As many as 40 percent of children have significant problems with attention by age four, and ADHD is now the most common mental health disorder diagnosed in the preschool years.
Most children aren't checked for ADHD until they're school age, but kids as young as 4 can be diagnosed, according to guidelines set by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Children with ADHD often have trouble paying attention, and they may display hyperactive and impulsive behaviors. These features can affect the child's relationships with family, friends, and teachers.
Symptoms of ADHD tend to be noticed at an early age and may become more noticeable when a child's circumstances change, such as when they start school. Most cases are diagnosed when children are under 12 years old, but sometimes it's diagnosed later in childhood.
They tend to be fussier and harder to control than others. As they get a little older, toddlers with ADHD continue to have low frustration tolerance and cannot manage anything challenging. They seem angry most of the time and simply cannot cope with their emotions.
During this year your child really starts to understand that their body, mind and emotions are their own. Your child knows the difference between feeling happy, sad, afraid or angry. Your child also shows fear of imaginary things, cares about how others act and shows affection for familiar people.
Blood relatives, such as a parent or sibling, with ADHD or another mental health disorder. Exposure to environmental toxins — such as lead, found mainly in paint and pipes in older buildings. Maternal drug use, alcohol use or smoking during pregnancy. Premature birth.
One study showed that as many as ⅔ of children diagnosed with ADHD also have speech and language disorders, and other research has shown that percentage to be as high as 90%. ADHD can affect speech and language skills in many different ways and affects each person differently.
A low dose of methylphenidate (brand names include Ritalin, Concerta, Quillivant, and others) is the AAP's recommendation to treat preschool-age children diagnosed with ADHD, when behavior therapy is tried first and unsuccessful.
Children with ADHD often have difficulty paying attention to the same thing for too long, and they may get distracted easily. Autistic children may have a limited scope of interest. They may seem to obsess over things that they enjoy and have difficulty focusing on things that they have no interest in.
To the surprise of many parents and even professionals, ADHD and speech/language development often go hand-in-hand. Dr. Russell Barkley, a leader in the field of ADHD, has estimated that two-thirds of children with ADHD also have a speech or language disorder, with some studies estimating up to 90% co-occurrence!
There's no simple test to determine whether you or your child has ADHD, but your specialist can make an accurate diagnosis after a detailed assessment. The assessment may include: a physical examination, which can help rule out other possible causes for the symptoms.
Is It Just Normal for Their Age? If your child is hyper, it could be because they're just a kid. It's normal for children of all ages to have lots of energy. Preschoolers, for instance, can be very active -- they often move quickly from one activity to another.
If your child isn't meeting speech milestones, make an appointment with your pediatrician. In the meantime, keep talking, reading, and singing to encourage your toddler's speech.
By age 3, a toddler's vocabulary usually is more than 200 words. Kids can string together 2- or 3-word sentences. They can talk with you in a conversation that has at least 2 back-and-forth exchanges. Other people can understand your toddler most of the time.
ADHD tends to run in families and, in most cases, it's thought the genes you inherit from your parents are a significant factor in developing the condition. Research shows that parents and siblings of someone with ADHD are more likely to have ADHD themselves.
ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active.
If you are concerned about whether a child might have ADHD, the first step is to talk with a healthcare provider to find out if the symptoms fit the diagnosis. The diagnosis can be made by a mental health professional, like a psychologist or psychiatrist, or by a primary care provider, like a pediatrician.
You may need help if you're seeing not only frequent temper tantrums but full-blown tantrums, where the child is upset, crying for a long time, and inconsolable.
There are lots of possible reasons for difficult behaviour in toddlers and young children. Often it's just because they're tired, hungry, overexcited, frustrated or bored.
Toddler can become angry when they encounter a challenge, are unable to communicate wants, or are deprived of a basic need. Some common triggers for angry outbursts or tantrums may include: being unable to communicate needs or emotions. playing with a toy or doing an activity that is hard to figure out.