Can a 14 Month Old Have ADD?

She sounds like a typical 15 month old! Cut out that juice or splash some juice in a cup of water for flavor. It won't help much, but it sounds like you have an independent toddler girl. Good for you, breathe deeply and find her some playmates!

Honestly I worked for over ten years in various capacities in a school district. Rarely if ever did I come across a child that was really ADD....most just didn't know how to listen. Given the right environment with consequences they cared about, they would often behave well.

Do you make her listen? What do you do when she won't follow instructions? Do you insist that she follow your instructions or do you beg, plead and try to bribe her into listening to you?

If you have insisted that she respond when you call her name, by getting in front of her at her level and holding her little face gently to stare you in the eyes when talking to her.....and you physically but gently make her pick up her toys when you ask her too....and you physically, but gently make her sit in her seat....

then I would say that she might have a problem. And food does have some impact on how children behave so does lack of sleep for that matter, but ultimately they have to learn to behave regardless of how they feel....or they grow up to be whiney, complaining, wimpy adults that can't deal with the smallest amount of disappointment or stress.

Next time you call her and she ignores you, immediately get in front of her, squat down to her level, gently grab her little face and make her look at you....tell her "mommy is talking to you, you need to listen to me". If she tries to pull away from you, insist that she look at you. Insist that she does what you have asked her to do even if it means gently grabbing her by the arms and taking her to the task and making her perform the task.

Does she look at you when you are playing? Does she make eye contact when she wants something? Then she can look at you when you call her name and she can do what you have asked her to do.

My girls were picking up their toys at that age...I would direct them one toy at a time, but they did it. I would say Avianna pick up the baby doll and put it in the toy box. She would pick that one up and then I would direct her to the next. Wasn't long before she could do it without my help.

And if they ever ignored me, I made it my business to get their attention immediately. I still do and they are six and four. I NEVER let them ignore me. I might call them once or twice more if I think there is a chance they don't hear me, but if the continue to ignore me, they will suffer the consequences.

All children will try it....you just have to insist that they stop.

PS And please don't think she's too young to listen. My kids and the kids I watch learn very quickly to listen or I will help. She listens if you tell her you have a treat right? She comes running if you tell her you are going to do something fun right? She can listen when you call her name or ask her to do something simple. At that age keep instructions simple, but please insist that she follow your instructions. You will be a proud parent of a well-behaved child before you know it, if you insist now.

If she wasn't doing those things THEN I would be worried. If you are already worried about behavior now, wait till the 2s come!! Just spend your days outside and at the parks etc, that will tucker her out :)

I don't know if it's ADD, but if you're concerned, definitely call Early Intervention and have someone come out and assess her. There's a lot of things it could be...my son didn't respond or look at me for a week around 18 months of age, and I freaked, thinking it was autism. It turned out that he had sensory processing disorder and was just "tuning out" because he was overstimulated. My daughter had a lot of ear infections, never had tubes, but would argue with me about things she heard me say (which I hadn't) We had her hearing tested multiple times over years. I finally read about central auditory processing disorder, which is when a person can hear, but not clearly, or can't hear with background noise, among other things. Have Early Intervention come out and see what they say. It's free and you may get some answers. It's a state department, under Health and Human Services, I think. I can look up a phone number if you need it, but your pediatrician or office should have the number for your location.

Good luck!
M.

I have a 14 month old that hasn't sat still for months. She also doesn't listen, and when you tell you No, she gives you a mischievous grin and continues doing it. Even when she is exhausted enough to sit on my lap for a story, her legs are kicking the whole time!

It is perfectly age appropriate behavior.

Please do some reading on age appropriate behavior before thinking your child has 'something' that is increasingly being over-diagnosed.

My daughter is 14 months old too the things you describe my daughter is doing the same things. She wouldn’t respond to her name or listen to "no" she is all over the place jumping, clapping, playing with different toys, climbing stairs. I was worried too thought she may have autism. But reading all the post I feel less worried and feel confident that she is a healthy little 14 months old doing the things she should do. Thank you all.

Most of that sounds normal but the fact that she doesn't respond to her name is definetly something I would bring up to the doctor. Also, jumping at loud noises is normal but you should keep an eye on it. I work with an occupational therapist for my kids and he assessed my 15 month old and was happy to see that she knew what "no" meant and she responded to her name, he did notice that she was "jumpy" and advised me to keep an eye on it because she should outgrow that soon. I think it's normal for her not to sit still for a bathe, etc. but she should be able to eat in a high chair. If she can't sit still in a high chair or other "safe" chair to eat I would definetly bring that up to the doctor because you don't want her developing bad habits and not be able to sit at the table with the rest of the family. Don't think it's the juice. I think you are a great mom for picking up on this. Like I said, I think some of it is totally normal (Our daughters are 1 month apart) and some may need to be brought to the docs attention. Could be nothing but maybe EI can evaluate her just to make sure. Hope I helped a little.
-I edited to say that all kids develop differently and I don't want to compare my experiences with any intention to compare kids side by side.

I don't think so, but since you are an older mother you may not have the energy level. Kids do need to play. You need to watch and plan activities and work with her, but also need to take her out and have play time. Maybe try those play rooms where kids just go for it and have others to play with. As soon as they start to really walk they are trying to find themselves. I had one that loved the toliet water when you were not looking. So we had to take him to play in water and let him play in the bath longer. We had to find distractions for him. Start presenting her with different games and things to do. But if you are tired the playrooms would be best because you get to sit back and read or rest. Good luck, but it should get better. Girls usually settle into fun activities.

They are very busy at this age. Their attention span is about 5 minutes. My kids were both the same way.

She sounds like a perfect 14-month-old to me. Of course you can always ask your doctor, but he/she will tell you she's normal I bet.

I think she's a very very normal toddler. Both of my boys are all over the place all the time. My older son (4 y/o) never "walks" anywhere. It's run, jump, skip, whatever. My 21M old STILL ignores us when he knows he's doing something wrong. We tell him "No!" and he laughs and does it anyway. He finally sits still for nail-cutting, but that's only recent.

Like the other poster said, I'd be more concerned if you had a child that DIDN'T test you like this on a daily (even hourly!) basis.

Just keep instilling what is allowed and what isn't. If she ignores you, walk right over to her and get in front to make sure she looks at you.

As for not sitting still to eat, strap her in her booster or high chair and don't let her eat anything unless she's sitting down. If she screams to get down, let her down - but no food. Eventually she'll learn that eating requires sitting at the table nicely.

Good luck.

I can agree with alot of these suggestions that you have received. Sounds like a typical 14month old. However, if you may still express these concerns with your pediatrician to keep an eye out on the behavior. My husband and I have an ADD child who also acted similiar to your child. They can be a handful as they get older and you will want to have it diagnosed as soon as possible for treatment. Your age is not a concern with dealing with ADD children. Usually by age 4 a child with ADD will be diagnosed in preschool if they indeed have it....otherwise, be patient, your child is just being a normal 14 month old! Good luck!

Sounds pretty normal to me. I thought my kids were really hyper because they were into everything and all my friends had these mellow babies who grew into toddlers who could just sit and color for hours.

If you're really worried you could call and schedule some testing, but it will take as longer than waiting for your 15 month appointment with the pediatrician. Schedule the testing, talk to the dr. and you can cancel if you feel differently after the appointment.

If you don't have any developmental books, get one so you can see what's normal and kind of gauge where your daughter is.

Most importantly remember that every kid is different. You can go crazy comparing your child to others. Appreciate her uniqueness!

M.

t

DEFINITELY let your Pediatrician know that she does not respond to her name. It is impossible for a 14 month old to *intentionally* ignore you -- children this age can't help but to turn towards their caregiver when their name is called. Try a bunch of times before the appt. to determine if she is extremely involved in what she is doing and just isn't hearing anything (this becomes much more common as they get older and older). But not responding to her name can be a symptom of a more serious problem. If your gut is telling you something is wrong, tell your Pediatrician you want to contact EI and follow-through. There is no risk or cost to having her checked...and if there is something wrong, it's better to catch it earlier than later. You are not nuts -- you are looking out for your child!! :)

A few things...1) Toddlers are CrAzY busy and she sounds pretty normal! 2) If you are very concerned, get an evaluation done through Early Intervention. Google "early intervention Illinois" and it'll give you the number you need to call. It's free. 3)A lot of kids have issues simply because of food allergies. Your gut is central to everything else in your body. If something is wrong there, symptoms will show up elsewhere. Gluten, dairy, and food dyes would be the first thing to eliminate. One thing at a time for 6 weeks. Keep a journal. 4) Sugar doesn't make kids hyper. Hope that helps!

All of this is very appropriate and normal behavior!! Your peditrician should be informing you on what to expect at each visit during her stages of development!!