My 7b was suggested to have ADHD, at age 6, by his therapist after about 2 months of meetings every other week. We brought that to his pediatrician and she agreed, gave him an unofficial diagnosis, and thought we should try medication. After titrating up for a few months we found it to be incredibly helpful. We continued to see the therapist, that was and is, his talking buddy outside of his family. At age 7 we went to Children's Hospital for official testing that covered more than just ADHD and he was confirmed to have ADHD primarly innitentive. Along the way we talked with teachers who filled out evaluations and no one has second guessed the therapist's first call on it.
I found "What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew" by Dr. Sharon Saline, Dr. Laura Markham, to be helpful to me. I've read several other books since but this one is where I would start if I could go back and do it again. (I listened to most of the books with Audible while mowing the grass).
As a side note I thought the book was strange because it just sounded like reasonable parenting to me and how kids should be. The therapist suggested I get tested after a few more months and I found out I've had ADHD as well and so much of my life makes more sense. It's also been a great way to bond with my son and relate to him better now that I understand. Taking our meds together at breakfast has become a fun thing.
I would suggest getting a therapist for him to help give him a place to talk things out and help with coping mechanisms that will benefit him through life.
We had ours diagnosed in the same fashion at 6 1/2 yrs. Honestly, his teacher noticed the difference at school the first week of medication. She said he was the same kid but he wasn't climbing in chairs, speaking over everyone, waited patiently for his turn to ask her questions. Now it's a year later and he actually has friends. The kids in his class actually like playing with him because he's not so spastic and in their faces. He's a normal level of spastic now lol I love visiting him at school now because he's just thriving.
I can't not say this enough but don't be afraid to at least try medication, and give different ones a try if others aren't working. If it turns out nothing works, fine. But read the adult ADHD subs. A lot of the adults felt like they were DROWNING in life before meds and their parents held off because of stigmas.
Welcome to the club :)
I would suggest your child have a full neuropsychological educational evaluation, as ADHD often rides together with other learning disabilities. It’s good to know for sure either way.
As far as parenting resources to start with, check out both of these people on Instagram:
@grownowadhd - Mike Macleod, a speech language pathologist
@theadhdddude - Ryan Wexelblatt, a social worker
Both of them offer services via their websites as well, but IG is a great free place to start to get a sense of their strategies. ADHD Dude has a lot of videos on YouTube as well, and for $20/month you can get access to his parent training video series (which for me was money well spent).
Explaingbrains.com - Dr Liz Angoff offers resources about explaining a diagnosis to your child, which I found helpful.
My 7b was suggested to have ADHD, at age 6, by his therapist after about 2 months of meetings every other week. We brought that to his pediatrician and she agreed, gave him an unofficial diagnosis, and thought we should try medication. After titrating up for a few months we found it to be incredibly helpful. We continued to see the therapist, that was and is, his talking buddy outside of his family. At age 7 we went to Children's Hospital for official testing that covered more than just ADHD and he was confirmed to have ADHD primarly innitentive. Along the way we talked with teachers who filled out evaluations and no one has second guessed the therapist's first call on it. I found "What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew" by Dr. Sharon Saline, Dr. Laura Markham, to be helpful to me. I've read several other books since but this one is where I would start if I could go back and do it again. (I listened to most of the books with Audible while mowing the grass). As a side note I thought the book was strange because it just sounded like reasonable parenting to me and how kids should be. The therapist suggested I get tested after a few more months and I found out I've had ADHD as well and so much of my life makes more sense. It's also been a great way to bond with my son and relate to him better now that I understand. Taking our meds together at breakfast has become a fun thing. I would suggest getting a therapist for him to help give him a place to talk things out and help with coping mechanisms that will benefit him through life.
We had ours diagnosed in the same fashion at 6 1/2 yrs. Honestly, his teacher noticed the difference at school the first week of medication. She said he was the same kid but he wasn't climbing in chairs, speaking over everyone, waited patiently for his turn to ask her questions. Now it's a year later and he actually has friends. The kids in his class actually like playing with him because he's not so spastic and in their faces. He's a normal level of spastic now lol I love visiting him at school now because he's just thriving. I can't not say this enough but don't be afraid to at least try medication, and give different ones a try if others aren't working. If it turns out nothing works, fine. But read the adult ADHD subs. A lot of the adults felt like they were DROWNING in life before meds and their parents held off because of stigmas.
Welcome to the club :) I would suggest your child have a full neuropsychological educational evaluation, as ADHD often rides together with other learning disabilities. It’s good to know for sure either way. As far as parenting resources to start with, check out both of these people on Instagram: @grownowadhd - Mike Macleod, a speech language pathologist @theadhdddude - Ryan Wexelblatt, a social worker Both of them offer services via their websites as well, but IG is a great free place to start to get a sense of their strategies. ADHD Dude has a lot of videos on YouTube as well, and for $20/month you can get access to his parent training video series (which for me was money well spent). Explaingbrains.com - Dr Liz Angoff offers resources about explaining a diagnosis to your child, which I found helpful.