Hi I am really after some advice from someone who knows the symptons/diagnosis of adhd.
My son has always been a bit naughty, but i never had anyone to compare him to, I suppose i've always just learned to deal with him. I am single hardworking mum, so my mother helps a lot with school runs etc, and she has noticed the change in him as well over the past year.
He is 6 years old and has no consentration at all, He has a goal to be able to sit still and listem for 5 minutes after christmas! He is forever fidgeting and twiddling with his hands and feet, he gets very frustrated very easily and his moods change quite fast and dramatically, When you talk to him its as though he's not there and and he cant look you in the eyes and listen. When hes told to sit down hes straight up and around again, so you tell him to sit and he gets straight back again. He is very bosterous and aggressive. His school have got to the stage now where they are threatening to send him home or make someone from my family go into the school at breaks and dinner times to sit with him cause they cant cope anymore. His education is strained through it and he is nearly 7 and has the average academic age of a 4 year old.
I have been to the doctors and there always more concerned about his bad finger or his sore throuat and always lave his behaviour out
Any info or comments would be really appreciated as I am at my wits end and dont know how much more I can take?

Have you ever seen a psychiatrist? There are also people who specialize in ADD/ADHD. THis also sound like it could be childhood bipolar disorder.

No I havent seen a psychatrist everytime I speak to the doctor he always trys saying that he seems ok and doesnt really seem bothered to acknowledge it hes always more interested in treating my sons bad finger or sore throat and never this problem.

find another dr. one that understands attention deficite. seems there are still alot of drs. who ignore mental differences. call around and find a dr. who understands and can refer you and your son to a mental health person who specializes in attention disorders. your son may be very bright, but feeling frustrated with traditional schools and ways of learning. some kids (add ones) learn best when they are allowed to wiggle and squirm. It can be alot of work and frustrating finding the right person to "diagnos" your son.. but in the long run it will pay off and be better for both you and your son. good luck!

See if you can ask the school fro good psychologist/psychiatrist in the area. That's what my school did to help me.

Hi KJ:

As J2M and Averity said, you should try to find someone to diagnose your son. Even if it's not ADHD, I think there is probably something going on. My first thought would be to go through the school, asking them for recommendations.
There are also Websites with lists of professionals who can diagnose ADHD. What country are you in?

You could be describing me at 6 years old and yes ,the school complained and my folks had me diagnosed ADD extremely hyper and naughty :p

The only way to know for sure though is a professional opinion of someone familier w/ADD + other disorders

Thanks everyone, Today I actually saw another doctor I have never saw before and she has referred him to see a psycologist. So now I just have to wait for the appointment for that.
Is there anything else I can do as a parent in the mean time to try and help his behaviour?

Is there anything else I can do as a parent in the mean time to try and help his behaviour?
I would suggest looking into reward-based charting systems.

Here are some relevant posts from these forums:

http://www.addforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=227517&postcount=6

http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20789 (http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20789)

I have a reward scheme already, but this doesnt seem to work allt hat well we have a book that gets sent home with from school and the teachers there punish him when he is bad but he doesnt get rewarded when good. We have spoken to them but they seem more concerned on the 'good kids' in the class

I have a reward scheme already, but this doesnt seem to work allt hat well we have a book that gets sent home with from school and the teachers there punish him when he is bad but he doesnt get rewarded when good. We have spoken to them but they seem more concerned on the 'good kids' in the class
One thing I think is very important in such schemes is that the reward must be immediate and frequent. Deferring the reward pretty much destroys its value for behavior modification in ADHD kids.

The reward can be substituted for tokens, etc., which can then be exchanged for something of value to the child. In my son's case it is money. He gets money every Monday according to how many checks he has on his checksheet. Other rewards I have heard are exchanging tokens/checks for an hour playing video games with mom/dad, an hour of TV, trip to the mall, etc.

I have also experienced resistance from my son's school about doing "extra" stuff for my son. In your case, I think that is where an IEP or some other official document could be useful as an enforceable contract with the school stating what you expect from them.