Q: “We suspect that my 5-year-old has ADHD, but the pediatrician says that my child is likely showing normal preschool behavior.
They want to wait until my child is older to do a proper ADHD evaluation. What should we do?”ADHD can be seen and diagnosed in children as young as yours, and the benefits of intervening early if your child does have ADHD are plentiful, from better academic performance and self-esteem to improved family life.Your pediatrician may be well-meaning, but if you felt your concerns about your child were left unaddressed, you’ll need to advocate.[Take This Self-Test: Could Your Preschooler Have ADHD?]Record your observations about your child’s specific behaviors and share those with the pediatrician in your next appointment.
Have a frank conversation with them about what you’re seeing from your child across multiple settings.Ask your pediatrician to administer what are called “norm-referenced rating scales” (the Vanderbilt Assessment Scale being the most common).
That means they compare your child’s attention, behavior, impulsivity, and hyperactivity to that of other preschool-aged children.
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