I think my daughter had ADHD

[Roxie]

Thirty-three years ago when my daughter was born, she was a challenge from birth. When I put her to sleep, she cried for 1-3 hours (screamed). She was unstopable! She rode her toddler horse down a flight of stairs and hit her head on the floor. She slept 7-9 hours per night, even when she was first born. She was aggressive toward other children and her pediatritian said we could put her on Ridilin, but he hated to do that at age 3. We didn't and I treated her with diet, no addivitives or preservatives. She was a classic underachiever; her teachers tried many methods to get her to work up to her potential. She was always on the go and was extremely impulsive, riding her bike down the wide handrail of a school and severely biting her lip (age 8).

She still has issues with never being on time and with finishing what she starts.

Is there any test that she could take that will show that she had or has ADHD?

[michael178]

Roxie, All is not lost, nor hopeless. I was much like your daughter. I was expelled from nursery school, the nun who taught me in the second grade refused to ever teach again, and so on, and on. I would not trade my life or change it. I am now 67. And have had a wonderful life (even though I never got to go out for recess.) My adventures were fun and while dangerous, completely harmless. ADD is not a curse, it is a license. Authorities even sent a social worker to look into my home life... which greatly amused my father. Thank god he turned my adventures into positive experiences for me to remember and cherish. That's why I framed my nursery school and kindergarten written evaluation and hung them in my office.

[Bdix30]

Have the doctors evaluated her for Bipolar? Bipolar is what is most often misdiagnosed as ADHD in children - and the lip biting, head banging, aggression, and extreme impulsivness are all red flags.

Just something to look into! www.bpkids.org . My 11 year old son is bipolar and has done everything you describe here minus the sleeping. He was the opposite and never slept!

Good luck!

Just caught the 33 years ago part! How is she to date?

[Lisa2You]

Have her talk with her primary care doctor. There are questionaires that are used in diagnosis. It all sounds like ADHD except for the aggressive part. Children with ADHD can do things that may appear aggressive, but are really just impulse-control problems. But true aggression (meanness) does not fit an ADHD diagnosis. May be more than one thing going on. Just encourage her to talk with her doctor. ~L

[Bdix30]

Lip biting, head banging, aggression, and extreme impulsiveness are all bipolar signs as well. The two can appear so similar in children that one is often misdiagnosed as the other during the questionaires. (in fact, Early Onset Bipolar Disorder's is most often misdiagnosed as ADHD) Oftentimes doctors can't even determine the differences until they try ADHD medication on a child who is actually bipolar and not on a mood stabliser and it quickly changes their initial diagnosis.

I tell ya; it was frustrating as all heck to get the correct diagnosis for my kids lol. The impulsiveness and other symptoms (minus the not sleeping) were all on the ADHD checklist; but the medication made things so much worse. It took us several years and even more doctors to finally get to the real root of his problems. (Not saying that this is the case here; but its helpful to know just in case.)