Ruling out other conditions

Central Auditory Processing disorder has a lot of the same hallmarks as ADD. In my family, we have co-morbidity of both the ADD and CAPD. Sometimes children with speech and language issues get frustrated and act out and that could be contributing factor.

With my personal experience we put off meds as long as we could. We had our son in for his space cadet inattentive behaviors along with his temper outbursts when he was 6 years old. The Dr. didnt’ suggest meds then but he talked with him and we kept muddling through without meds until he started high school. That was when it all hit the fan, he couldn’t keep up with the pace of high school and he was getting eaten alive from his ADD-Inattentive ways..

I’d be wary of a doctor who gives a quick diagnosis of ADHD. As the mother, does it make sense to you? What do the teachers say? I’d also do a lot of reading , such as “Driven to Distraction” by Dr. Hallowell and check out the CHADD fact sheets. I also have the link down below by the American Academy of Pediatrics on how to properly diagnosis ADHD.

http://www.aap.org/policy/ac0002.html

A developmental optometrist should rule out vision issues if she has problems such as:

eyes too close to the page when she reads

turning her head when she reads

dislikes reading or other close work, coloring etc

motor skills issues (I have been reading more lately about the phenomona of fine motor skills issues comorbid to ocular motor issues, makes sense when you consider the ocular muscles are fine motor muscles. This was a big part of my son’s problem.)

inability to track, ie. follow your finger with her eyes

moving her head back and forth when she reads

headaches

There are symptoms but if she has even one of these with the inattention it might be at least partially related to a vision issue.
My son was fidgety and inattentive but has improved significantly with various OT and Vision therapies and is not on meds.

Sleep apnea has to be ruled out, especially if your child has had lots of ear or sinus infections. Enlarged tonsils or adenoids can cause obstructive sleep apnea. It is also possible to have sleep apnea with other causes. Fatigue in children can present as hyperactivity.

Some food allergies can cause hyperactive or unfocused behavior in some children.

Children who have suffered head injuries can also have ADHD behaviors. They may need cranial sacral therapy or neurofeedback.

I also agree with the comments of Linda F. in the previous post.

What led you to seek help? Social, sleep, learning differences, perpetual motion? Depending on what your concerns were, that could narrow the list of other possibilities.

If you remain uncomfortable with the doc or quick diagnosis, definitely go get another opinion. It is worth the piece of mind.

GL

In addition to what others have suggested, depression, anxiety, undiagnosed LD, thyroid conditions (both hypo and hyperthyroid), epilepsy, unchallenged giftedness, can all mimic ADHD.

Andrea

She’s distracted easily, fidgets with anything in sight, squirms, day-dreams, easily frustrated when learning new skills, impulsive. Frankly, she is learning so I’m not going the medication route. She also is well-liked because she doesn’t know many bad behaviors so her impulsive acts tend to be benign (like hugging or trying to pick someone up.) If she says something inconsiderate that hurts another child she will feel guilt and appologize. With the short stature and slowed growth rate, I’m wondering why her doctor didn’t think about hypothyroidism.

Thanks to everyone for your responses!