What is the youngest age that any parents here have had their child diagnosed? I have a two year old daughter and you better believe I am keeping my eye on her to see if she begins to develop any signs, symptoms, or patterns. But mostly she's just all two-year old right now.

Reminds me of a shirt one of the other kids had on in her daycare-"WARNING, I AM 2 YEARS OLD!"

I have heard alot of discussion about this. Several professionals who see ADD/ADHD patients have told me that they don't believe a child can truly be diagnosed with ADD/ADHD until around 5 years of age.

They rattle off a number of reasons why. One reason, they have said, is that until age 5, the neural pathways are still developing. Another reason indicated for waiting, they said, is that many kids grow out of their "ADD-like" behaviors, leading to a premature and potentially incorrect diagnosis, if done too early in a child's development. Further, they said, the behaviors that kids at that age are exhibiting can sometimes be attributed to their environment, etc. In addition, because of the constant evolutionary changes to the brain at this age, many providers may frown upon introducing medication at this age.

Does this mean you should not see a healthcare professional if your child's behavior concerns you? No.

Does this mean that children under 5 cannot be diagnosed with ADD/ADHD? No.

What I think this says is that one should be concerned if a healthcare provider immediately jumps to a diagnosis without discussing some of these other issues and factors.

Remember...ask questions...lots of questions. No one knows your child better than you. If you're not sure about the advice/diagnosis given by your child's medical provider, seek a second opinion.

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Mark, I am a 'newbie' and just read your message. I was also told (by my pediatric neurologist at a major metropolitan medical center) that she won't diagnose ADHD before 5 years.

I have 2 children with ADHD (and possibly the third has it too, but she is a girl, which I hear the symptoms are different with girls). One of my children has a severe case of ADHD and we had problems with him from the get-go. He did not sleep as an infant, when mobile was all over the universe (unsafe behavior - on the table, moving chairs to climb on things, couldn't/wouldn't stay in stroller or shopping cart - very impulsive and dangerous to himself). I was essentially home bound with him. He also had speech and language delays. Finally at 4, my pediatrician sent him to a neurologist who put him on ritalin at age 5 and it made a world of difference. I am saying all this to tell you that from my personal experience, it seems that the severe cases show signs EARLY in life. So, if your daughter seems normal now, you may be lucky, that if she gets ADHD, it may be mild/moderate and not severe.

Hope this helps. My son did get early intervention in the school system. They helped with speech/OT and classroom functioning. However, they were not helpful in helping us identify his ADHD.

Personally, I think I'm going to buy the ADD book for girls (Understanding girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder by Nadeau).

Best of luck with your parenting adventures!!