From the article: ADHD Symptoms
The primary symptoms of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, but these areas of difficulty can present very differently from person to person and across the lifespan. What were the symptoms that led you to be concerned about ADHD in your child or in yourself? Please share your experiences here to help others who are concerned about possible ADHD symptoms. Please Share
Life Mother Like Son
- My son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 4 1/2 years old. If it was possible, I think he could have been diagnosed much earlier. I went to see the pediatrician for sensory issues (which is a part of his ADHD) and she said he had ADHD. I told my husband and he didn't believe it and said he wasn't putting his son on Ritalin, which was prescribed by the pediatrician. He later conceded and my son was eventually tested and had severe ADHD. The daycare didn't believe he had it, until we put him on medication and his "time-outs" drastically reduced during the week prior to us telling them he was on medication. I too was diagnosed at the age of 42. I couldn't figure out why I was losing job after job after job. I now understand why I couldn't keep a job and am now on medication. I have a twin who also has ADD. My son has done extremely well in school. He's on Adderall and it works wonderfully for him. It's not covered by our insurance but the cost is worth every penny.
- —Guest Dana
My Symptoms + Others
- My whole life I have had a full spectrum of ADD symptoms that have been dismissed as blonde hyperactive/sensitive child, to PMSy scarily-impossible adolescent, to forgetful socially awkward adult. Forgetfulness/loosing things/ memory recall, poor/improper time management are the worst symptoms. And unresolved procrastination/ overachiever habits from childhood lead to workaholic manic overdrive crash and burn in promising A+ college and career. Not only did I have these growing up, so has my mother - leaving me for pick up because she was finishing grocery shopping at 8+ at night in the city is scary, and regular...it was worse for her/us through her menopause (depression/ distraction, moods, etc.). Her fears of the mental health industry were almost fully realized through my experiences with poor medical treatment, horrific prescription experiences, and lonely/rough extreme detoxing after being made disabled by following several bad Drs orders precisely. I am fortunate to still be here.
- —liberallover
Trouble Sitting Still
- Our son is now 12 yrs. old, but by the time he was 2 we knew something more was wrong than just the terrible two's. He couldn't sit and watch a TV show or play with other children. He would just wander away; also he had a problem with breaking toys and books. We started him on herbal pills, herbal drinks and changed his diet. It worked until he started school, he was sent home from kindergarten 7 times. Grade one was worse and the first 3 months he didn't learn a thing. He ran out of the room and couldn't sit still or concentrate. The doctor put him on med's and the change in our little boy was like night and day. Through the years we got him a teacher's aide and he gets body breaks when he needs them. He is still on med's but through trial and error we got him on the right med's that keep him calm and on task. He is now going into grade 7, he passed grade 6 with a 75% average. He does still have problems, but it is far less.
- —Guest Nicole
What We Saw in Our 4 Year Old
- Our son was a ball of energy - almost an unnatural energy. And very strong willed, couldn't get off a thought to hear what we were talking to him about or asking of him. His behavior in Pre-K was impulsive and over the top. He tended toward negative (angry) reactions to simple things. Now 6, stillness is still not his forte. It takes A LOT to get him to focus and he is so outside of the box with his thinking and ideas. It's really hard for him to stay in the moment. His emotions can be all over the place. His impulsivity is always there. He has side effects from meds that prevent him from getting any real benefit. It takes a lot to manage him on some days, and we can see it's a lot for him to manage his behaviors (he's just becoming aware).
- —AlwaysSharing
The Energy
- The boundless energy, the running constantly, and the inability to do anything that required 5 seconds of attention.
- —Guest LeahT
Short Attention Span Theater...
- I've always found myself bouncing from task to task, never staying with something for long. Things tend to take a lot longer than they would if I could follow something from start to finish and then move on to the next thing.
- —Guest James
Like Father, Like Son
- My husband was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. He was never medicated and thinks that is why he failed at so many things in life. He dropped out of school with only months left to graduate, attempted to join the military but was very distracted during the testing, failed his drivers exam several times due to day dreaming, couldn’t keep a job longer than a month because he would get bored and quit. Since we have been married things have been a lot better. He has a VERY good job that he has kept for almost 2 years (they know of his ADHD and when he gets bored they give him something new) though he still struggles with the "open mouth, insert foot" syndrome. Our greatest concern now is we have a 4 year old son who is displaying the same as my husband when he was younger. He’s overly hyper (even when he’s laying down for bed), easily distracted, talks back, and once he stars talking he doesn’t stop. I’ve found tricks to work with him and we are planning on home schooling him to avoid negativity.
- —Guest P.Garcia
Can't Stick to Anything
- I realized I probably had ADHD when I pieced together many symptoms: tardiness, struggle with organization (though I tend to overcompensate as an adult), inability to concentrate on tedious or long tasks no matter how hard I tried, underachievement (and thus much frustration and self loathing) for my ability, struggles with social life and maintaining close friendships, problems finishing tasks including assignments and inefficient work. All these years, I had attributed the symptoms to other (logical) causes. Now I know I'm an INTP personality with ADD, lol. Thank goodness for Google!
- —Guest Debbie
ADHD Symptoms
- When my own son started to call me a "ditz", I knew that something was up, but I was in denial. Things "hit the fan" about a year ago when I had more difficulty focusing and organizing than you could possibly imagine! I'm a teacher so needless to say, I needed to have both qualities intact. I didn't. I went to my PCP, and asked him about a certain medication for adult ADD, told him my symptoms, and I have been on meds ever since. Looking back on my life, I have always been a daydreamer, even in school, but I made good grades without studying. I never wanted to follow the "rules" of society, I constantly have "open mouth, insert foot" syndrome, and I have piles of papers, books, you name, it all over my apartment. My ex-husband was a neat freak, and I couldn't understand why it was so easy for him to stay organized when I struggled so much with organization. Now I know why and I still struggle, but at least I have wonderful resources, like Keath's articles, to help me.
- —Guest airhead1
Frustration with Reading Entire Book
- I was always ashamed of how difficult it was to focus on my reading and finish a book. I often would blank out during reading out of shear boredom. This is frequent with me. It takes mental energy I often don't have to listen intently to things that are not interesting. I also found that the boredom and frustration of being a homemaker took me from sort of coping but in denial, to being crazy just to keep my mind engaged. Being a housewife made it impossible and I haven't felt at peace in a long time.
- —Pannc
I think I might have ADD
- I am a young teenager and although I am in a program for gifted students, I have a poor attention span and am incapable of working at any task for a long period of time. Also I have so much trouble remaining organized. Oh, and I am very forgetful. I am presently not on any meds whatsoever. I am a have extremely good fluid problem solving and have been forced to create formulas with no previous knowledge on math 12 exams because I am highly inefficient at studying.
- —Guest me
Genetics!!!!
- I was diagnosed with ADHD at 3 yrs of age. At 41 I have still had no medication and struggle at times to organize my life for me and my 4 kids. I can't filter things out, have little patience, inattentive, fidgety. My daughter was diagnosed at 10 yrs of age. She takes medication and is now 15 and tells me she wouldn't be without it and doesn't know how I have managed without it ...no choice, never been offered it! I also have a son age 3 and teachers are now saying he is showing signs, inattentive, talks too much, doesn’t listen and attention seeking. I was in denial even though I had seen the signs, I hate the fact I have passed this faulty gene onto my children. My only saving grace is that my 2 beautiful children can get medication that helps them to contain the symptoms.
- —Guest Nicola Burrows
adhd
- smart but no concentration with hi activity no patience screaming no listening
- —Guest lailamostafa
My husband has ADD
- I really got a lot out of these articles. My husband was diagnosed about 15yrs ago, however he is also an extreme diabetic which is a double edge sword for him and for me. His mood is always awful. His temper is dangerous at times and I have to leave home or he does. This condition is horrible for the spouse. Mostly, you have to ignore a lot and get out of the relationship what you can and what you think you deserve. You can not be the constant caregiver and you learn that after a few yrs. For example, to keep the relationship even I only work part time because most of my work is being his Mom. So, my advice is to forgive a lot, have fun and do not worry about the condition, it will not get any better.
- —Guest Mallory Bell
A.D.H.D medications
- There are so many types and forms of this medication out there, if you have a child who CAN not swallow or just flats refuses to do in fear of choking etc... always remember MOST any medication can now be compounded, it’s just finding the right one and the pharmacist who is willing to do it. Yep it’s a pain for them but oh well. My son is on Vyvance 15 mg and we break it down from a 30mg pill and he takes it in water. Just do your research and talk to the doctor, then your pharmacist on how the pill can be taken. There’s also the patch for ADHD but my son would take it off. lol
- —Guest Mistydawn
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