I have a seven year old ( almost eight) that was just diagnosed with the combined type. He doesn't really show any of the signs of hyperactivity except in very specialized social situations - like eating out. He has never been an overly active child - just regular. The main reason we had him evaluated was because of his reading. He could barely read a sentence outloud without staring off into space part way through it. At school, reading and writing was a very slow process and so the teacher felt that it was beginning to affect his self esteem as the other kids progressed. She never had any problem with him not staying in his seat or any kind of behavioral stuff.

Last night we went to a fast food place to eat and actually went in to sit rather than drive through - I usually avoid this - and he behaved fine technically. But he literally bounced in his seat as he ate. When I told him to stop he seemed startled. I have noticed similar behavior in the past but it is always in some kind of public arena.

Is it some kind of anxiety or excitement of doing something different? I don't know why I am asking this. It is probably a stupid no-brainer but we are mainly the inattentive type in my family and so anything that resembles hyper bewilders me. I can't relate to what it must feel like to be him.

Does he not know that he is bouncing or wiggling excessively? Is that why he looked startled?

It is possible that he uses the bouncing as an external focusing mechanism, yes. And he may be unaware that he is doing it too. Perhaps for him the bouncing keeps him focused enough to pay attention to his food and ignore the myriad distractions present in a fast-food place?

My youngest is like that too. My oldest (8 y/o)is definately hyper and bounces off walls frequently, but my youngest (4 y/o) often doesn't seem to have any problems this way, then other times, especially under unusual settings she literally bounces up and down like a basketball and goes really wild . She hasn't been diagnosed yet and this really confuses me as to whether this is ADHD behavior or tiredness, stress, or something else.


Scattered

My youngest is like that too. My oldest (8 y/o)is definately hyper and bounces off walls frequently, but my youngest (4 y/o) often doesn't seem to have any problems this way, then other times, especially under unusual settings she literally bounces up and down like a basketball and goes really wild . She hasn't been diagnosed yet and this really confuses me as to whether this is ADHD behavior or tiredness, stress, or something else.


ScatteredI have noticed the behavior or extreme wiggling at places like the movie theater and when I had to take him to my philosophy class with me once because of no elementary school. I don't see the behavior in church though. In fact, I have a hard time getting him to stand at the appropriate times there, however I usually have things to draw with for him there. It makes no sense to me.

When having him tested it all came out that he was adhd except for the teacher's evaluation. She reported his symptoms as milder than I did which was frustrating since she recommended the evaluation. After talking to her though she felt that she probably used what she sees in her classroom in extreme behavior as a scale rather than "normal".

There is actually a very low coorespondence between what teachers and parents report -- so don't worry about that too much. Pretty much part for the course.

If it only happens outside the home, in stimulating environments, then it could be just a nervous thing, or even a sensory issue. Children with sensory issues don't handle environments well that have a lot of different things going on. They get overloaded with sensory input and calm themselves by doing things like rocking, bouncing, humming, etc.
Does he do anything else that would indicate sensory issues? Tags bother him, touch bother him, or does he touch other people to much? Fussy about certain clothing, textures, over or under sensitive to pain, or heat? Very picky eater?

If there are no other signs of sensory issues, then I would guess it's just a nervous thing, of course I'm no doctor:p , it's just a "guess".

It's a "stimming" behavior...a way to calm. Generally people do that from being internally restlessness, nervousness, or to much/to little sensory input.
If you think it's a big problem, definitely bring it up to the doctor :).

I bounce, I bounce my legs constantly and I ain't no little kid! :D Why , was I bothering anybody and you want me to stop ?

Well it would explain the fast food place but not the philosophy class.lol Not much stimulation going on in that room.

In regards to textures, he used to drive me nuts about his socks when he was younger. The seam had to be in just the right spot or there would be crying and carrying on before we could get out the door.

I guess it isn't really a problem other than I wanted to understand what he was feeling better. Thanks for all the input.

I bounce, I bounce my legs constantly and I ain't no little kid! :D Why , was I bothering anybody and you want me to stop ?
Yes stop, it's annoying.lol

Last spring I was at a swimmeet standing on some bleachers trying to take a picture of the awards and I realized that I couldn't focus because the ground was vibrating. I told the person next to me that some stupid person must be jiggling their leg. I started looking around and several rows down there was the culprit - my ex husband. A habit that always made me crazy becuase it shook everything around him.
My seven year old isn't related to him. I guess being ADHD I can't always handle the extra stimulation of being around another ADDer.