Has anyone ever pointed out the bright red flags to a parent concerning their child? I have a child I need to do this for. I don't want to diagnose the child to Mom but I did see this list: http://www.livescience.com/22362-adh...oms-guide.html and was going to paste some of their "red flags" into a list for her and suggest she consult her physician about it or keep an eye on it as the child is about to enter Kinder.

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Would it be inappropriate to print this off and highlight the issues he has? (Every single symptom of hyperactivity and impulsivity for the past 12 months)
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/at...adhd-symptoms/

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I'm sorry I do not mean to come off as offensive but every.single thing on that list is what I consider normal behavior for a child under 5.

I totally understand the statistics saying that 1 in 11 school age kids have ADHA but I personally believe that only a small fraction of those 1 kids actually have it.

The rest mostly suffer from parental attention deficit.

My DS's Kindy teacher was insistent that my DS had ADD/ADHD. Her number one reason for this "diagnosis" was that he talked too much, talked out of turn and moved a lot.

Um Yeah, he's a boy
He my "chatty" family gene
He is 5 and new to "group" social norms

I'm sorry .......I went off topic and I am NOT implying that you are doing this but I just feel as though ADD/ADHD has become an umbrella diagnosis for pretty much everything now days and that makes me sad.

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We have VERY busy boys here and I am totally not one to diagnose or suggest anything of typical busy boy behavior but this child literally is pinging off the walls. I wish I could explain it better than I am...but he is practically levitating with so much energy. He has the energy, at all times, of at least 3 children and it is not normal. He is 5.5. The list on the second link I provided really describes him and he cannot control himself at all. He gets in trouble every single meal time because he is UNDER the table, ON the table, TWIRLING his chair around, SPINNING in his chair, etc. I get fidgeting while eating, bouncing in chair, but he cannot stop himself from being completely crazy. He likes to eat standing up now because of it so he can bounce and jiggle all over the place without causing harm to himself or others.

He DOES talk out of turn ... which is not abnormal.
He IS chatty ... but I take that to mean he likes us.
He DOES move a lot ... but it can't be stopped. At all. As in, he can't just be. He is practically doing flips at all times. That, I guess, is where my concern stems from. It doesn't much matter here but I DO worry about him in Kinder.

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Sticky situation....I will say not it is not your place UNLESS...

*You are unable/unwilling to provide for his needs. *He is having issues with playing with other kids/cannot form bond or friendships with other kids in your care. *If he is annoying everyone due to his behaviors, and his hyper-ness create bad feelings & frequent/constant negative interactions with his peers*

I have had a ton of off the wall boys (one called Mr Molecule, nicknamed for his constant vibration of energy). A few of them kicked out of traditional daycares because they(the boys) could not handle it.

Only one actually ended up with an ADHD dx...and it wasn't my Mr Molecule. But by and large our days were positive & everyone got along (minus the normal spats). Just lots of redirection and setting things up for success and not failure.

Also, my Mr Molecule had a huge maturity spurt the summer prior to K. I would have never thought he would make it through K, without a teacher telling him to go play in traffic. I loved him to pieces, such a sweetie, but he was exhausting.

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I have ADD, was not diagnosed when younger
My daughter has ADD was diagnosed when younger
The learning trouble that could've been avoided for me would have been immense!
My daughter did not have to endure that.
I personally would give dcm the list, explain what you've witnessed. Any antidotal with dates and times would be helpful. This way you'll be giving dcm heads up to the possibility that he may in fact have ADHD. Dcm can then begin to watch for herself, and better yet, have him diagnosed by a physician before kindergarten.
If dcm decides to ignore it, but then it gets brought up again when he's in kindergarten, then you've done your part.

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I would present that info to DCM. Tell her he will not sit still, stop moving etc.

Don't lead her in any direction, don't imply any diagnosis and don't make her think it is anything more than what it is....a kid who is having issues sitting still.

Could be diet, lack of outside time or exercise time, could be over stimulation or any number of other outside influences just as easily as it could be ADHD...kwim?

Just focus on the behavior happening at YOUR house. Let DCM know what issues YOU are having with his inability to stop fidgeting and be still.

Let her go from there.

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Sounds good. I was not going to say a word but I don't want her thinking. It was a non-issue at preschool so why is kinder saying something. I am not sure how to present the information to her...say we are working harder on body control during group times, meal times, etc. due to his inability to sit still?

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I have, and the child was only 2. All I told mom was that there was a LOT of energy, we were having more than the normal problems with listening, etc.
I listed the issues I felt were not normal 2yo boy behavior, and simply suggested she might want to talk to her ped.
I also evaluate ALL the children at least twice a year using the ASQ and BASC-2 forms. That way I can point out the good and the not so good. I just say, this is what I am seeing here. You may see something different at home.

They did all the testing through the ped and the school system and turns out, the child has an IEP. They still are not diagnosing ADHD and that is ok, but they have a behavioral plan in place for the behaviors.

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it sounds like it could be manic depression

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Isn't that associated with bipolar and not normally something associated with young children more a teenager/adult age group?

It could be a range of things ... ADHD, food reactions, SPD ... I don't think it's a carers position to diagnose/label but I do think its a carers responsibility to notify parents of anything concerning their child (developmentally slow/extreme behaviours/health issues et) just stick to facts like blackcat suggested and no reason you shouldn't be making a file note on your concerns for this child and what you have witnessed ... If mum works with a dr in the future to diagnose they may require assistance from his carers/educators to build the bigger picture(past history).

Best of luck.

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I have wondered this myself. I think that preschool/kinder are so quick to catch this stuff now that I haven't found it my place to bring it up. I agree it is being over and mis-diagnosed, but I also agree it needs to be addressed. It is part of our job to notice and document this type of stuff, but not to diagnose. I have not gone there myself.

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I sent home a list of things observed over the past 6 months that have not shown any improvement. I suggested speaking with the pediatrician about the list. Mom was perfectly fine and at least this child will have had SOMETHING said about them prior to beginning kinder in the fall.

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I have a 5 yo dcb and his almost 4 yo brother in my care. They are "all" boy but I DO believe there is more to it. In my case they are fine at preschool (according to the teachers) BUT they are there a few days a week for a few hours. I also don't believe that they are always fine at preschool, KWIM...
In my case, it's not the activity levels that concern me (though it can be problematic) it's the complete lack of impulse control that is worse than any child I've ever had in my care. I have brought some things up to mom and I would not be surprised when he goes to K in the Fall the teacher brings things up as well - but K here is all day, every day. And way more will be expected.

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Yes...the impulsivity issues are a big, big thing here.
So much so that a discussion was had concerning that with the end solution being the child eating at a separate table from the other children during meal times (it is near them, but not with them due to being WAY too handsy and all over the place). I have only had one other child similar and they were a sociopath, I truly believe. THIS child is NOT, just struggles with hyperactivity and impulsivity issues to the max. But, I really don't come across children dinging little bells in my head saying WHOA WHOA WHOA something is going on here often (was the point)...

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I totally get it!

I just think when dcp's bring something up to a parent the responses is typically "but his preschool never mentions that!" Or "they tell me he does very well in preschool!"

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I could have wrote this!
My boy child is now a boy man and he has no ADD/ADHD

I taught him to talk well
have an interest in learning and think outside the box
Boys have a need to move and be active

I could have wrote every bit of this BC except my kiddo was in 2nd grade, had a teacher who going through a divorce and didn't want to deal with my active, interested and smart child. This is a heated subject for me still years later and as I do feel there is and are kids that have Add/Adhd I don't believe that the percentage is anywhere near what they say it is. It has become a high money maker for society it terms of Doctors, Therapist, Medicine/Pharmacies and school systems and government programs! The above Bolded plays a huge part in this issue!

Every time I turn around I find we have more in common BC

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Thanks for saying something to the parents to at least raise the issue. Though it may be a lack of maturity or just lots of energy, it's so much better if the parents know to flag it for the teachers right at the start of school. It might help the child rise above the stigma of being a "problem kid," especially if further attention or testing reveals a bigger issue (ADHD, etc.).

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I AM their preschool so their preschool has definitely mentioned it now LOL!

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"I just wanted to bring up a few of the behaviors displayed lately by dcb. He seems to have a very large amount of energy, even more so than boys his age normally do, and has a lack of impulse control that at times gets him into trouble. With kindergarten coming up, I wanted to bring these things into consideration, because it may mean he'll have a hard time in a classroom setting."

I would not mention ADD/ADHD personally. That's probably because I was a nurse for so long, and we weren't allowed to diagnose or assume any diagnoses. Hopefully, if you bring it up, and bring up that it may mean he'll have a hard time in kindergarten, then they'll talk to his doctor. If not, then they'll have a point of reference, that he has had behaviors even before kindergarten.

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