We have some concerns about our son who is 6 years old and is in Kindergarten. For a good extent he behaves like normal kids but has a set of quirks. I am listing some of his behavior quirks here.
1. He seems distracted and in his own world in general unless the activity he is doing interests him.
2. Overly active. Cannot stand still for most part. Gets excited. Cannot sit through any movie in a movie theater. But loves to watch movies and TV programs that he likes.
3. For most part he does not interact with any other kids in his class. He does not seem to know what to talk to other kids (No situation based talking). But he plays and interacts better with his brother and other friends whom he knows pretty well.
4. Tends to talk about things that interest him and not others.
5. Seems to be mentally occupied and thinking about a few things that has caught his fancy and because of that misses other things happening around him. In KG this is not very much of a concern but we are worried that this might hamper his learning as he grows up.
6. Not very easily adaptable to new things - new movie, new TV show, new food item, etc. Tends to have a preference to what he is used to for most part. If we try to force, throws some fit. But after we squeeze through the new habit/movie/TV show, he starts liking it.
7. Does not exhibit empathy/emotion. Unless it is someone he is very close to and is fond of.
On the positive side, he is very smart. He started reading very early - 2 1/2. He has a good handwriting. He has a very good memory.
We have gotten him evaluated in Early Childhood school when he was 4 1/2 but they did not find anything significant and did not accept in the Early Childhood school. His current teacher has issues managing him but still is able to manage him. The surprising part is when he makes up his mind to behave, he goes and tells the teacher that he is going to behave well that day and does so without her having to ever repeat or re-direct him. The other days she has to repeat or re-direct him 2-3 times....
We spend a lot of time with him and work with him on activities. We have noticed he works better in one-on-one settings. We have tried a few activities in group settings but he is not mentally alert as compared to other kids.
Where can I get an evaluation for him? Should I start with a child psychologist / neurologist / Behavior therapist ? I am against medication as he seems borderline and does not have severe symptoms. Has anyone tried diet changes that has worked in similar situations?
Thanks a lot folks ! I think I will get him evaluated with a developmental pediatrician ...
Any recommendations ? I saw this post has some recommendations.
http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/17928479902177165313
Pls let me know your recommendations as well..
My son has most of those things you described and he was diagnosed by the school as autistic. We started testing him from the time he was 2-3 privately and everything was always inconclusive, not till he started public school and had some issues he was diagnosed as such. We are in Allen ISD and he gets extra help in small group with the things he needs help with, speech, and social skills. Good luck to you!
Your son sounds almost identical to my son - only exception is he did have a speech delay, which was blamed for awhile on constant ear infections which led him not to hear well during speech development ages.......
My son has, at different times, been diagnosed with PDD-NOS (high functioning autism) and ADHD - both of these have always been 'iffy' - over the years we've also been told, "had we seen him for the first time he'd likely not be diagnosed PDD-NOS........" Also.........he kind of just seems like a normal kindergarten boy.......but, I would err on the side of caution if there are concerns that are inhibiting his growth and development .
Early diagnosis and treatment are key.
Search your area for a developmental pediatrician or behavioral pediatrician. You could also see a child psychiatrist.....
Melissa L has given good advice on which professionals to seek out for an evaluation. Don't have it done by a regular pediatrician ... you want the expertise of a specialist.
What you have described could be signs of ADHD (many sound just like our son, who has it), but could also be signs of something else. There's a lot of overlap with conditions on the autism spectrum (including ADHD and Aspergers) and in general. A specialist can give you the best evaluation.
Doctors will not push medication. Medication has an excellent track record in helping kids with certain conditions, so just keep an open mind if it comes up. If it's ADHD, unfortunately diet won't make any difference.
If it's Aspergers, medication is not going to help all that much. However, if it's also ADHD (these conditions are often comorbid...60% of the time), medication might help a bit.
However, I'd get him properly tested and assessed to determine exactly what is going on, and then get him into some behavioral/cognitive therapy.
I grew up with ADHD. Severe ADHD. What these kids need the very most is to learn and integrate coping mechanisms into their lives. They will bring these coping mechanisms into adulthood...and NEED them to be successful.
So whatever you do...be sure you're setting him up for success by thinking of how the things you are teaching him now will help or hinder him in adulthood. A good example of a common tool that parents love to use (which will NOT help him in adulthood) is reward charts. Another example (which IS helpful), is a consistent schedule...and learning to adjust to changes in that schedule with allowing any situation to cause upset to the rest of the schedule.
Best of luck to you!
Many have had success with this using the liquid Vemma. Vemma Next, foar ages 2 to 12. If not happy, there is a money back guarantee. Worth a try. The Vemma Next is part of the Childrens' Miracle Network. They make no claims to cure, but is very respected and found so positive to use. Tastes good, too! Simply is absorbed almost 100% and allows the body to heal itself. http://annnoble.vemma.com/ No risk to try it.
I can't see the answers on here for some reason. If it hasn't been mentioned yet, look at the GAPS diet (www.gaps.me) or the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) - breakingtheviciouscycle.info and pecanbread.com. My daughter has several autoimmune illnesses and has been on SCD for almost two years. It has helped her tremendously. I have gotten her off all but one medication (one that has low side effects/risks so I am pleased we have gotten to this point!). In my research about dietary changes, I have read a lot of success stories about kids diagnosed with Autism/Aspergers/ADD/ADHD who have followed these two diets. There is a great Yahoogroup/support group for Pecanbread.com where parents talk about their successes and challenges with the SCD.
I am so angry with myself. I jsut wrote a super long response to your post but now I have lost it. And I am out of time to rewrite an answer. But let me just say this.
Please consider that, with your son's characteristics, you may be dealing with a gifted child. Gifted kids are often misdiagnosed as ADHD or Asperger's because they look very similar. Most teacher's have no idea what gifted looks like but they gone to seminar after seminar of what ADHD or HFA looks like. In fact, quite a few psychologists can't tell the difference because they haven't been trained to.
We are going through something very similar to you with our 5 year old and we have been told by all sorts of people, teachers, SLP's even one psyc that our son may be asperger's or HFA. But none of them want to address the fact that he is extremely intelligent (math at a second grade level, perfect pitch, able to replicate 10 measures or so of classical music when given the chance to focus on a piece that he really likes). We are having him eval'd at the school district and fianlly, someone sees it! The school psyc has said he wonders if his behavior in preschool is due to boredom and wandering off mentally to think about things like math or music.
PM me if you want to talk. I just hate that I lost everything I just wrote for you.
Check these out and educate yourself before jumping into the realm of ADHD, Asperger's diagnoses with an extremely intelligent child.
http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=986
http://giftedkids.about.com/od/giftedandld/a/gt_and_ld_3.htm
I would get him tested if you have not already. We are pretty sure that my youngest is ADHD. When he was 4 the daycare tried to get me to have him tested and put on meds but we refused. Yes he probably has it but there are other ways to treat without meds. We started with diet. Trying to take most red food colorings out. And a lot of sugar out of his diet. Then we started giving him fish oil. (Omega 3) suplaments. That helped a whole lot. Last year we put him in gymnastics and that has just helped even more.
Good luck and God Bless!
I will never understand why people always think there's something wrong with their children. Did you ever think that maybe he's just bored?? All that stuff seems pretty normal to me. All children are different, this doesn't mean something is wrong. He is only 6 years old for crying out loud! Sorry if this all seems harsh, but really... There is nothing wrong with your child!
I don't want to be pushy, but I can help. Bring him to see me and will get him going on some supplements and he will do great! Even if you just want to call and talk to my front desk about what we do.###-###-####.
Thanks, J..
He sounds like an aspergers child. There are many alternative ways to help him. I would first start with a GLuten and Casein free diet. It is very difficult to find a developmental pediatrician. If you look on www.autismspot.com
There is a lot of information. You may want to look into Classical Homeopathy.
If you are interested you can email me.
Is he vaccinated? That is what threw my son into autism.
L.
You should be able to have him evaluated through the school district for free. We are currently going through this only my son is in preschool.
PLEASE check into changing your child's diet. I can not stress this enough. We started a safe food plan a year and a half ago and it has changed our family.
I had one child on ADHD meds for 5 years, who has been med free for over a year and is thriving. My other child had serious anger issues and was very emotional, he is now the sweetest kid you have ever met. When we first started this people who didnt even know what we were doing stopped me at church and commented on how much he had changed.
Since going on the food plan I have had various friends try it as well with great success. My best friend is an ABA therapist with autistic kids and now recommends the plan to all her clients because she can work so much better with the kids when their behavior and attention is under control.
Good luck!
My son has many of these same behaviors and is not ADHD or Autistic, but he is in the gifted program at his school. I disagree with the mom who said a public school could test him. Unless things have changed in the past 5 years, only a doctor can diagnose either of these probelms. Good luck!
D.,
We have information about Asperger's as well as other childhood and adult disorders on our website. Neurofeedback is very effective treatment for symptoms, whether they are related to Asperger's or not, as it permanently changes brain waves to reduce symptoms.
Feel free to give us a call with any questions you may have!
S. - Dallas Brain Changers ###-###-####
http://DallasBrainChangers.com
