Hi, I have two children 31 months and 19 months. My oldest son has autism and my youngest son has a speech delay we had my youngest son's eval today to be sure he doesnt have autism. Well, they dont seem to think thats the problem, and they want to have him tested for ADHD. How is this done at 19 months old? He is very hyper and cant pay atteneion to anything more than one minute but isn't that typical in a toddler?

I think that's typical. Always was with mine....19 months is awfully young to think of ADHD

I seriously doubt that ADHD can be tested for at 19 months. Even if they could, I personally wouldn't want to even think about going there at that age...

Thats pretty much what I thought. Thanks for the replies.

Laceychase,
I am new to this board - am looking for answers of my own. Re: autism, I want to direct you to a couple of Wall Street Journal articles from Tuesday 2/15/05, page D1, "A Radical Approach to Autism" by Amy Dockser Marcus and the related article, 2/15/05, page D1, "Treating the Body vs. the Mind" by Rachel Zimmerman. It is worth the trip to the library to read/copy the articles! Re: ADHD - yes 1 minute/year for attention span. I found that Sesame Street aggravated the hyperness of my toddlers and pre-schools. It seemed to contribute to shorter attention spans. I also found that preservatives, artificial food coloring (red #40 especially), foods with high sugar, chocolate also seemed to aggravate the situation. I specifically asked our family doctor about ADD/ADHD with the youngest 2. He said that he definitely did not consider them ADD/ADHD - just active. So, I looked to controlling their diet – making it as healthy as I could.

[QUOTE=EHRKD05]Laceychase,
I am new to this board - am looking for answers of my own. Re: autism,

Do you have a child w/ autism? If so there is a board here about autism as well which has some really good info. What are the articles about? Also, its funny you mention the food both my boys are on the GF/Cf diet and with no artifical colors, it has really seemed to help with my oldest. thanks for your reply.

You can relax. I have ADD. My daughter has ADD. We didn't know until well past high school or college and we both were tops in our classes, we survived fine. Let it be, it's natural. Relax. Labeling children is a sin. Don't do it.

Laceychase,
Was just wondering why you were questioning if your child was autistic or not? My son just turned 3 on saturday and a few months ago I to was like you wondering the same thing. He is our 5th child and very much a handful. At first I got the usual replies of "it's just the terrible two's" but as a mother I know that is not it. He started crying at 2 weeks old, up until he was about 10 months that is all we heard everyday is crying. The doctors said he was colic. After that it was just little things that were different about him, his temper is very bad one minute he can be fine and the next minute be very angry! At 2 he would bang his head on walls, doors, the t.v. whatever which really made me worry. He will bite himself on the hand when he gets angry and throw stuff across the room. He doesn't ever hit anybody else though. Developmentally he is very smart(knows how to count to 20, ABC's, colors, will tell you when he has to go to the bathroom etc ) so the doctor says he doesn't think it is autism. I think I have looked up everything on the internet even close to autism to see if he has any of the characteristics but he has none. Punishing him only makes him worse he will really go into a rage if you swat his butt or try to sit him in a timeout. (I think I need nanny 911) HA! HA! Anyway I think maybe he could have ADHD or something, my 11 year old has it and I think he has more characteristics of that than anything but maybe you could let me know since you said you have an autistic child already. What things did you notice? Alot of things I've read say they have no eye contact with you, do not usually respond to you, and are not usually cuddly kids. None of things things are him though. Let me know, will be waiting for your reply!!!!

ty19g
Hi sorry I havent been on here sooner. My son Alex is 31 months old he was dx with autism at 24 months. There is no question about it he is autistic. Alex doesnt talk he just started babbling a couple months ago, he doesnt make good eye contact though he is learning if you get in his face. he does not understand anything you say to him or your tone of voice like, if I yell NO he doesn't even look up from what he is doing. You son does not sound like he has autism although I don't want to scare you here but I would look into bi-polar
Oh yeah just to clear up any misunderstanding My first post was about my youngest son Cody who is 19 months old and very hyper he also has a speech delay and his eval team suggested he may have ADHD Which I think is crazy and doctors have since told me they wont even dx ADD until at least kindergarten. Agian sorry I didn't reply sooner

Heres some info on schizophrenia bii-polar ADHD and autism I looked up feel free to let me know if I'm way off base

Fortunately, schizophrenia is rare in children, affecting only about 1 in 40,000, compared to 1 in 100 in adults. The average age of onset is 18 in men and 25 in women. Ranking among the top 10 causes of disability worldwide, schizophrenia, at any age, exacts a heavy toll on patients and their families. Children with schizophrenia experience difficulty in managing everyday life. They share with their adult counterparts psychotic symptoms (hallucinations, delusions), social withdrawal, flattened emotions, increased risk of suicide and loss of social and personal care skills. They may also share some symptoms with - and be mistaken for - children who suffer from autism or other pervasive developmental disabilities, which affect about 1 in 500 children. Although they tend to be harder to treat and have a worse prognosis than adult-onset schizophrenia patients, researchers are finding that many children with schizophrenia can be helped by the new generation of antipsychotic medications.


Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings-from overly "high" and/or irritable to sad and hopeless, and then back again, often with periods of normal mood in between. Severe changes in energy and behavior go along with these changes in mood. The periods of highs and lows are called episodes of mania and depression.

Signs and symptoms of mania (or a manic episode) include:

Increased energy, activity, and restlessness
Excessively "high," overly good, euphoric mood
Extreme irritability
Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another
Distractibility, can't concentrate well
Little sleep needed
Unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers
Poor judgment
Spending sprees
A lasting period of behavior that is different from usual
Increased sexual drive
Abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications
Provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior
Denial that anything is wrong
Lasting sad, anxious, or empty mood
Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, including sex
Decreased energy, a feeling of fatigue or of being "slowed down"
Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
Restlessness or irritability
Sleeping too much, or can't sleep
Change in appetite and/or unintended weight loss or gain
Chronic pain or other persistent bodily symptoms that are not caused by physical illness or injury


The following "red flags" could be signs that a doctor should evaluate a child for autism or a related communication disorder.

"Red Flags" include...

The child does not respond to his/her name.
The child cannot explain what he/she wants.
Language skills or speech are delayed.
The child doesn't follow directions.
At times, the child seems to be deaf.
The child seems to hear sometimes, but not others.
The child doesn't point or wave bye-bye.
The child used to say a few words or babble, but now he/she doesn't.
The child throws intense or violent tantrums.
The child has odd movement patterns.
The child is hyperactive, uncooperative, or oppositional.
The child doesn't know how to play with toys.
The child doesn't smile when smiled at.
The child has poor eye contact.
The child gets "stuck" on things over and over and can't move on to other things.
The child seems to prefer to play alone.
The child gets things for him/herself only.
The child is very independent for his/her age.
The child does things "early" compared to other children.
The child seems to be in his/her "own world."
The child seems to tune people out.
The child is not interested in other children.
The child walks on his/her toes.
The child shows unusual attachments to toys, objects, or schedules (i.e., always holding a string or having to put socks on before pants).
Child spends a lot of time lining things up or putting things in a certain order.

ADHD
Often becoming easily distracted by irrelevant sights and sounds
Often failing to pay attention to details and making careless mistakes
Rarely following instructions carefully and completely losing or forgetting things like toys, or pencils, books, and tools needed for a task
Often skipping from one uncompleted activity to another.
Feeling restless, often fidgeting with hands or feet, or squirming while seated
Running, climbing, or leaving a seat in situations where sitting or quiet behavior is expected
Blurting out answers before hearing the whole question
Having difficulty waiting in line or taking turns.

WOW this is really long maybe it's not a good idea for me to be on here at 1 in the morning!lol

:) You can relax. I have ADD. My daughter has ADD. We didn't know until well past high school or college and we both were tops in our classes, we survived fine. Let it be, it's natural. Relax. Labeling children is a sin. Don't do it.

I agree that labeling a child at 19 months with ADD is crazy but I also know that I have an older son who has Autism he was"labeled" when he was at 24 months and thank God for that because he can now get the thearpy he needs. I would be a sin if he wasn't "labeled"

Laceychase,
Thanks for the info. Someone else had said something to me anout bipolar but I'm not so sure. I also looked up ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) and that kinda sounds like him also. It's just so hard at his age like I told my husband, do we wait another couple of years and hope it goes away (which I don't see happening, like I said he has been a handful since 2 weeks old with his crying and everything) or do we not wait? My fear is if we wait until he's like 5 then when it comes time for him to go to school they'll come out and say that they found this or that wrong and he can't go. Like I said I know it's just not a behavioral problem " the terrible 2's" because I have 3 other kids and I have never seen anything like the fits he throws at his age(except on Nanny 911) but it's definetly not lack of punishment because he does get swatted when he needs it and time outs. Usually if I yell at him it will turn into a yelling match between me and him. If I tell him to stop doing something he always yells back NO! But like I said developmentally he is very smart no delay in anything that I or the doctor can see. It's nice talking to you though. Maybe we could chat every now and then. Let me know of anything else you can think of. THANKS!!!!!!

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. If you feel somethings wrong I wouldn't wait go ahead and call your state's early intervention program. You can contact them through you countys health dept. It is a no cost program. What would it hurt? Either they will come back and say hey this is an issue lets do this and he can get the help he needs now or they will say he's fine.

good point. Serious conditions should certainly be "labeled" immediately, but the milder ones are tough to diagnose, so allowing for differences in people may be healthier. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Zenfish

Sorry I didn't mean to get snippy with you I wrote that after a "friend" and I had an argument-she refuses to believe anything is wrong w/ Alex and is now embarassed to have him around her kids because of his "Label" and the fact that he sees a physcologist and several therpists.