Short stature and ADHD

My dr said she can count the number of heavyset kids with ADHD in her practice on one hand. She considers thin a marker for the disorder

I cannot speak to the ‘short’

My son 13 is also thin but he’s 5’9” so I don’t know about the short stature. He could be one of the exceptions, I guess, but he’s always been ‘off the chart’ for his height.

Both my adhd guys are very tall for their age (even when on meds) and tend to the hsuky side (hopefully swimming will take care of that!).

I am sure your MD has looked at bone age, growth hormone levels, etc. as well as familial short stature…if not I would look at medical causes, not just ADHD.

Good observation. We actually just switched pediatricians because our regular one wanted to wait another 6 months rather than test now for medical problems. She has grown less than 2 inches for 5 years straight and is in about the 1% range for height and probably a little less for weight.

This new doctor also feels she is most-likely healthy but is cautious enough to rule out the medical issues. I’m probably getting ahead of myself in assuming that the tests are going to come on as “constitutional growth delay.” It is in the family a little bit but Kelsey is the smallest in the family going back 3 generations. I’m wondering if her high level of activity and her ability to ignore body signals when she hyperfocuses is preventing her from getting enough calories. She also gets distracted away for the table sometimes.

I’ve read one study of 120 kids (small sample) that the ADHD kids were smaller overall up to mid-adolescence but that they caught up later. The researchers speculated that the there might be something about the ADHD disease process that caused this. I have read references to this growth issue being studied but haven’t seen the results.

For now, I’m going to try to reduce distractions to keep her at the table longer. For example, once someone else gets up and leaves, she tends to follow.

Thanks for the help guys. I’m not sure that I’m onto anything or not but I’m going to try to facilitate better eating habits.

Terry,

If you check out the recent research on whether stimulants affect growth, you will find a lot of commentary to the effect that short stature in childhood may be part of ADHD. Just as these children tend to be socially and emotionally immature, some of them also tend to be physically immature. I’m not sure, but I think it is particularly so for kids with the hyperactivity component. Nothing is for certain on this, but I know a bunch of kids with ADHD with hyperactivity who are small and thin for their age. This disappears with puberty. My own kid is VERY tall for his age but he does not have the hyperactivity. I hope this helps.

Andrea

Gosh, why didn’t I think of that andrea! Sometimes I waste a lot of time researching things. This is one reason that I like this board so much. People are intelligent and are oriented toward solutions rather than being victims. I might get old obsessing on this ADHD though!!!

I’m still doing it, as a matter of fact!

Andrea

I am short statured and inattentive adhd. My husband is tall and hyper adhd, my kids are about medium ht for their ages, the hyper one is right on target for height and the inattentive one is about 2 inches shy of target. Considering the family connection though, I am 4’9”, the shortest of a whole family of shorties (5’4” is tall on my dad’s side), I wear a children’s 4 in shoes.

I feel certain that if my kids grow into their shoe sizes they will be just fine. My oldest is about 5’3” and turns 14 in a week, his shoe size so far is a 9. The youngest is about 4’11”, 11 yrs old and his shoe size is an 8 1/2. Their dad only wears an 8 1/2 shoe and is about 5’10”.

I had the bone growth thing done when I was in 4th grade because I needed braces, I am guessing they were trying to determine where I was in the growth process.

On a different note, I was doing research on otosclerosis and found a possible link between a classification of brittle bone disease, short stature and otosclerosis (a form of hearing loss which I have also). Something I plan to ask the doc about at some point.

Best wishes.
Amy

There is no controversy about stimulants stunting growth it is a fact. The damaging effects on the pituitary and thyroid glands is still being discovered. This is part of the reason that the cancer causing effects of Ritalin wii be seen later in life.

…..

Terry,

My son was always on the thin side before this year. He was not rail thin but he definitely was thin considering how much he ate.
He actually got a little chubby this year but is now normal weight since lacrosse started.

I added alot of protein to his diet this year. He was a carbaholic. I think the protein helps him concentrate because his blood sugar does not go up and down as much. He was they type that would be moody if he hadn’t eaten and protein just takes longer for the body to break down so there are less peaks and valleys of blood sugar.

He is also much less hyper with all the things we have done to address his deficits.

I hadn’t thought much about diet because were eat very healthy as compared to the average American family. We rarely eat sweets. My daughter naturally prefers vegetables and chicken. I really do need to think more about breakfast because cereal and bread products might not be the best way to start the day.

Terry,

I thought of you when I saw a report on the news that said fidgeting can burn several hundred calories per day. They weren’t talking about adhd specifically. It fits with my son who used to down 4 grilled cheese sandwhiches after school back when he was a fidgeter.

He doesn’t eat as much but is heavier now.

this is a sham

Jan,

Could you please explain what you mean?

Linda F

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My doctor feels that kids with hyperactivity are often thin but it should not generally to the point of being malnurished or triggar short stature to the point of alarming the doctor. We are still working this up. The next tests will include a number of test but one of them will be a blood test to rule our celiac disease which can cause short stature and it can aggravate ADHD symtoms. I’ll keep you posted.

Dad on the parenting/LD board knows alot about this. It is seen as a cause of autism in some kids.

It is great that your doctor is looking into all the possible causes.