Is it really ADHD?

As far as I was aware drs will not diagnose a child with this before the age of 6, at two she is likely to be highly energetic and possibly even "naughty" thats what two year olds do, maybe she could make a note of anything that causes her to be hyper and she might find a few small changes could really help especially diet but at two no she is far too young to be diagnosed with that. My daughter is two and she can be really hyper its what toddlers do personally id be more worried if she wasnt into everything and generally exploring everything as she learns ok so some of its what could be classed as naughty thats life with a toddler

I think under 2 is a little young to be diagnosing a child with ADHD.Kids that age are very active with no attention span anyway. There's nothing at all wrong with that, they're simply little children. 4 or 5 is a little more reasonable as a starting age. My son was diagnosed at 6 or 7 and has been on meds for it since.

I really do not like seeing a doctor with out a huge background ever saying a child has ADHD. I was lucky to have found a study being done on ADHD and enrolled my daughter in it to be tested. This team had studied ADHD for many years and the tests took a long time. She was found to have it and they tested myself and my other daughter. My other daughter was iffy as to if she had it or if it was because of some of her other medical issues but they urged me not to put her on meds. My oldest daughter can not take the meds because they caused more problems then ADHD did. I can not imagine having a 2 year old on any of the meds my daughter tried. I hate to say it but I think that some doctors go for the easy fix and call way too many ADHD when it isn't that at all. We have an institute here in Nebraska that I used to refer families to if they felt their child had ADHD so I am sure there are others around the country. I would strongly suggest you tell your friend to have them see her child. At age 2 I can't imagine knowing if they do or not but I don't know. I can only say that if it were my child I wouldn't want just any doctor telling me that I would take mine to an expert.

Honestly, I don't think the doctor can make such an assumption, especially at that age. As you've said, the kid is two years old. My niece is three and very playful, like pretty all other children I know of that age. I think you'd begin to see signs later on in the child's life.

Kwistwine, I worked with ADHD deaf children. ADHD is not really a disease, nor something that has a black and white diagnosis. It is a syndrome. What that really means is that a combination of things result in overactive behavior. Genetics, child rearing approaches such as inconsistency in discipline, (overly strict, or the opposite such as lack of strictness) might be two things that contribute to acting out, or over activity. Sometimes children who are depressed act out. We don't have a great track record at labeling these children ADHD. We are not even sure what it is or what causes it. It is more of a convenient label for kids that seem more out of control than other kids in their age group. Before putting a child on medication, it might be wise to get the child involved in a well-recommmended preschool that has lots and lots of structure. Male children in particular seem to act out more. Children that are raised in homes without a great deal of structure also act out. Some children seem to outgrow this hyper activity by around 10 years old. Some children get worse. But one thing helps. If the family gets involved with someone that understands behavior, and they improve their family structure, this will make a difference. Many professionals are not really as good as they may think, ...and some people with little training are excellent. Look for people who naturally do well with children. Individuals who LIKE children, and who are good at structuring activities.

you can find out as young as 2 they say thats when they start showing signs my 10 year old has it we found out when he was just 3 i had questioned it when he was only 1 because of the things he was doing , i found out he has adhd,odd and 2 years ago he now has bipolar so the signs do show up early the thing is you can always get a second oppinion, tell her to be careful because adhd can also can be misdignoced because i know a few people that where told they had adhd and come to find out it really was bipolar , the best you can do is tell her to record her actions nd get as much info on it as she can.

Probably, but that is still too young to be diagnosed with ADHD .

I had the same question when they told me my child has adhd, he is only 4 years old, sometimes he can be really nervous and cant stop moving around, they gave me a prescription for him, but i think he is too young to be medicated!

Hi there - My Son was diagnosed with ADHD at 6, however we had had problems with him since birth. From the age of 16 months he attended different psychologists, attended behaviour therapy play schemes, and finally was referred to a specialist clinic. After attending every week for 10 weeks, we got the diagnosis. ADHD is not always an easy thing to diagnose because there are so many different factors to it and it is hard sometimes to know what is "normal" excessive energy and what is true hyperactivity. Not all Doctors are trained in diagnosing ADHD but some "DO" take a keen interest in it and are able to spot some small significant symptoms early on. I must admit after living with and ADHD child and his Father who also was diagnosed, I find it increasingly easy to spot the tell-tale signs. I can be sitting in a cafe and see a child acting up. Yes, sometimes, I would say it was just bad behaviour or overexcitement but sometimes, I can definitely spot ADHD. I think it comes with experience and knowing exactly what to look out for. Not all tantrummy, loud, 'hyper' kids are ADHD but there are a significant number who are and if they truly are, then the earlier they get help for it the better. My Son was put on medication when he was 6 and although as most Mothers would probably agree, I didn't want him to take any medication, I'm glad he did have it because it helped him through school. He is now turning 16 next month and although he still has ADHD (because no matter what anyone says, it never entirely goes away with age!! - it is just the child learns how to work round about difficulties and maturity helps with this)He has not taken medication for 2 years and hopefully will never need to take it again. His hyperactivity has lessened but he still has major difficulties with life in general, social skills, understanding, co-operationm distractions, concentration etc. If your friends child does genuinely have ADHD then well done to the doctor for being able to spot it early and hopefully refer the child on for help. My advice to your friend is to try and find out as much as possible whether through books, support groups or internet. Hope this helped.