All About ADHD : Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

[nansk]

I agree 100% with ammonite’s post. 3 is too young to conclude that your active child has ADHD. If the teacher is complaining then that means he/she is not equipped or experienced to handle active little kids. Why do they expect 3 yo kids to sit quietly and listen in a class for 2 hours?


Take him out, let him explore his world. If you want to do educational stuff, do it orally while allowing him to move around. Let him stand/hop/bounce on a ball/whatever around you and talk to him. E.g. tell him, while he’s hopping, "A makes the sound ‘ah’". Or ask, "If I give you 1 chocolate and jie-jie gives you 2 chocolates, how many chocolates will you have?" That sort of thing. Or let him use manipulatives (phonics tiles, things to count and add, etc) for hands-on experience.

[jedamum]

The educator’s feedback should also be used to reflect on how you think the environment or upbringing could have caused the kid to be on the active side of the spectrum. Even genes.

We had our feedback to get professional help when son was before 3. On reflection, it was my poor parenting that somehow caused his inability to focus. His dad’s genes too - the dad is always on the go (brushing teeth and playing phone games at the same time!). We looked into his diet, introduced fish oil and omit sweets and removed tv at that time. He lacked eye contact previously and had speech delay too due to partial ear block. My husband said that that could be the reason that he was in his own world as he could not hear well.
He was supposed to be discharged last year, adhd ruled out, but Iwanted to have one more consultation this june. Feedback from his p1 form teacher, he is coping well and can assists teachers on assigned tasks.
Previously, I worked very closely with his preschool teacher to get him to do school work within reasonable standards. His outgoing kindy principal was also amazed at his transformation.
If Adhd is ruled out, looking into your parenting techniques and establishing a workable routine, with consistency, lots of encouragement and hugs, works wonders.

[missk]

Wow… Thanks for the many good advice. You won’t believe how much it made me reflect. Yes, Adhd can only be diagnosed after 6. Regardless, parenting is important.


At home, he is really active but we channel it into active play at playground, going for walks and what schools might call learning trips to nearby places. We even try our best to adapt to it to suit his energy level as it flows and ebbs through the day… Such as active play in morning and evening, and quiet activities in afternoon and evenings. Guess we will incorporate "resistence training" and focused physical activities more! Unfortunately, we are evening and weekend parents… Less control over kids.

Omg, he eats sweets… Loves them!

Now, grandparents won’t believe us regarding firm boundaries and tv… I can talk till my face is blue and only recently they agree not to let him watch tv after all the things he did in school.

His school is very good, not too focused on academics, and incorporate a fair bit of hands on learning. Only criteria not met is class size… Way too stimulating for my excitable, curious, impulsive and extremely outgoing boy. We can’t afford those premium preschools, so we choose church kindy. Unfortunately 1-2 worksheets also required daily ( and he gets so angry with with it that he even tore it in school). At home, he can do worksheets bcos we only choose the fun ones. Maybe we are too accommodating.

Genes… Well my father I always suspected, has Adhd. I am active but normal, my husband’s fave place is the couch. Haha.

[missk]

But school does expect sitting!! All his classmates sit beautifully. My son stands up to listen to story or lessons that he likes! He even walks around acting out the characters… Which is viewed as disruptive right? I know its not his fault, he was born with too much energy, but how do I tell teachers that he was already trying his best to sit? His bum is sharp loh…

[Coolkidsrock2]

jedamum:

The educator's feedback should also be used to reflect on how you think the environment or upbringing could have caused the kid to be on the active side of the spectrum. Even genes.

We had our feedback to get professional help when son was before 3. On reflection, it was my poor parenting that somehow caused his inability to focus. His dad's genes too - the dad is always on the go (brushing teeth and playing phone games at the same time!). We looked into his diet, introduced fish oil and omit sweets and removed tv at that time. He lacked eye contact previously and had speech delay too due to partial ear block. My husband said that that could be the reason that he was in his own world as he could not hear well.
He was supposed to be discharged last year, adhd ruled out, but Iwanted to have one more consultation this june. Feedback from his p1 form teacher, he is coping well and can assists teachers on assigned tasks.
Previously, I worked very closely with his preschool teacher to get him to do school work within reasonable standards. His outgoing kindy principal was also amazed at his transformation.
If Adhd is ruled out, looking into your parenting techniques and establishing a workable routine, with consistency, lots of encouragement and hugs, works wonders.

Agree with Jedamum that the educator's feedback should be used as a form of reflection. A friend of mine ignored till it was a bit too late and more intensive intervention is required.

Consider cutting down on electronic games. There are scientific research that it will further aggravate the condition as prolonged exposure causes the brain to develop/wire up the wrong way, ie some parts over-developed, others under-developed.

[jedamum]

Mine too. Needles on his bum.

He got a very good teacher for N2 and made marked improvement. His stricter teacher in N1 and k1 led him to be frequent patron of naughty corner. I did not try to defend him, I just reinforced that he should try to follow instructions. He got irritable at times but he is also easy to pacify. So he gets plenty to hugs and cheer at home together with appropriate discipline - I am a sahm, so easier for me.

His teacher let him sit at the back of the class so he wouldn’t block his peers when he stood up. I did a lot of scenarios anticipation with him, until there was a period of time he opened his mouth with "my mummy says…"

You should cut back on sweets and electronic games till older. My boy gets easily irritable after we lax in game timing over the holidays. I put my foot down and now he gets 20min alternate day game time. However, to occupy his time and manage his energy is a full time job. I need to be constantly ahead of him.

[ammonite]

Agree with Jedamum too!


I see a difficulty for the grandparents- how to look after him without TV and electronic games. To be honest, not many grandparents can run after a child or come up with a routine for the child. The whole idea is new to most of them and physically taxing. I have met a couple of exceptions, and they are generally retired teachers.

You may have to help plan the day, or get someone in to do things with your kid when he is at home after school, and before you return from work. On weekends, spend some time with him on building toys or some indoor activities, so that at some point, he will be able to use them independently without help or supervision and that can be his after school activities.

It may be hard to cut tv out totally. What you can do instead is to stock more suitable shows and limit the time to 30min. Programmes that move at a slower pace, have clear speech, and encourages the child to think, are better than loud noisy fast shows. Eg are Blue’s Clues and Wonderpets. Ideally someone should watch with the child and explain the show until the child is able to follow the storyline.

At that age, I think they also like to play "house". You can get him a play tent and some kitchen toys and he can set up house for the afternoon. Grandma may find that easier to relate to and play along.

[nansk]

In addition to cutting TV and sweets, you may want to try the other thing jedamum mentioned - Omega-3 fish oil. Buy a good quality brand (with no added sugar) with dosage appropriate for children. We buy Nordic Naturals.

Another food that I have read helps kids to calm down and focus, is a little coffee every morning.
Also, I read http://www.younglivingsuccess.com/2009/08/essential-oils-for-add-and-adhd.html about essential oils used to massage the feet at bedtime. I bought Cedarwood EO, and Lavender EO from a trusted local supplier, http://www.milagrotrading.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=16&zenid=cc12105bd1268c3f0a8759cd90f00265 and mix it with rice bran oil from NTUC Fairprice (10 drops of each EO for every 60 ml of rice bran oil). Not sure if it really helps, but it cannot harm, right? It definitely aids in getting deep, restful sleep. You may want to try this option.
Also, to add, we noticed more focus and readiness to learn after the age of 6. So hang in there; it will get better.

[missk]

Thanks for the very helpful suggestion, my child is taking fish oil and also vits, maybe will try the EO… My childcare arrangement is unfortunate… As working parents we need helpfrom grandparents, and he shuttles between school and 2 sets of grandparents. So there it’s no consistency in routine and discipline. My Father in law and my own mum are very good with him ( in terms of relationship) but as elderly folks, they have less energy to keep up with this very active boy. Unfortunately, he gets almost no discipline from my father and MIL… Almost gets away with murder.


Given his personality, he is not fully ready for school so we can’t put him in full day CCC. Can you imagine my young boy having to internalize 4 sets of boundaries from his various caretakers?

[missk]

Does anyone think it’s a good idea to put him in afternoon session CCC with less academics demand, and then maybe I can try arrange my work to spend more time with him doing educational activities, trips and worksheets in the mornings? At least he won’t spend all the time in school being expected to sit still and do worksheets that he maybe do independently?