I was told early on that my son showed signs of ADD. Being one of those people who feel ADD is over diagnosed, I had a mental laundry list of all the other things that could be attributing to my son’s behavior.
My son is a 5 year old high energy little boy. He is not what I consider to be hyperactive. Due to prenatal drug exposure and family medical history, there could be any number of neurological issues contributing to his behaviors. We have looked at Sensory Integration Dysfunction (DSI) because he appeared to be seeking sensory input by crashing into things, chewing on his clothes, stripping down to his underwear then tightly wrapping in a blanket… He tends to have food aversions too so perhaps diet is an issue? We have also looked at childhood bipolar because of his impulsivity, cycling behavior that was violent and persistent, and tantrums lasting around 2 hours at times. We’ve questioned how much of his behavior was due to issues surrounding the way he came into our family as well.
It’s still unclear whether his behaviors had anything to do with his entrance by adoption into our family. We do know that bipolar has currently been ruled out. DSI is still a likely issue. I am now convinced my son indeed has ADD. Recently a correct dosage of Ritalin was found for my son. He was able to hold a conversation with me without becoming easily annoyed; he has been able to comply with less resistance. His sleep is much better too. Rather than having racing thoughts at night, he is able to focus on going to sleep more easily. Though I do still see some DSI issues such as chewing on clothing and food aversions, I’m finding that he can better organize himself to meet his own sensory needs appropriately.
So far so good. I feel like I have my little boy back.
Melissa is a Families.com Christian Blogger. Read her blogs at: http://members.families.com/mj7/blog