Can inattentive-type ADD be diagnosed in a 5-year-old?

we saw the signs in preschool, we took him in 3rd grade because he was overwhelmed. We didn’t do anything then and then when High school hit is was a nightmare. We put him on meds then. We wished we had done it sooner so he could have been more tuned in when he was younger.

I would suggest that you get him help now and let us know how it goes. If it works then you are that far ahead in the long run.

You might not be able to get a “for-sure” diagnosis at this age, but you are right to be concerned. By age 6 LD and ADHD can be accurately tested for and diagnosed. You child might have an auditory processing disorder that can be tested for by an audiologist. I’m not sure, but he may be old enough right now for that evaluation. Leave no stones unturned, don’t listen to anyone who tells you not to worry because he’ll probably grow out of it. ADHD is very much an inherited disorder and if you have it it is more likely than not that your child does. Also, LD can often occur in combination with ADHD. YOu might also look at coordination issues. Are there problems with handwriting or things like throwing and catching a ball? If so, think about getting an occupational therapy evaluation. The sooner you pounce on these things the better — the children who receive early help are the ones who are the most happy and successful later on. If you wait until he is 8 or 9, you’ve lost a huge window of opportunity that may never be regained. You are a good parent for being so on the ball and seeking information as you are. Keep up the good work!

Attention is difficult get a handle on because it can be caused by many different conditions. And they can also occur in the same child.

My son is 10 and had the same issues in K. He has an APD (auditory processing disorder). We did a program addressing these difficulties and suddenly his attention was much improved (Fast Forward).

Two years and the problems resurfaced at school. This time we ended up in a neurologist office who diagnosed him with ADD-inattentive as well.
We then did a therapy called Interactive Metronome which works on motor and attention and there was a huge difference in his attention.

Personally, I would start with a thorough language evaluation, followed by a auditory processing exam by an audiologist. You need to know whether she is not able to understand or just doesn’t pay attention. My son’s receptive language skills were dreadful in K and he displayed the same watching others behavior. As I said, one child can have both conditions but it is important to address both.

Beth

Thanks for the replies (I’ve been out of town or I would have responded sooner). We’re planning to have some more diagnostic tests done soon. He’s switching to a new insurance policy in December, so we have to wait to make those appointments. :roll:

To answer your questions: Yes, he does have fine motor difficulties. Writing is not easy for him. He has phonological problems, and is able to make many sounds in isolation or at the syllable level, but not at the word level. I suspect there’s more than one problem here, and teasing them out isn’t going to be easy!

My son who was later diagnosed with a visual motor deficit had very similar issues at 5.

I didn’t start to geth him help until after second so you are in great shape to be able to start so soon.

He used to be a mess, major tantrums couldn’t concentrate in class. K teacher sent up big red flags that I thought were overblown. Boy was I wrong.

Deal with this through therapy first. I do have strong beliefs that 5 is too young for meds. They are just to young to give you adequate feedback onto how the meds are effecting them. Meds really have not been adequately tested on kids this young as well.

The good news is that after occupational therapy vision therapy and a few other things he has no sensory issues. He is very together in many ways. Plays the piano and sax, reads books 1 year above his grade level for fun, loves math, plays tons of sports. We never used meds and I don’t think he is truely adhd though he did look it at 5.

Don’t just get the usual neuropsych eval. Get him to a developmental optometrist and push for OT in school. Also, consider things like the handle institute or neuronet. There really is so much you can do don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Also, consider audiblox. This can be done with young children I use it with my 5 year old who is not adhd. His teachers think he is gifted but it is just the audiblox.

That’s interesting …. I have been wondering about my son’s visual issues, too. He’s extremely sensitive to light and is always squinting and rubbing his eyes. He says they “don’t work very well.” The school just did a vision screening, and he scored 20/50 in both eyes. Previous tests showed his vision to be normal, so I think we need to do more testing.

I’m glad to live in a time when there are so many options for diagnosis and therapy, but at the same time the amount of information out there is pretty daunting. It helps to get feedback from other parents!

Interesting that so many of these kids that have handwriting issues also tend to have visual issues. My son had an ocular motor problem which fit with his overall motor problem. He had major handwriting issues. He would write down the side of the page or start at the bottom, couldn’t form letters well in kindergarten, sizing was also way off.

I think for these kids you need to find a developmental optometrist that knows how to deal with all the motor issues like balance and coordination etc. Some developmental optometrist only address the ocular motor issues.

Forget the opthalmologist or the school they don’t address this area.

Visual deficits can look a lot like adhd.