I would not even consider wondering if my kids will inherit my ADD at this point as they are 2 and 5 years old and act all ADD as a matter of course...but my daughter is starting Kindergarten in two weeks and I would like to know when you started noticing that your child was exhibiting symptoms apart from their developmental stage. Now that she's starting school, if there is a problem, I want to catch it!

What types of things clued you in that your child has a problem? I'm afraid that I'll be watching her too hard for symptoms and miss things that are right under my nose.

I think it's a lot easier to diagnose a child that has a lot of hyperactivity. Several of my friends became aware that their children were different in kindergarten, when it became apparent that the kids couldn't stay in their seats, couldn't stay focused on the teacher, etc. Many kids with ADD, hyper or not, are somewhat immature compared to their peers, and have a harder time picking up on social cues. It's a lot harder when your child is primarily inattentive.... those children often don't get diagnosed until later. My son, for example, charms all his teachers, and is quite compliant. They don't realize that he can be looking right at them and still not hear a word they say. :rolleyes: That was my experience in school. I was bright, but was "tuned out" for much of the school day. I was able to fake it until college!

Please check out Taking Charge of ADHD by Russell Barkley and also Raising Resilient Children by Sam Goldstein ( and another author I cant recall) Good luck.

This was helpful for me also. My pediatrician wouldn't consider ADHD for my 5 year old, it was just too soon to tell. Keep me posted Gemini, we're in the same boat! Yep, Krisp, I had everyone fooled, stare right at people and haven't heard a word, my dad's main complaint "You just don't listen." Sure I did, to the background noise. :)

My son had symptoms for a long time (since 9mo) But the psychologist said that the standardized test are not valid unless the child is at least 6 years of age. He tested him a couple of months before he turned 6 and it was amazing how indicative the test was.