Should I Have My Child Tested for ADHD?
Ask the Experts: My kindergartner shows signs of ADHD. What should I do?
By Dr. Ruth Jacoby, Educational Consultant
Question: I am concerned that my kindergartner might have ADD or ADHD. I am not sure. Several people have mentioned to me that he shows signs that point straight to
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these disorders. How can I bring that to the attention of the teacher? What are my rights about having him tested in school and where should I go for testing?

Answer: Keep a record and an exact list of the behaviors and concerns that you may have about your child's actions. Just write down what you see, not how you feel. Jot down the times of day you see problems with behavior to see if a pattern is occurring. Write down what your trusted friends and relatives have reported to you as well.

You need to gather all the information you can so you have a clear picture of your child and can make good decisions. Call the teacher for a conference and bring your documentation with you. Now you will have a starting point for a dialogue. After reviewing your notes, ask the teacher what she is seeing in the classroom. You may also wish to set an appointment with your pediatrician to get his advice.

After collecting all the information that you can, you may feel that an evaluation would give you additional helpful information to complete your child's profile. If this is the case, request another follow-up meeting with the teacher to discuss further testing. Ask for other school personnel to be present, particularly the special education specialist. Ask how to proceed to get your child tested and what your child's rights are under the law. Stay on top of this and be an advocate for your child. Try to see that too much time doesn't elapse from the date of your first meeting to the actual testing. Mark your calendar and call the school periodically to make sure the school is following up.

You may wish to get your child evaluated by a private physician. Ask the school for the procedures for doing this. It may vary in each state.

Dr. Ruth Jacoby has been involved in education for more than 30 years as an educator, principal and currently as an educational consultant in Florida. She is the co-author of the School Talk! Success Series.

Advice from our experts is not a substitute for medical or other professional advice and services from a qualified health-care provider familiar with your unique situation. We recommend consulting a qualified professional if you have concerns about your child's medical or emotional condition.

December 2005

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Comments From GreatSchools.net Users
06/20/2007:
"We have 3 sons, ages 5,3, and 3 months. We always thought that the 5 year old was extremely active, but we were sure that he would 'calm down' as he got older. We started to get concerned about a year ago when the 3 year old started to be able to attend for longer periods of time than the 5 year old. The 5 year old is extremely bright (he'll be tested for the gifted/talented program in kindergarten at his school this fall), but he was driving us and his preschool teachers absolutely crazy. He literally could not sit down to eat...constantly under the table, so weight and growth were issues because he never ate. Bedtime was a nightmare despite a rigid routine because he couldn't settle down. He constantly talked just to talk. He was always in timeout, and we felt as though we were constantly disciplining him and not enjoying our time with him. Finally, we contacted the public school system in our area who gave us some ADHD screening/test forms for us, his daycare provid! er, and preschool teachers to fill out. We took those to the doctor who prescribed some medication. First, he was on Focalin, a stimulant drug, which worked great for his behavior but caused his eyes to blink constantly. After a week of that, he went on Strattera which is a non-stimulant drug. He has really been a different child. He actually reminds us to give him the medication everyday because he knows that it keeps him out of trouble and that he can attend better with it. He still has the same, fun-loving personality...he is not a zombie, but he is a MUCH better behaved little boy. He has actually gained about 4 lbs. since April because he can sit down to eat now. If you medicate your children, and they are 'zombies', you have them on the wrong meds. We have not done a 504 plan yet for school accommodations because he has not actually been in school to know what accommodations might be necessary. We might not even need one if his behavior stays this appropriat! e. I am a speech therapist in a public school system, and I'v! e always thought that children were 'drugged' too much, so I was very wary about putting my son on medication, BUT I was wrong. It has made all the difference in our lives (all of our lives). Now we can enjoy our son. Medication is not necessary for everyone, but it's been a blessing to our family. To the person who commented on 4/13/07: Children who are not medicated to control symptoms actually often grow up and self-medicate whether it be with drugs or alcohol. I know two people who were diagnosed with ADHD as adults. They ruined their lives when they were teenagers because they started self-medicating with drugs to get that calming effect. They have both told me that they wish they were medicated as children so they would not have had to self-medicate to get that calming effect. "
05/30/2007:
"I HAVE A 8 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WHO IS ADHD AND A 9 YEAR OLD WHO IS ADD BORDERLINE ADHD BOTH ARE ON MEDICATION. THE OLDEST IS DOING WELL THE YOUNGEST NOT SO GOOD. I FOUND OUT TODAY THAT SHE IS GOING TO REPEAT THE 1ST GRADE SHE HAD TO REPEAT KINDERGARTEN ALREADY SHE DOES WELL IN ALL HER SUBJECTS BUT READING. SHE TRIES TO SOUND OUT EVERY LETTER WHICH DOSENT ALWAYS WORK AS WE ALL KNOW. IF ANYONE KNOWS ANYTHING THAT CAN HELP ME I WOULD MUCH APPRECIATE IT. MY EMAIL IS halliem27@yahoo.com"
05/7/2007:
"I have a 7 year old daughter in 1st Grade, that is Bi-Polar, ODD, Articulation Disorder, and possibly ADHD. Her therapist wants to send her to Monroe Myers Facility in Omaha, Nebraska, to be tested to see if she actually does have ADHD, or if it's something else all together. I'm scared to death of what that something else might be. My biggest problem, is that my daughter acts like a perfect angel at school...but when she gets home, watch out, because s**t hits the fan! Either she'll cry over the littlest thing, or she'll get angry over nothing, and I mean REALLY angry, and I have to practically act like an octopus to hold on to her so that she doesn't hurt either her brother or sister or herself. Right now, she's still in a regular classroom, but she goes into the Special Resource Room for 1 - 1 1/2 hours a day to get help in Math, Spelling, and now Reading. She can spell a word, she can point the picture out to you, but she can't string the letters together to make a word. Her Resource teacher is getting frusterated because she has no clue as to help her learn how to read. She's the hardest student she's had so far in all of her career. Can anyone help me by telling me what other Disorders mimic ADHD? Other than what she's already been diagnosed with? That way, I can be prepared a little bit. Plus, anyone have any ideas on how we can help my daughter string those words together so that she can learn to read? She knows her alphabet, she can tell you what things are if it has a picture with it...but, if there's no picture, forget it. Thank you, I really appreciate it. My email addy is iowahillbilly@hotmail.com"
05/4/2007:
"I have a 3year and I too thoought he had ADHD, but getting him evaluated, i learned that he has Sensory Integrated Disorder. Which are the same signs as a ADHD or ADD or Autistic children. So everyone before you go to get your children on Medications try getting him/her evaluated for SID. Good luck. Anyone can write to me at Emperus3@aol.com"
05/3/2007:
"My nephew is 19 and he still remembers being put on Ritalin for a few weeks when he was younger. He is still angry that his mom would 'drug' him. He doesn't understand how hard it was for her to make that decision. She took him off of it because he had dark circles under his eyes and he wasn't his 'lively self'. Best of luck. And try counseling so you don't become so controlling which is hard not to do with a difficult child."
04/23/2007:
"my mom thinks I have ADHD and I think I am just being me.Plus everyone act this way at my age I fell, I don't know what to do because on my pill I fell so slow and like I have no energy what so ever.It is a very small dose that I get too.My mom just says that I have to take it because she likes me on it.I hate me on it.We have talked about it 2 times and both she has got bad at me.And when I told her that I stoped takeing the pill she got real mad.But I just hate it becase she ALLWAYS says 'I am the mom and you will do what I say'or 'with out it your grades go down'But I had a bad week and that was the change she had seen.What should I do I have NOO idea"
04/13/2007:
"Childrens that are medicated since they are young tend to be more attracted to drugs when they grow. This a great campaign to enrich the labs, don´t medicate your son!!!!! stay away....they are also addictive...Please trust me"
11/30/2006:
"My child was said to have ADHD also, he was having a hard time paying attention in class and was pretty 'active'. I didn't want to put him on medication I wanted to see if there was anything out there that was more natural for him to take. I found a Dr. who does and after having him seeing my son he told me about 2 products that are out there that work on ADHD kids. One is called Focus and the other BaseLine Plus, after a couple tests, we found the BaseLine Plus to be the one for our son. The downfall is that they are pills but I did get my son to take them, 3 times a day and after one week his teacher was telling me that she was noticing a difference in him. So if you're one of the moms or dads out there that like the more natural way ask your Dr. about one of the two pills I mentioned above. It doesn't always take a week for a difference, the dr. said it depends on the child too, some kids it only took 2 days."
02/27/2006:
"I'm hoping that someone might be able to help me. I have a child that is now 8 years old. I was enrolled in Kindergarten when he was 5. He failed his first year in Kindergarten. Then I moved him to another school (because I tried to tell his teacher at the time that he was having problems, but she didnt seem to want to hear it). His next year in Kindergarten he was still having some problems remembering what he had learned, but the teacher was nice enough to figure out a way to test him without doing the one on one testing. He passed with flying colors after she figured out that way to test him. Now this year he is in first grade he was doing so so at the beginning of the year (which you know that the beginning of the year is all review)and now after the Christmas vacation he is failing again. We have had conferences time and time again. I have begged them to have him tested for learning problems, but they are telling me that the state will not have him tested until! he is totally failing. Which means that he will fall further and further behind. He is still having problems with knowing all his letter sounds. His class is reading now and he isnt able to remember all his sounds to read. We work with him on a daily basis. We have done everything that we know to do. They enrolled him in Speech class, which they told me that would really help him, it hasn't at all....He has a problem with Comprehending his classwork. He was doing great in math (the basics) but now since they have moved into money and time he is lost again... We live in South Carolina. He teacher told me at his last conference that I wasnt to worry about him failing because since he failed one time already in the primary grade that they will pass him on to the next grade( since no child is left behind)no matter what his grades are...They will do that until he reaches third grade. If he cant pass the test at the end of the third grade school year then they will hol! d him back. Which to me doesnt make much sense.. If anyone o! ut there has ANY ideas that I can try or do PLEASE feel free to email me. Thank you for listening, Ms. Clayton msredd1974@aol.com"
01/19/2006:
"This is grerat information, although this woman also needs to be keeping a journal of everything this child eats from wake to dawn as well. I have seen a few cases of 'ADHD' be turned around just by diet. Of course, not all do, but it is to important for this child that she documents everything for her doctor and school and explore all avenues of teting and treatment if it becomes necessary. She also needs to educate herself in the matter."
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