Hi am came across this board and hope that I can get some advice here. My son is 7 years old and he sings and hums to himself which disrupts class. He has done this all his life. I know its something he cant help. Lately he does not stop when the teacher asks him too and he does not complete his work. She sent him to the office today for detention. Sometimes he is hyper, cant sit still, and other times he is slow, like depressed and wants to sleep and lay around. He has low self esteem no matter how much we encourage him. He is very sensitive and emotional. Does these signs point to ADD from your experiences? Please help. Thanks
I think that you are probably right when you say that your son can't always help the singing/humming that he does. And I think you are right to be a little concerned.
From your description, several different things could be going on with him. It's possible that his noise-making is actually a vocal tic. Does he have any physical tics like eye blinking, shoulder shrugging, etc? It's also possible that it could be a nervous mannerism or it could be a compulsive behavior.
Yes, ADHD kids quite often have behaviors like this one. But, from your description, this doesn't really sound like ADD to me. I base that on 2 things: 1) the periods of time when he is low energy (ADHD kids tend to be hyper ALL the time and 2) I don't hear you saying that he has a tremendous amount of difficulty with concentrating and staying on task. That, of course, is the hallmark of ADD.
Your description of periods of high energy alternating with periods of low energy makes me wonder about the possibility of bipolar disorder. Is there any history of it in the family?
In any case, I think a really thorough evaluation is in order. First, a physical exam by his pediatrician and then, a psychological evaluation.
Above all else, my recommendation is this: trust your instincts! Let us know what you find out!
Hello. Thanks for your response. I also wondered if it was bipolar. It does run in both sides of our families. Another thing is that when you call his name he does not respond. We have to call him several times before he answers. Its like he's delayed. Its seems like he cant get the works out because he cant think of them fast enough. Does that make sense? He also stutters. His concentration seems to be ok for the most part. Are these signs of ADD?
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Originally Posted by index.html
Hi Shay,
I think that you are probably right when you say that your son can't always help the singing/humming that he does. And I think you are right to be a little concerned.
From your description, several different things could be going on with him. It's possible that his noise-making is actually a vocal tic. Does he have any physical tics like eye blinking, shoulder shrugging, etc? It's also possible that it could be a nervous mannerism or it could be a compulsive behavior.
Yes, ADHD kids quite often have behaviors like this one. But, from your description, this doesn't really sound like ADD to me. I base that on 2 things: 1) the periods of time when he is low energy (ADHD kids tend to be hyper ALL the time and 2) I don't hear you saying that he has a tremendous amount of difficulty with concentrating and staying on task. That, of course, is the hallmark of ADD.
Your description of periods of high energy alternating with periods of low energy makes me wonder about the possibility of bipolar disorder. Is there any history of it in the family?
In any case, I think a really thorough evaluation is in order. First, a physical exam by his pediatrician and then, a psychological evaluation.
Above all else, my recommendation is this: trust your instincts! Let us know what you find out!
Oh, don't get me started...some "doctor/psychiatrist" put my 14 year old daughter on concerta once and with in 6 months she was a different child, ended up burning herself and running away. Got help from a good psychologist, got completely off the med's. and used behavior theropy to help. a couple of years later, when she was older, and better and more expersive, said said the med made her paranoid, angst, and uncaring. and I looked into testing, too, (found none) but not soon enough to save us from several years of living hell. she is almost 18 now and still has moments of insecurity and disorientation, both in an emotional way. please be very careful. this is the age my daughter started ADHD "treatment" (the concerta was just the last) I also have a brother who is bipolar as well as others, but don't assume. get several opinons, you won't regret it later, like we did.
Shay I agree with HTML on this. It does not sound like ADD to me. It does sound like he may have a vocal tic. The other symptoms you mentioned arent really ADD either. (hyper only sometimes, sometimes not, concentration ok)
I would go on, but all I would be doing is repeating what HTML has already said. The bipolar (low energy sometimes, other times high energy)
Also I would like to mention the possibilty of him having problems being anxious (being anxious can cause a child to be hyperactive)
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