Hi momof2boys,
In keeping with the price of your question, I'll give you the brief
answer here –
In general, children are not observed and diagnosed for ADHD and
similar disorders until they are of school age. This is for several
reasons.
First, in order to objectively assess a child's behavior, the child
must be observed in more than one environment, and at least one of
these should be AWAY from the home and parents. This is usually done
in a setting such as daycare or school or sometimes in a controlled
environment such as a psychological clinic. The reason for this
should be fairly obvious – children often exhibit behaviors at home
and with their parents that they would never exhibit in public. True
ADHD would be out of the child's control and would carry over into all
environments.
Second, many of the normal behaviors found in young children
(especially 2-3 year olds) can resemble ADHD and even more so,
Oppositional Disorder. (They don't call them terrible twos for
nothing!) Some young children are extremely active, defiant, easily
agitated, or very reactive to changes in their environments. Their
actions may resemble ADHD-like or OD-like behaviors, but in fact are
just part of who they are at that age.
That said however, some parents of ADHD children have successfully
insisted that their toddlers be observed and tested for ADHD. These
are often experienced parents who knew immediately that there was
something very different about this particular child. If you have such
concerns, bring it up with your child's doctor.
Here are some resources for you ----
-------------------------------
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Overview with Implications
for Residential Treatment and Therapeutic Schools
Developmental Course
"Symptoms of ADHD are seen as early as infancy. When mothers respond
to developmental history questions, they often suggest that their ADHD
children had striking differences as compared to their Non-ADHD
children (Barkley, 1981). Early manifestations can include problems
with eating and sleeping, activity level, colic, irritability,
irregularity in feeding patterns, allergies to milk and other
substances, and sleep pattern irregularities (Wender, 1987). ":
http://users.rcn.com/peregrin.enteract/add/add-overview/development.html
-------------------------
"There is no reliable "ADHD test." Testing for ADHD involves getting
information from people who know the child best. This is usually the
parent and teacher. Information will be needed about ADHD behaviors
and other problems that may be causing the ADHD symptoms. A good
evaluation involves using many methods. This usually includes a
complete interview with the parent and information from the school."
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children
http://www.ach.uams.edu/parenting_magazine/fw01/fw01.html?http%3A//www.ach.uams.edu/parenting_magazine/fw01/fw01adhd.html
-------------------------------
ADDHELPLINE
http://www.addhelpline.org/age_of_diagnosis.htm
-----------------------
"The American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual (currently
DSM-IV) identifies an Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder as
consisting of 6 or more of 9 symptoms of inattention OR 6 or more
symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity. To qualify for a diagnosis, the
symptoms must have been present before age 7, and some impairment from
the symptoms must occur in 2 or more settings. "
ADHD or Learning Disability?
http://www.atlantic-testing.com/page5.html
----------------------------
*sorry .. this is hard to read
DSM IV ADHD DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA
http://lib-sh.lsumc.edu/fammed/intern/adhd.html
------------------
So, to sum up your answer –
A) Children are NORMALLY not tested until they are school age and can
be evaluated in more than one setting.
B) No two or three is NOT too young to diagnose a child who is
behaving extremely differently than most other children his age.
Thank you for your question –
-K~
search terms –
DSM IV ADHD
ADHD "age of diagnosis"
"testing for ADHD" age |
