Hello lovely ladies :) I need words of wisdom from other mummies in my situation. A bit of background (sorry for the novel). My son is 5 yo. He is a sweet boy and he can melt my heart, and we have a very strong bond, we are very alike. He's been a challenging child since the day he was born. A lot of crying, sleep issues (didn't sleep through til he was 16 months old!). He improved dramatically once he was able to talk but in the back of my mind I always thought there was more going on. We saw a few drs over the years but all of them dismissed my concerns (in hindsight I should've pushed the issue harder) Life went on and every year he got better and better. At 4 he was diagnosed with mild receptive language disorder, we saw a speech therapist and things improved even further. Now, this is the part where I need your experience. He started kindergarten two weeks ago (we live in NSW, kindy is the first year of school, I think in other states you call it prep?) and the teacher called me on Friday to tell me that she strongly suspects ADHD. In a way, I got this wave of relief, cos I always suspected it. Of course she is not a dr, but she recommends a follow up with our GP. We have an appt on Monday and we will take it from there. But I'd love for mums who are in the same situation to tell me what to expect? Is it a long process to get a diagnosis? What about support? We are in a very thight budget and I'm imagining tons of money needed (which we don't have)so we will have to go through the public system. Please I need to hear some similar experiences. I want to believe that my little man can have a happy life and reach his full potential. Every time I look at him my heart breaks inside thinking about his future :( Thanks in advance sisterhood xxxxx
5 Replies
The process usually is GP who will refer to a paediatrician. The paediatrician should give you a sheet for his teacher to fill out, and one for you too. It's worth discussing what other diagnoses may fit as high functioning autism can present in a similar way (and receives a lot more funding and support).
Kids with ADHD can do really well with the right strategies. Meds can be a total game changer and it's worth seeking support from a child psych/behaviour psych or can give you appropriate strategies for your boy.
It's worth giving some diet strategies ago but they are not the cure all some people claim (we certainly had zero success).
Thank you so much for your words. I mentioned autism to his teacher, she said that she doesn't think so because he can recognise facial expressions and he doesn't tick all the typical boxes, but he does for ADHD. I appreciate your advice xxx
My daughter has a speech disorder and a lot of the signs she first showed where simular to ADHD and also autism, but in actual fact it was because she couldn't communicate properly and was getting frustrated. I would recommend getting a referral for a developmental peadtrician they go through their behaviour, physical abilities and also their intellectual abilities and check for everything. Once you have a diagnosis then you can get the right medication or therapists to help your little boy.
Hi there, we are just going through the same process at the moment with my 6year old son. I too have thought something's not quite right with him from a very early age. I have been approached by my sons teacher - (last year) saying he can't listen to instruction and that he cant focus on his work. I have paid for one on one tuition for the last year and he is still struggling at school (yet I know he has the brains as he's very intelligent but just not showing up with his reading and writing). So we are now looking down this track. We have an appointment with a specialist but the soonest I can get in is April. I have gone through a bit of grieving with this, but would be good to finally have a reason for the way he is and if I can help my boy have a normal life like his friends I will certainly do anything I can to help him. Good luck, it's damn hard work and sometimes I just want to cry but we just have to be strong for them xx
Have you had his hearing tested? I can't tell you how many mothers I know who have had their kids diagnosed with ADHD only to find out they had hearing issues and had developed verbal communications. My son was the same and only after fighting with his doctors and demanding a hearing test be done, did we find out he had only 40% hearing. Cleared that up and he was good to go. We did enroll him in speech therapy for all that he had lost (he couldn't hear "silent" vowels), his balance was off (due to fluid in the ear canal), so we also had him enrolled in ballet and got that under control. He now has his own kids and went thru the same situation with doctors and adhd and found his son's hearing was compromised. I wish you luck for your little one.