ADD For a 3 Year Old!!??

K.,
I was joking w/ one of the pediatricians I work for and saying I thought my 4 y/o would need ADD medicine to make it through Pre-K. Her response was a serious one- she said "Kids need to HAVE an attention span before they can have a deficit in one!"
Made perfectly good sense to me- My son is almost done w/ Pre-K and he still learns better while on the move. I don't think he has ADD, I think I am blessed to have a very active little boy.
James Dobson has written a great book called Boys. It just talks ab out how very different and unique they are.

Anyway- good luck!

I would go half way between your two thoughts. Unless it is severe or combined with another disablity a dr. will not diagnose ADD before at least 5, it is way to young. But, I would also not completely dismiss her thoughts. Keep an eye on him for the next year or so and get feedback from others. Many ADD kids will sit for a movie at home and not sit still out.

Well...my daughter has been one of those "active" kids her whole life. I have always suspected a cause to all of this, but couldn't seem to narrow it down. I have considered ADD medicine off and on, but really hesitated for the same reasons many list here. Then recently, we put her on an all organic diet...mainly the emphasis being on no corn syrup or red dye.

And while she was good at following it the first few days, she really struggled as the third week approached and snuck some food at school from other kids in class. And wouldn't you know it...she ended up going bazurk (sp?) the days she snuck that food.

You might try taking out corn syrup...it is liquid hyperactivity for my daughter.

There is a reason that they do not diagnos children with ADD until they are 7-8, LITTLE BOYS HAVE A HARD TIME SITTING STILL!!!

I cannot believe a professional who works with 3 year olds would say such a thing!! If not being still is the only issue he has, then I say he's a normal boy. Talk to your ped. if it will make you feel better, but coming from a mother of 2 boys, I'd say she doesn't know what she's talking about!!

It doesn't sound like ADHD - it sounds like a full blown little boy. I have a 7 year old who was diagnosed with his ADHD at around 4 years, but his is severe. No regular doctor would touch him on the matter at that age, so we had to wait 3 months for an appointment with a Pediatric Behavioralist. He spent about 15 minutes with him and knew. The tell-tale sign of ADHD at that young of an age, the doctor told me, was the inability to control their motor functions. Like, literally NOT being able to sit still for longer than a moment. Mine couldn't. If your little boy can watch a full length movie, then it sounds like you should wait, and this lady needs to learn some patience. Just my opinion. Hope this helps!

T.

I happen to agree (with above)...He's way too young to be "diagnosing" him with ADD. Also, I believe that alot of teachers are too quick to call it ADD/ADH, etc. just to have a reason for the child not behaving or not doing what they want. We had that problem with my son and thankfully we listened to our hearts and mind and didn't put him on the meds, and he was fine and is fine! Good luck!

I would absolutely NOT take this seriously! The very definition of being three years old meets criteria for ADD!! It's totally normal behavior for a 3 year old! Not so much for a 9 yr old, you know what I mean?

Wow, ADD at three....I'm kind of shocked at the suggestion.