adhd

panchis123 · Guest

my child is 5 years old and I think he has adhd

portia17 · Silver Member Joined: 02 Aug 2007 Posts: 276

panchis

I am sorry about your child

The only way to know for sure is to have a professional run some tests and have your child diagnosed

Best of luck
Portia
supporter

Upton O'Goode · Silver Member Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 174

Let me point out the bright side: you are aware of the problem; the behavioral healthcare community knows a lot more about diagnosing the conditions now, and there are more treatment options than ever before; your child is only 5.

I found out I had ADD five months ago. I'm 51.

My life has been so much better since I started treatment for ADHD--I'm happier, more productive and easier to live with--that it's tough to be negative about anything, but if I had to say what the biggest disappointment in my life is it would be that I wasn't diagnosed and treated for this condition when I was a child.

But my life has been great compared to many who have gone through life with untreated ADD/ADHD. I haven't become addicted to drugs, as many of us have, I haven't been killed engaging in the high-risk sports and other activities most of us engage in, and while I came awfully close, I didn't commit suicide as a result of the depression and self hatred that most of us experience. I do have a long history of disappointing people because I didn't perform up to their expectations. I've changed careers like most people change jobs and changed jobs like most people change socks.

But that's all behind me. As long as I keep taking my medication, I feel great, I look great, I can actually focus on my work, I'm finishing projects that I've started over the years and never finished, and I'm reconnecting with a lot of interests and people that I'd let slip through the cracks.

I think your child is incredibly lucky that he (or she, but probably he) won't have to wait 45 years to get treatment.

adhd

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