Three Year Old Adhd

Just wanted to mention that ADHD can not and should not be diagnosed until school age. His brain is changing so fast right now that most professionals would be against meds. I am sure you could find someone that would administer them despite what many think. On the other hand behavioral therapies are most effective with his age and many people use them with medications. You did not mention what behaviors you were experiencing so I don't know what specific sites to recommend. You might want to google behavioral modification and reinforcement and then examine to see if you have a very structured environment. Since you report having ADHD yourself this may be where a professional could be of assistance. I hope your doctor is able to help.
Good Luck

My youngest has a siezure disorder, was recently diagnosed with being on the spectrum for autism. He also is showing syptoms of possiable ADHD. I do not like medications either but this coming fall Ryan will start PPCD ( speach delay type program ). he will be in a class room setting and because of that have started him on Pacil (sp?). His developmental Ped' doc explained that she wanted to try antianxiety medcine first because it si milder than the ADHD meds. So far so good during day Ryan is much calmer than before. The evening around close t bed time is still kind of hit and miss, ( on a bad day I get nervous about him getting hurt) but everything is fairly new.....

If he is getting hurt often and too entergetic, it might be time to try medication, better to get this sorted out before he starts school.

God Bless

Put him on the medicine. I struggled with the same battle. My son was 4. I refused to put him on the medicine for a year or so and tried every over the counter thing you could possible find. It never helped. You will be so glad you put him on the meds. Give it a little while to work. You will have a new balance in your life. If it is the right medication, there is nothing wrong with it.

Meds are a tough decision at that age. We ended up putting my son on medication at age 3 1/2 because we was becoming more and more violent in daycare. Even with very strict behavior correction techniques. My father, sister-in-law and I all have bi-polar disorder and ADHD. The behavior modification plans we have been given in the past we you basic plan for the average to slightly aggressive child, which is why I don't think it worked as effectivly. We now have a counselor that both my kids are seeing who has hospital experience dealing with some of the most severe cases of behavioral management. She is going to help us to develop a plan that is effective with my son and is also easy for me to use, because I too have boundary/responsibility issues. I would really try counseling first. After a period of time in counseling, if the counselor feels that medication may assist with the issues they will say something to you. Just don't let them push you into meds right away.

When my child was your son age I was told she really needed drugs for her adhd and autistic symptoms , so she could sit and take advantage of her therapies. We decided to try everything else before drugs. DIET was really imprtant to her, she was really sensitive to dairy (casein), eliminated junk and fast food, reduced sugar, she started eating better (was picky)and now loves fruit. Also we give her supplements Omega Nordic Naturals 369 and Cod Liver Oil and probiotics. She Is 8,a very happy and healthy little girl with no symptoms of ADHD or autism.

ADHD is nearly impossible to properly diagnose before about age 5 - and no ADHD drugs have been tested or approved for children under the age of six. Many parents of children who are on ADHD drugs desperately want to take them off of them...but once you start the meds, it's a hard thing to stop doing.

It would be great if you could work through these problems without turning to ADHD drugs. Your doctor may have an alternative, though I would get at least two opinions before beginning a strict regimine of any sort. A counselor may be another good option.

My three-year-old is incredibly active...everyone who has ever baby-sat him has been amazed at his activity level and say they've never seen anything like it. He doesn't sit still for story time...who am I kidding? - he doesn't SIT STILL! LOL...but still, it is too early to be sure he has ADHD and treating his behavioral issues as behavioral issues and not a disease has worked fine so far. I hope that you and your son can come to some sort of balance as well!

There are many things that you can do to avoid putting him on meds through natural methods. The medicine, although it does seem to help children "calm down" is a form of amphetamine and you probably don't want your child on that. One of the first things you can do it not let him watch T.V. the rapid movement of the screens is deadly for kids like this, they also want to respond with movement as they watch, but since they don't, after you turn it off all of that energy is stored up and they act really wild. White sugar is another thing that should not be given, that is a really hard one but xylitol, rice syrup, and other kinds of sugar replacements are ok, NOT aspartame. That's the worse. Fish oil is also very helpful for theses children. There are also nutritional formula's out that are just for this that work. Also get him to bed before or at 7:00 if you can , the liver starts producing stress hormones at around 8 and then they get their "second wind". Try googling "natural ways to treat adhd" or titles like that and I promise you there is tons of stuff out there worth trying before you turn to the drugs. Best to you!! M.

My ten yr old has been being medicated since 5 for adhd/bipolar. Alot of people in my recent experience have had good luck with trileptal (which he also takes for his epilepsy). Just out on the market which we are trying now is something called Focalin XR. It seems to be working very well. We were able to ditch the Geodon - which also might help you.

However, all meds for this in my experience specifically state not to use before they are six, but it is up to your doctor.

Good luck