What do you think?

United States
January 14, 2007 1:01pm CST
My son was diagnosed with ADHD and BiPolar at the age of 4. Most of all the research done on bipolar has been done on adult subjects. Most every other specialist I have talked to said that a child should not be evaluated for this until atleast age 8. What do you think the chance are that his diagnosis is correct? Also have you been through anything similar??
1 person likes this
7 responses
• United States
14 Jan 07
Honey , i have been there. My son has been diagnosed with everything under the sun since age 2!!!!! Trust your gut. As it turns out all the docs were wrong about my son. i agree yes he does have some issues that could be contributed to ADHD or Bi-polar but at age 12 he was diagnosed with PDD ( Pervasive Developmental Disorder). Sounds scary i know , but it is not really. It is an Autism Spectrum Disorder that heavily mimmicks both ADHD and ODD. It is highly treatable , especially if treatment starts at an early age. Do some research yourself and see if any of it matches his behaviors. I would also urge you to see an Autism specialist to have him formally evaluated. When we think of Autism as a society we think , no taking , no communication and so on. it is really not all about that , trust me. another thing that runs closely with these two disorders is Aspergers Syndrome , which is also an Autism Spectrum disorder. It may also be that he is just a defiant or moddy child, some kids are just like that. I would urge you to really dive in and do some research of your own. I have been down this road for almost 12 years now, I am speaking from experience , Please do what you can to protect your child from being pinned with a mis diagnosis. I really think that he is too young for the Bi- Polar diagnosis.
2 people like this
• United States
14 Jan 07
I agree that he is too young. We have tried all different things with him. We have change meds half a dozen times. They seem to only work for a few months and he is right back where we started. When he was smaller his actions scared me more then anything. The breaking point of putting him in a hospital was when he tried to stabb his two yr old sister in the neck with a stick. He use to be a lot worse about biting or hitting himself when he got mad. He still throws fits and kicks and screams, but nothing like he use to. It seems if nothing else to be getting better as he gets older. I know that when he is a little older he will need anger managment. His real father had anger issues. He was also diagnosed with Skeezoid (sp) personality disorder. I don't think my son has picked this up from him, thank goodness. I have done sooooooo much research. His symptoms mock soooo many different things. From ADHD to ODD. The worst part is they have already tested him with an above average IQ. But because of whatever he has, he is not able to use it to potential.
• United States
16 Jan 07
I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest you take your child to a homeopathic doctor. Often ADHD is diagnosed as a catchall for anything the doctors don't know, but want to label. It could be he doesn't absorb vitamins and amino acids properly, it could be his intelligence is such that his mind is so far ahead of his body his frustrations are being acted out. I know that GABA which is an amino acid was being studied as an alternative to medications traditionally used for ADHD children. GABA is a relaxant for the brain allowing concentration for some children, and making life easier for them and all who live with them. Please seek out alternatives to chemical intervention, as a great many people I know who are recovering addicts where diagnosed and medicated as ADHD when they were children. No studies to solidify a theory that children medicated on ritalin and adderal become addicts, but there is enough empirical evidence to suggest there may be some link. At 4 he should not be on such harsh medications in my opinion. Please seek the services of a homeopath.
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Jan 07
Basically he acts out...from what you just said...this may not be a personality disorder but rather a behavioral one. We learn disipline as we get older...some of us learn it earlier than others, some don't seem to ever learn it well...I am not speaking of what most consider disipline, but rather the disipline of the mind which has little to do with outside factors. I find myself wondering if his acting out isn't caused by frustration that his mind is more advanced than his body and of course since he is small, he isn't being challenged in ways that are constructive for him... My own grandson is one of those child 'geniuses', and we had problems with him early on until we began to offer learning challenges that were only slightly above what his body could handle, making him work at finding alternative ways to conquer the problem presented. I can't believe a child was placed on such a high doseage of Depakote! Adults are usually on lesser doses, good sized adults weighing over 130 pounds! Check into behavioral therapy if there continues to be a problem. Often such therapies can do more good than all the chemicals the psychartrists want to prescribe.
1 person likes this
• United States
17 Jan 07
I know he gets really flustered sometimes. He wants to try something and maybe he falls or something. Like riding his bike. We bought him a new bike for xmas. He says he wants to ride it, but when he gets on it and falls he starts screaming at it. He gets sooooo mad and refuses to ride it for the rest of the day. And a day or two later it is the samething. He wants to ride it, until he falls the first time and then he won't get back on it. You can hardly get the child outside. He just looks at you like your stupid and says "the sun is out there." And don't even think about asking him to play football or something. The first time he falls he sounds like someone is killing him. I just don't understand, because on the other hand you can't get him to stop jumping and dancing around in the house. And heaven for bid you should put Walker on. He starts karate kicking all through the house, but he won't do it outside. Anywho thank you so much for your advice. I have enjoyed if nothing else just being able to vent. lol
@lonewolfnan (4366)
• Canada
14 Jan 07
Since the specialists can not agree on when the diagnosis should take place,the chances that the diagnosis is right is 50-50.It is either yes or no and they are going with what they FEEL. This does not help you now as you will notice things that are normal for a child but you will wonder about ADHD or bi-polar is playing a role. Play it safe then sorry.Have the child retested when YOUR specialist thinks it is time.Ask them how they think you should be handling situations. The most important thing is that YOU are the mother and know what your child needs.Go with your instinct and the knowledge you have obtained.
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
15 Jan 07
I am really surprised a doctor would diagnose for Bipolar at that age. Some will for ADHD but I think it's too early at age 4. With bipolar I know we had a devil of the time getting my neice diagnosed at age 11. Both my sister and I are bipolar and could see the signs but they just wanted to treat her for ODD (opositional defiance disorder) which can be a part of Bipolar. They put her on Geodon and she was a zombie for a year. We got her in to someone new and they got her on the right meds and stated we were right all along. You above anyone else know your child. Do some research on both. The more you know the more you can help your son. If you don't agree with the diagnoses get him to a different doctor. Get a second opinion, it's your right to do.
1 person likes this
• United States
15 Jan 07
Please whatever you do do not put him on meds at his age for those disorders. Your son is to young for that wait and have your child evaluated again when he reaches 10. 9 times out of 10 they are only in it for the money they get for refferals and using your child as a ginny pig.Please check out these websites before making any dicissions. www.adhdnews.com/natural-medicine-ADHD.html www.micronutra.com
1 person likes this
• Australia
21 Jan 07
Hi Momwatittude I was wondering do you have a child with Bipolar or ADHD or both?
1 person likes this
• United States
15 Jan 07
I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 4 as well. My mom decided to put me on Ritalin and I zombied out as she tells it. I remember having a lot of difficulty as a child and teen because I was not on meds. I think a little more patience and attention to my issue would have helped me out. Really what happened was that I learned to deal with most of it on my own. When studying I had to have other things going on around me and people who were patient with me were the people I got along with best. I wasn't diagnosed bipolar until a few years ago. By that time I had most things under control and just had to learn the signs of what was going on. If you don't want your son on meds do your best to find options and be patient with him and help him to through this. Then when he is older if he is still having problems then reevaluate things. I hope this helped.
• Canada
23 Jan 07
I think 4 is pretty young for an ADHD diagnosis, since most four year olds are still developmentally at a place where they are impulsive and extremely active. I think the receomndation to do an Autism assessment is a good one. Some of the behavioral issues you describe sounds like they could be the result of sensory issues which are common with Autism ( little things hurting him a LOT sounds like that to me) or anxiety (the bit about refusing to get back on the bike - if little things hurt him a lot, hes going to be scared ... and add anxiety to that makes him refuse to try again). My son went through various diagnoses until we landed on high functioning Autism last June. Now the pieces of the puzzle are fitting in. I know how hard it is when your diagnosis isn't right:(