate are napping. He can focus if he's building his Lego. Otherwise he can't stop fidgeting.

I don't know if that's poor parenting by us. He tries to obey instructions but only for a while then reverts back to 'misbehaving'. I used to brush it off until his GP recommended us to have him assessed coz he was still behaving in a hyper manner when unwell.

I read that if it doesnt impact a child's learning then it's not ADHD.

ADHD will have its impact on a child's learning depending on how serious and the IQ level of a child. Some kids can mask it for a much longer period of time as their grades don't show initially. But eventually it will due to their lack of focus and the heavy workload from school.

All ADHD kids have average and above IQ scores. If they don't clear their IQ test, they are not ADHD from my understanding.

Although there is no cure, it will get better will age. Something to look forward to.

[jedamum]

Littlefly,

You are right to state that if it does not impact learning, they cannot rule adhd. My boy scored high in academic areas as being my second kid, I have experience and resources to give him a headstart. Being a sahm helps too.

His chinese teacher note that he is busy minding his friends and not paying attention in class. But he knows his stuff, so it makes a difference.huge difference compared to the days when he was blur and could not speak - I got feedback everyday wrt this and really felt demoralize. We are very fortunate to subsequentlymeet great teachers who know how to handle him. And gave him plenty of encouragement and praises. He did get into major troublewith one of the classmates but thank goodness the parents were very forgiving when we apologised.

My boy is never lethargic when sick. He behave normally. Just behave like my elder boy in his normal mode.

I give my boy fish oil supplements that claims to enhance concentration level. He does not eat sweets or snacks. Strict tv regime too.

[jedamum]

Fifiyeo

Yes, there is no cure, but our consolation is, there is a wayto go about continuing to function if it is not too severe. It involves lifestyle changes, expectation management. Not knowing how our little one will turn out one day, but knowing that he will face an uphill task if he requires additional help, to us, at this moment, we want to build good self esteem and positive outlook in life. With these traits, he can face future challengeswith more confidence.

[Littlefly]

I was a bit down when it seemed that my child could be ADHD. His is my elder boy and i have no basis for comparison until i have my younger boy who is relatively more manageable and able to sit by himself and play quietly sometimes. At least there are peaks and dips, you know, unlike the elder boy who is like a spinning dynamo.


I am probably in denial as his teachers had been complaining alot. We switched school and same issues surfaced. I saw some of his classmates are equally cheeky and active and thought there is no problem here at all until the ‘wake-up’ call from school on his learning difficulties. Is it a standard practice for teachers to compliment the kids to be ‘clever, intelligent, learns very fast’ ? yet at my boy has learning disabilities. It just don’t add up…

[beanbear]

Littlefly:

I was a bit down when it seemed that my child could be ADHD. His is my elder boy and i have no basis for comparison until i have my younger boy who is relatively more manageable and able to sit by himself and play quietly sometimes. At least there are peaks and dips, you know, unlike the elder boy who is like a spinning dynamo.


I am probably in denial as his teachers had been complaining alot. We switched school and same issues surfaced. I saw some of his classmates are equally cheeky and active and thought there is no problem here at all until the 'wake-up' call from school on his learning difficulties. Is it a standard practice for teachers to compliment the kids to be 'clever, intelligent, learns very fast' ? yet at my boy has learning disabilities. It just don't add up...

You might consider seeing an Occupational Therapist first before seeing an Educational Psychologist. An OT can do a preliminary diagnosis and let you know what therapy is needed, if the child needs. From my personal experience, OT will share with you how the nervous system may be affected such that the child is not able to regulate their other functions. Doing certain specific exercises can help the child to regulate their energy and their attention.

[fifiyeo]

Littlefly:

I was a bit down when it seemed that my child could be ADHD. His is my elder boy and i have no basis for comparison until i have my younger boy who is relatively more manageable and able to sit by himself and play quietly sometimes. At least there are peaks and dips, you know, unlike the elder boy who is like a spinning dynamo.


I am probably in denial as his teachers had been complaining alot. We switched school and same issues surfaced. I saw some of his classmates are equally cheeky and active and thought there is no problem here at all until the 'wake-up' call from school on his learning difficulties. Is it a standard practice for teachers to compliment the kids to be 'clever, intelligent, learns very fast' ? yet at my boy has learning disabilities. It just don't add up...

Accept your boy as he is and take time to relook the lovely side of him and his talents. Do not let this ADHD thing take you down. It won't be an easy path but if you hang in there and work on him and around his positive points, it will be ok eventually.

[baobei]

Littlefly, did you change son’s school due to being asked by teacher? My boy’s form teacher called and suggested that he may not be suitable for the environment and suggested to find him a place suitable for him. Do you get such calls from teachers? Do teacher call to feedback how disruptive the child is in class once per term or they would give frequent feedbacks after knowing child having ADHD?