Kids with ADD & ADHD - when they were toddlers....
Just wondering if any mums who have kids diagnosed with ADD/ADHD can tell me if they noticed any specific worrisome behaviours when their kids were toddlers...
I know it is impossible to diagnose ADD/ADHD at 2 years old or even before the age of 5 because 99% of toddlers are naturally rambunctious etc.
My 2.5 year old DD's behaviour is making me depressed and a little worried.
She's not super hyperactive, but she is a climber and climbs furniture of all kinds, and she is easily distracted at times... She can play quietly by herself for a few minutes, like 3 or 4 minutes before running off. She had her first toddler gym class today and kept running off from the group, although I guess it was her first class so she was interested in all the new things she saw...
She also has a strange habit which she has had since probably around 15-16 months old. She has moments where she'll get "rampant" as we call it - it's like a strange pent-up energy where she kind of bares her teeth and sort of shakes/vibrates and does something "violent" for a split-second (maximum 2-3 seconds), normally pulling my hair or whacking something, and then she goes back to normal. It's hard to describe in words but I hope someone knows what I'm talking about! She gets these episodes a few times every day.
It just comes out of the blue & I can't pinpoint any sort of trigger for it. It happens a lot when she's sitting with me or on my lap. I"m not sure whether to be worried about this or not?? She is otherwise a very loving and sweet little girl - she hugs, kisses, and tells me she loves me.
I guess the main reason I am worried is because she has always watched a lot of TV. I never thought I'd let my kids watch TV at all, but then I had PND for a long time, and she has always been very hard for me to handle. TV was a way for me to cope and helped calm her down.
I read on a website called A-Ha Parenting that allowing her to watch TV has "re-wired" her brain and now she has an increased chance (30%) of getting ADD/ADHD. I was obviously devastated to read this, I had no idea that TV could be that harmful. I knew it was not ideal but didn't realize it could actually cause harm.
I feel so guilty and wonder if perhaps I am reading into her behaviour because I'm worrying so much about it. I did feel a bit better when I read that it could actually be the other way around, i.e. Children who have ADD/ADHD tend to watch a lot of TV because it calms them, not because it is the cause.