i think my son might have adhd, but he's only 3 1/2

my son had adhd at 2.... jumped thru window sliced open tummy .... 1and half inches of intestines on outside of his tummy! it was awful... xploratory surgery cause it cut n2 liver inch deep but he was ok... btw didnt slow him down! and still hasnt he is now 9... god i luv him!

Bring it up with his pediatrician. He can check for signs and recommend testing if necessary. I do think 3 1/2 is probably early, but since there is a history in the family, it can't hurt to have it checked out.

My son was diagnosed at 3. And put on meds. He was much happier then. He could actually do things he wanted to do, but couldn't because he could never calm down enough.
We were actually at a doc appointment for me. He kept hitting and kicking me. He was running around and bouncing off the walls, literally. My doc tried to calm him, just to be kicked and hit. He asked if he could take him down the hall to the peds doc. Then he brought him back, and said to bring him back to see the peds doc at 1 pm.
Just talk with your peds doc. You really want to get him in with a psychiatrist though. But, we had concerns that our oldest son, who is special needs, might be, too. We talked with a peds neurologist at John's Hopkins. He said to get a Rx for Concerta. If it works, it works. If not, don't give it to him, then he's not ADD. But, I'd go with seeing the doc.

imo...no bashing to anyone...i think that adhd is the "answer" to too many things now a days. he is only 3 1/2, remember that. kids will be kids and some are more excited then others. i've worked with kids and i have 2 little ones and 4 nephews, all under 6. just because your ds is excited doesn't mean he needs any meds. you can't make a child calm down or be still, ecspecially at such a young age. there are so many little kids who start school and are too excited and have a hard time sitting still that are diagnosed with adhd and unnecessarily medicated. his is still just a baby, don't resort to meds.

No, he's 3. Teach him some self control. It's a process. Start now.

I dont think they can find out until they are around 5.

Be aware that there are other things that can cause extremely hyper behavior at this age other than adhd. My understanding is that they can't really diagnosis ADHD until 5 or 6. I'd discuss your concerns with your doctor but be careful about jumping to medicine too quick. My son was also very, very active. He was identified as having Sensory Processing Disorder. In the six months since he started Occupational Therapy, he's calmed down dramatically. You might want to Google SPD and see if it sounds like your child.

We suspect our daughter may have it (my husband does).

Our family doc says he can't diagnose it until around 5 because it's too hard to distinguish "toddler behavior" from ADD.

But he gave us some great life advice on the matter - on his advice we're doing Joy-School instead of formal class-room setting pre-school. I like that, because hubby and I are of the opinion that ADD isn't a bad thing, it just needs a different style of learning. So far it's going really well for our girl.

best of luck with your bright-active-kid.

I don't know honestly when but I wish you luck! Being a parent can be so exhausting at any age. They tried to tell me my son had ADHD when he was little and they wanted to put him on meds but I would not let them. I refused and I worked with him and I spent a lot of time going over his work that he didn't learn in school. I know there are children who truly do have ADHD but I don't believe my son did. I hope that you find out what is going on and I encourage you to speak to your son's doctor to see what he/she thinks about this. Be sure to write down things that are happening so that you can discuss it with the doctor and have examples of what you think could be a sign. Good luck!

I think they have to be 5 before they officially diagnosis. That being said, try cutting out so much processed food, sweets, soda. Kids are going to be active and giving them sugar only makes it worse. good luck !:)