NO NO NO! Do NOT let them
Posted By: OP on 2006-04-14
In Reply to: My 4 yo is having trouble. - Lynn
try to diagnose her with ADHD at 4. My son was diagnosed with it at 4, and it came about the same way - preschool (prekindergarten) saying he wouldn't concentrate, wouldn't listen, wouldn't sit still. He was put on Ritalin. He was on that until SIXTH GRADE. I didn't see that him being on Ritalin was helping him grade wise or anything. We never had any problem with him at home at all. So I took took him off and had him reevaluated by another ADD specialist (the one who diagnosed him was an ADD specialist too) - and he said my son was absolutely NOT ADHD. AFTER HE'D BEEN ON DRUGS FOR IT FOR ALL THOSE YEARS!
The medication absolutely killed his personality. He would go from happy, smiling, singing, to a zombie within 45 minutes of taking the Ritalin (he later was on Dexedrine and Adderall and they did the same thing).
I SOOO regret those years I gave my son that stuff. I think 4 is WAAAAY too young to be diagnosed with ADD. If she is still having problems in 2nd grade, maybe have her evaluated then. Even had a kindergarten teacher tell me that kids vary in maturity so much in kindergarten and some of them are already reading and some of them don't even know their letters and IT'S OKAY! There's a wide range of normal.
I would tell the preschool that you prefer to wait and see how she does and you'll have her evaluated later if she needs to be.
I might mention too, that schools get additional funding for each student they have labeled as "special needs" - such as ADHD.
I'm not saying ADHD is not a real diagnosis - I think it can be. But I think there are a lot more kids diagnosed with it than have it and I don't think ANY kid should be diagnosed with it at 4.
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