ADD/ADHD - Kind of long

[Guest guest]

To all with active preschoolers

ALL of the behaviors you have described with your kids, are evident, on a

regular basis, with my 3.5 yr old g-daughter, Aidan. Aidan does not have

RSS, but ADD/ADHD runs in our family genetics. Two out of 4 of my kids were

diagnosed with ADHD, and 5 out of the 8 cousins were/are treated for

ADD/ADHD.

, I DO think that girls mature faster than boys, but children with

ADD/ADHD almost always have maturity issues. It could be that Hayden does

not have ADD or ADHD, and that Colin does, or it could just be that Hayden

is a girl and Colin is a boy. The differences in behavior would be dramatic,

and I totally understand having problems with not comparing the two! It

seemed like I wanted to ask several times a day, why one child couldn't be

more like the other, when mine were younger! LOL

I found it interesting in 's email about Jordan knowing who he can

" play " and who he can't. BOTH of my ADHD kids were like that. When

wrote about how much Jordan likes to talk, and how he can sometimes be

verbally unkind, it also reminded me of my two. As it was explained to me,

ADD/ADHD kids don't seem to have the " stop-gap " that most of us do, that

lets them think before the act, or reply (this falls under impulsivity). So

most of the time, they say, or do, the first thing that comes to mind,

without thinking through the consequences.

One of the best treatments ever recommended for my two, was a rigid

schedule, with a very structured routine. We did the same things every day,

in the same order, and in the same way, all the time. If things got too

rowdy, we would stop that type of play, and work on some quiet activity,

until they seemed calmer. We tried to get outside daily, to run off

excessive energy. I limited the amount of refined sugar, artificial dyes,

and MSG in their diets. All of these seemed to cause my kids to exhibit more

hyper-type behavior. And when I needed them to do something, I would get

down at their level and make sure I had eye contact with them, when I made

the request. Then, I would have them repeat the request back to me, to make

sure they were listening. You wouldn't believe how often they missed what I

was saying in the beginning. As their listening skills improved, so did

their behavior.

I hope some of these suggestions help those of you going through this now.

Parenting an ADD or ADHD child is frustrating, exhausting, and exhilarating,

all at the same time. It is wonderful to watch them learn more and more

self-control, as you both learn little tricks that help them focus on the

tasks at hand. It, also, helps them build self-esteem. It seems like it is

always these kids that are are getting the negative comments.

It does get better with age, and even if your kids don't have either ADD or

ADHD, the same tricks work well with over-active preschoolers! LOL

Pat (g-ma to , RSS, 28 months, 20# 19oz, 30.1 " , Prevacid, Singulair,

GT)