ADHD or ADD question and advice needed?
How does on get ADHD, ADD? Are kids born with it? Does it happen with too much interaction/ overstimulation (too many toys or things going on)?
The reason I ask is my daughter (16 mos) is very extremely active. Since she is our only child right now and is the only grandchild, neice, etc. in the family. SHe has so many toys/things( has a huge playroom), we take her to do many outings (parks, theme parks [toddler section], museums, etc). basically, wherever we go, she goes. what ever we do, she does. We have her enrolled in one activity class, which she loves to go to. She has many visitors (mostly family). She has so much interaction in her life. Her dr. and class leader says she is really advanced for her age.
I was conversing with one of my friends and she told me I better cut back on all the stuff she does and has because she will develop ADD/ ADHD. Is this true? I don’t want to believe it, but it is stuck in the back of my head. Any advice?
She can go from one toy to the next, one activity to the next, etc. without any problems. I thought she was just easily adaptable, but the comment my friend made makes me nervous!
No one in both sides of our family has ADD….
January 22nd, 2008 at 2:10 am
It’s genetic and NOT a learned behavior
However if you have a frenetic and chaotic life style, it’s likely your child could adopt that behavior….
if you have a calm and quiet environment, it’s more likely the child will be that way……..
I think a good mix is preferable
January 24th, 2008 at 5:47 am
I don’t think that has anything to do with developing ADD/ADHD. Does ADD run in the family?
January 25th, 2008 at 3:16 am
it’s a disorder that is not learned. you are born with it. You cannot diagnose someone to have ADD or ADHD. It has to be clinically diagnosed… so go see a shrink. and if she’s only 16 months, relax woman! let her grow up first. your friend is dumb. You can’t develop ADHD. if your daughter is active all the time, maybe it’s just her outgoing personality.
January 28th, 2008 at 4:23 am
I don’t think being over stimulated or having too many toys has anything to do with it. I’m pretty sure its something they’re just born with. I have ADD myself, and I’m worried about my daughter getting it… but its not THAT big of a deal if they do, its not life threatening or anything. There is a LOT of advice people are going to give you [which I just realized myself being a first time mommy], that is just simply advice and OPINIONS. I wouldn’t believe it unless a professional pediatrician or doctor mentioned it, but I’ve never heard that before.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
You are born with it. But a lot of people mistake normal behavior for ADHD and ADD. Just remember most kids are more active then you ever knew, especially boys. Only a doctor can say if a child has it or not. Do not cut back on a child actives because they may become ADHA or ADD. They need those actives and social skills to stay physically and mentally healthy. That maybe why she is so advanced because she goes and plays and doesn’t sit a watch tv all day.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I don’t think that ADD/ADHD is a problem. I myself have a daughter with this Adhd. I never found any problems in her until 1st grade. If your daughter does get along well with her play friends then I would not worry too much about it. It’s when she becomes angry and restless while doing activities that you should be concerned but I would have to say that 18 months is way to early to tell.
Enjoy your daughter.
January 31st, 2008 at 4:23 am
I can’t believe your friend would say that to you, that is so not true, my nephew has ASD, and we found out that is an imbalance in the brain, my sister asked was this something she had done, they obvioulsly said no its a disabilty, and its the same with ADHD and ADD. think your friend may be slightly jealous perhaps that you have a lovely outgoing child? don’t mean to interfere but… Hope this helped x x
February 3rd, 2008 at 4:39 am
It really just sounds like you’re loving parents who want your daughter to have a life full of wonderful experiences!!!
A child is born with ADD/ADHD. A family with a history of ADD is more likely to have a child with it than a family without. It can also be caused by things such as alcohol, tobacco, and lead exposure. There is no evidence that environmental factors–like interacting with a lot of people, toys, and places– have anything whatsoever to do with the development of ADD and ADHD. 80% of cases are genetic, and the other 20% are caused by a multitude of things, none of which are having too much to do as a baby.
However, all this stimulation might be tiring your daughter emotionally. Even though she’s only a baby, having all these people and things happening around her can be overwhelming! Make sure she gets plenty of sleep and a good diet, and keep doing what you are doing– she is learning and taking in everything you show her and everything she experiences, and since when is learning a bad thing?
February 3rd, 2008 at 9:41 am
Having a son with ADHD I have done a lot of reading on the subject. As others have stated ADHD is not a “learned” behavior caused by over stimulation, it is a neurological disorder. There is strong evidence to a genetic component but this is not always present. People with ADHD show an abnormality of the fiber pathways in the frontal cortex, basal ganglia, brain stem and cerebellum that affects brain chemistry.
My advice is that you read up on ADHD, I’ve provided a couple of links, and relax. It sounds to me like you have a normal, healthy, intelligent, active child. Many people give well meaning advice and if you are lucky only about 1% of the advice is useful.
February 4th, 2008 at 8:57 am
no no silly, she can not get ADD/ADHD from overstimulation. Your friend needs to read a book and get a better understanding of ADD/ADHD before diagnosing.
All that stimulation is great! Understimulation, ie: plopping the kid in front of the tv, not interacted with other people, not having educational toys etc will do more harm than having too much of these things! You sound like a great parent.
February 7th, 2008 at 2:18 am
From your description of your kid, I don’t think your kid is suffering from any disorder. Your friend is most likely “barking up the wrong tree” so to speak. If your kid gets TOO much uncontrolled attention, the only probable outcome is being spoilt, that’s all - not ADHD.
February 10th, 2008 at 4:34 am
Slack off in conversing with this friend as they are poor at remembering the context of the information they receive and relate this misinformation on to others.
The genes to develop ADHD is passed down genetically. I think doctors still don’t know what exactly causes this disorder to manifest itself but some do and some don’t.
February 10th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Your friend is an idiot. ADD or ADHD is not something you can “catch.” It’s a genetic trait - you’re either born with it or not.
You won’t know until your child is older, but it can be detected in children as young as 3 years old. If you see signs of this, don’t make the stupid mistake MY PARENTS made by ignoring it. Talk to your childs doctor because only he/she can make that determination. Myself and my two brothers all have tested positive for varying degrees of ADD, or ADHD as adults, which is terrible because we could have been treated for this as children.
The effects of untreated ADD or ADHD only get worse with age, and is increasingly being linked to early onset Alzheimers. It’s easily treated now, so there is no excuse for children (and adults) to suffer from this. Good luck to you!