ADHD In a 2 Year Odl?

yes, but it will not really be KNOWN until he is older, my son was diagnosed at 4 and we worked with him on his other issues (adhd related) with Early Intervention.
Add: we have had all allergy tests done and there are none.

Try not to label him at such an early age My middle guy was always different, but I just looked at him as someone who forged his own way. He was labeled a "genius" by his schools however. He went on to graduate from college before being "labeled" mildly autistic. I often wonder if I would have had the same expectations from him if I had known then what I know now...and how far he would have come in life. Something to think about.

For a daycare provider to suggest that means that she does not understand the age she is working with. Find a new provider that understands that a 2 yr old NEEDS to run and move daily all day. Your child should be able to sit for about 5 minutes as a young 2, about 10 minutes by 2 1/2 and about 15 minutes by 36 months old.

I have worked in this field for over 25 yrs and have only once had a child that I KNEW had something not right (behavior wise, not skill wise) before age 3 1/2. That child was violent towards others, in an extreme way. But a 2 yr old, no, that is a provider/parent issue, not a child issue.

My main suggestion to ANY parent who says they have a child with ADD/ADHD is to increase sleep by a lot. A 2 yr to 5 yr old should be getting minimum 14 hours of sleep in every 24 hours period. A 6 to 10 yr old should be getting minimum 12 hours of sleep and a 10 to 14 yr old should be getting 10 hours minimum. I find that 99% of behavior is really sleep deprivation.

Sorry...NO WAY!!!!!!!! Kids are ACTIVE and FULL OF ENERGY. Some people know how to deal with it and some people not.
NO, NO., NO........
Follow YOUR mother's instincts, you know your kid more than anybody else.

Hyperactivity isn't even close to the deciding factor for ADHD, I was diagnosed as an adult because everyone thought "she's not hyper, so no ADHD" and they were wrong. Diagnosing a two year old is practically impossible and any good psychiatrist will not even see a kid that young. I agree that the teacher is 1.) Being a whimp and 2.) Is overstepping her bounds. I'd be pissed off if I went to get my kid and a teacher who not only spends only a fraction of the day with my kiddo but also has NO medical training told me I needed to get my kid checked out. File a complaint and write it off as ignorance. But do keep an eye out if its something that runs in the family, Look out for hyperactivity, poor decision making, not being able to pay attention, impulsivity and not thinking things through. Based on what the "teacher" said you have an active kiddo going through those oh-so-terrible twos!

Hi M.,

Yes, it's possible for a 2 year to have ADHD, because I have two sons that have it; however, you cannot "offically" diagonose it until they are at least five. My sons were diagonosed when they were 6 and 8 years old.

I thought the same way as you by saying "I just have very active boys". However; you really can't tell until they are older, but here are some signs that I have noticed when my boys were in preschool-child care:

Impulsive: can't seem to keep their hands to themselves and hitting alot.
Can't sit still for anything: story time especially, my kids couldn't wind down to go to sleep and very often went to bed around 11:00pm, because of the hyperactiveness.
Arguementive: Will not listen to ANY adult (not counting parents).

It's hard to tell all this from a 2 year old and a day care provider cannot diagnose it...only a doctor.

Your daycare workers are NOT a medical authority. Please, a 2 year old? You've got to be kidding me. Do not listen to these teachers. They have no idea what they are talking about. If you are ever really concerned (when he's older), take him to a behavioral therapist and your pediatrician.

I wouldn't completely dismiss it, and I'd push the teacher/director for some types of documentation for examples, of your son's behavior in question, how the teacher handled it and what the exact circumstances are when he has these "issues/outbursts".

I think kids just come in a wide spectrum of behaviors...some are quiet and sit in the corner playing with dolls or cars while others never seem to run out of energy and still others just seem to need all kinds of attention and hand holding.

I'd take the teacher's comments seriously and schedule an appt with her, the director and both you parents. Don't get defensive, just go to listen. And then ask THEM what they plan to do, how they plan to handle it, etc. No matter what I'd simply say, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Even if your son does have ADHD or ADD they still have to have a plan as to how to address his behavior while at school.

Then what you choose to do at home, with your dr, etc. is up to you.

We knew our oldest son had it around the age of 2, but until he got to Kindergarten they wouldn't officially say he had it. He couldn't sit still, showed no fear and talked non-stop. He's now almost 14 and is showing signs that he can control himself and possibly be "growing" out of it. Due to the ADHD he also had trouble learning to read and in language class and had to have those classes replaced with Special Ed classes. After 2 yrs of tutoring he's come a long way and is in regular classes now. After the family got "used" to him having ADHD, my mother admitted that she more than likely had it as a child and I've noticed different things in myself that resemble it too.

Good luck and remember that you are your child's advocate!

Yes, he can have ADHD at two. Ours certainly showed signs at that age and was getting medical assistance for his behavior problems at three. However, if you're not feeling like anything's wrong, then perhaps nothing is wrong. I don't know any parent of a child with ADHD who would describe things at home as "pretty good," not even at age two.

Your son may just be spirited or have ADHD. In any case, you won't find out at this age (even getting help at three, it took two more years for a diagnosis in our son). You can ask your pediatrician for input on correcting the behavioral issues if you are concerned (and doesn't sound like that's the case). Not all daycares can handle children who are active, so perhaps it's time to evaluate other options.

it's hard for me to believe that as a daycare provider they would not have seen other active toddlers! My son, now 4.5, could not sit still and, in fact, when he moved to the toddler room ran around the room keeping all kids from napping as he had never napped on a cot before and there was nothing holding him back!!!!!! I will admit there were a number of times I thought whether or not my son has/had ADHD but I realized many children in the toddler/preschool years are super active and then settle down as they mature - my son has.

I think it's completely improper of a daycare provider to even try to label your son. My son has PDD-NOS - he was diagnosed by a behavioral pediatrician - my son goes to a special ed. preschool and even there they will not try to label at all......

Having been the mother of a precocious 2-yr old boy (who is now 7), I completely understand your hesistancy to rush to judgment. A 2-year old is starting to try to understand where they fit in in the world, where the boundaries are, etc. And I have definitely found that some day care providers have NO clue about "normal". Keep in mind, many day care teachers need nothing more than an Associate's degree to manage a whole room full of little kids. There are certainly wonderful providers--I'm not bashing them. It's the ones that let the kids run the classroom that have the hardest time understanding how to handle rambunctious toddlers.

My boy was in a day care where the room teacher never disciplined or removed them from harmful situations; and because he enjoyed testing the limits, as an example, ended up with a broken arm from jumping on/off a chair that the teacher only kinda said "you might wanna stop doing that." Ugh...he was 5...you don't merely suggest that he stop doing something that could end badly--you need demand it with kids, otherwise they'll take that inch and go a mile or more. He's the kind of kid that hears "no" but decides to try just one more time, just in case you were kidding or weren't really serious. But I was working and we really loved the manager of the place--not some of the teachers, though. To an outsider, they would have seen a kid who was jumping off walls (or chairs, as the case may be!) and thought that he was ADD, given some of his other issues with sitting still. He is totally NOT, by the way.

Knowing my almost-2 daughter now, from what you're saying, I would think that your boy is just being 2!! And enjoying every minute of the craziness that a 2-year old can bring!

You could always observe his classroom--as long as he doesn't know you're there--to see for yourself and see if he really is dramatically, noticeably acting differently and inappropriately than the other kids his age. But my guess is that he might be just like the other kids, then adding his own unique twists to the mix just to make it more interesting. You never know, he might just want to stand out, be a leader, exploring the world around him, figuring out how things work, and you're dealing with a future President of the United States!!

I won't hurt to ask your doctor about it.

It sounds to me like your 2 year old is trying to figure out what he can and can't get away with in life. Like all 2 year olds do. It is how they start to figure the difference between right and wrong. They LOVE to push the bounderies at this age(which is where the "terrible twos" came from. It is their way of exploring and seeing who will let them get away with what. If the day care worker allows him to get away with one thing he is going to keep trying to push the envelope. He is TWO!!!!! The all do it. And if she lets him misbehave, he will continue. I don't think it is a medical or behavioral problem, I think it is because he is TWO!!!!
Good luck with this, but don't jump the gun and start having him tested for a bunch of disorders on the advice of someone who probably doesn't have any formal training except what she has learned from the daycare. I bet if she has kids, at home they walk all over her.
Stay pro-active on the food thing. It is a good idea that if you as his mother, notices he doesn't react well to chocolate, then keep it away from him. But you should know your son better than anyone else, and if there are other reactions then you will know what else bugs him.

I think you are on the right track with the chocolate thing. Try doing as little processed foods as possible. Sounds ridiculous, i know, but it is worth the positive results! Our son is now 4 `/2 and has been formally diagnosed with ADHD, however, we visited an allergist in January and found out that he has a CORN allergy... the following ingredients (corn syrup, gluten, maltodextrin, corn starch, dextrose, etc.) trigger unwanted behaviors with our son. If you are bored you can check out our blog www.thelewisfamilyjourney.blogspot.com. Good luck!

M.,
Since your son is under 3years old, I would recommend going through the Early Intervention program to have him evaluated. Anyone can make a referral and the initial evaluations are free. Call ###-###-####. You can either request therapists to come to the home and observe him in his natural environment or request a medical diagnostic by a developmental pediatrician. Always my initial reaction for a child's high activity level at this age has to do with sensory integration. I would highly recommend that an occupational therapist take a look at him. I work for Early Intervention and have a child who received OT and feel that my son benefited a great deal. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions and good luck.

I knew before the age of 2 that my daughter was/is ADHD. Just a few wks ago, it was diagnosed... Mom's usually know before a Dr does. Or on the flip side... Mom's usually know when to tell others to shove it where the sun doesn't shine too. :)

ETA- No credible Dr would diagnose this young nor do anything about it until at least age 6 anyhow.

I'm speaking from my own experience. Kids should be active, but do you see a difference when he is with others (it's hard because at 2 they are tandem playing). At age 8 my son still tandem plays and yes, he has ADHD. I've noticed since he was tiny that he did things differently and now we have a label for it. Your mention of chocolate is rather telling, chocolate is considered an "exicitogen" along with food colors. Good job noticing that !A great book to check out is 'Healing the New Childhood Epidemics" by Kenneth Bock. It's admittedly a giant book but there's some very interesting information about vitamin and mineral excesses/deficits and different imbalances that throw off the metabolism.

My son, who will turn eight in May, was just diagnosed with ADHD. Since he was about three, daycare providers and subsequently a kindergarten teacher suggested there might be medical reasons behind some of his behaviors. We resisted all pressure to 'get him diagnosed and medicated," opting instead for clear boundaries, behavioral tracking systems, and a new school with a more cooperative approach. Finally, a few months ago, we took him to a Learning Disabilities specialist who confirmed ADD. He has started medication and is responding well to it.

I say all this as a preface because both the specialist and our pediatrician emphatically told us that we were RIGHT to resist earlier attempts at a diagnosis. They both said that it is very rare to have a clear-cut diagnosis of ADHD prior to age seven, because there are so many other factors that could be affecting behaviors, and it is only through history and the kind of disciplinary systems we had put in place that one can be sure. Boys in particular suffer from this mania to regulate early childhood behaviors. Unless your child is endangering himself, or other children, trust your instincts. Find care providers, and later teachers, whose judgment you can trust. Remember if he does have it, it is manageable and treatable; but also remember that it is a widely over-diagnosed and over-medicated disorder.

Good luck!

I think the teacher is jumping the gun a little here. I doubt you'll even find someone who is willing to evaluate for ADHD. I work with psychologists and am a Clinical Social Work (so I can also do the psychological testing) and none of us would. The diagnosis criteria are to similar to normal two year old behavior it would be to difficult to differentiate. Personally speaking, though, I wouldn't evaluate anyone for it who is younger then 7-8. There are other things they can be evaluated for but not ADHD.

From all I've read, two is entirely too young to diagnose a child with ADHD. I believe the age that a definitive diagnosis can be given is 7. Also, a teacher should never offer even a hint of a diagnosis. She is not qualified to do so. She can mention that she has difficulty with him and it's appropriate for you to give some guidance as to what works for you at home. I was a preschool teacher and had two kids in preschool. My experience is that girls at this age are much more amenable to learning control and that boys are more physical to begin with, so some teachers prefer girls and complain about the boys. If possible, you or your husband could come to the school and observe your child, then you'll know what the teacher is talking about.