ADHD with SID and ASD tendencies ??

[riu girl]

DD7 was diagnosed with the above when she was 3/4. At that time she had a huge amount of intervention/support/therapy. The therapy/intervention slowed down around age 5 since she was progressing so well academically and socially. Currently she in a main stream grade 2 class and has in class support for about 40% of the day (reduced from 100% last year). She is on an IEP for behaviour (not academics) and receives a combination of As and Bs on her report cards. She is progressing so well that in fact this year the teacher has no idea what she will write on her IEP progress report since she has had NO behaviour challenges whatsoever this year and acadmecially says she is near the top of the class. But she says she will write "something"so she won't lose her EA (in class) support.

This is the same kid who was by age 3/4 diagnosed with developmental delays, severe ADHD, ASD and SID tendencies, infant bulima and anorexia, failure to thrive baby etc. etc.

Two questions:
1. My DH says he wants a full re-assessment on her since he feels that she does not fit into any of these diagnoses anymore and I feel that we should just leave things as they are in order to keep getting the support from the school . I don't know if she would still fit all of the current diagnoses but it is obvious to me that she is very different then other kids in a lot of ways. Has anyone ever been in the same situation (had kids diagnosed at very young age and then the kid doesn't seem to quite fit the diagnoses anymore). I know she definately has some sort of hyperactivity disorder but I don't know what. She still also occasionally flaps her hands (maybe once a month when she is VERY excited) so maybe the ASD tendencies is still there, I don't know.

2. My only real concern with her now is that most of the time she is REALLY HYPER (has seen this since birth) and when she is her heart RACES. You know the hyper I'm talking about: can't sit still, fidgits, can't talk properly since talking so fast, just plain WOUND UP. I had her to the doctor for a checkup today (first time in two years ) and the doctor couldn't believe she was the same child (DD sat and read the doctor a book that was at least two grade levels above her age, this is the same doctor that told us years ago we may never be able to toilet train her since she was so developmentally delayed). btw, she was trained by age 3.5.

The doctor ordered an ECG (I hope that this is right, you know the heart test) and we will get the results next week. btw, when she was born she had to be delivered with a vaccuum extractor since she was in fetal distress (rapid heart rate) and had to stay in special nursery for a few days due to the high heart rate.

Has anyone with ADHD kids ever had a problem with rapid heart rate with their child. And if so, what did you do about it? We have started yoga nightly to try and calm her down a bit, plus massages but so far I don't see a change. We just started this recently though so I will definately give it more time. Also we play a lot of "calming"music (nature sounds, ocean etc. ) But the kid is just WIRED most of the time (as is her father)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry so long.

Suzy V.

 

[paigevz]

coming from a highly hyperactive family, I'll just give you my experiences and maybe they will help you out..........

my mother is quite hyper and self-medicates with about a gazillion cups of coffee a day.........stimulants calm hyper brains/bodies instead of hyping them up like in usual people.......she has had a rapid heart beat problem that did not onset until age 55.........they gave her beta blockers because of that combined with high cholesterol...........and now she has some chest pain, so takes nitrogen for that, however, she had the dye test and they said her heart is "clean as a whistle" and absolutely undamaged, so I think the medicines don't really do much for her

My older brother has rapid heartbeat, which is diagnosed as anxiety disorder, untreated. I do believe it is also due to hyperactivity and again, misdiagnosed

Neither of them are diagnosed hyperactive, but most definitely are. This according to themselves, people who know them, me (their elementary educator relative), and the two therapists in the family who identify such things for a living.

I have some trouble as well with hyperactivity..........mainly coming out in attention problems/memory and overeating (yep, hyper people can be fat if they eat as a way to move their bodies), but only a couple of incidences of a "pounding" heart, for a few seconds only and not for the last couple years.

My younger brother was diagnosed with severe ADHD and also with PAT which stands for "something tachycardia", translated to rapid heartbeat. As a child, he took tranquilizers for the heart problem, but didn't seem to stop it much. He found that "shocking the system" seemed to work. He would run a sink of very cold water and put his face down into it and often that would stop it. Before he discovered that, he was rushed to emergency often because it wouldn't slow down. He takes ritalin when he needs it to concentrate, but not on a daily basis........like if he's at a conference or something........he's an adolescent therapist.

My oldest son is diagnosed severe ADHD as well.........diagnosed at age 7. He's now nine. He takes ritalin for school...............absolutely no way for him to handle it otherwise. He does not take it out of school. I have noticed his heart pound before when he's REALLY bouncing off the walls, but not sure if it was from the activity or the same family problem. Since, all the family's dr.s have said that the hearts are healthy and the rapid heartbeats not dangerous, I haven't worried about it.

Just on a note, the other two kids in the family, my younger ds and my younger brother's only son, also show signs of severe ADHD, but are too young to diagnose (ages 2 and 5).

BTW, Disney seems to give the right amount of stimulation to keep our kids happy. They get the "input" they are constantly seeking, and are generally calmer and happier there than anywhere else. My son calls it his "happy place". All we have to worry about there, is just making sure he stays with us, since he tends to see soemthing and take off after it.

Don't know if that'll help you or not, but there it is! Oh, and speaking as mother and educator, I would re-eval daughter so her needs can be re-evaluated and met properly. If she needs EA, then that can certainly be brought up in the ARD, and if not, then that EAs time can be better spent with another child. If she's at the top of the class, she may not need the support, but it should be gradually removed. Also, congrats on licking the behavior problems (so far)! That's always nice.

Oh, and just so you know, for our kids and us, massage or any type of touch stimulates us rather than calms us, as does any type of noise other than white noise. For my kids to go to bed, a nice soak in the tub minus the scrubbing, and a quick tuck-in leaving them in total dark with a fan does the trick (and is also how all of my family prefers to end the day). We do the scrubbing baths/showers either before dinner if the kids are really dirty or in the morning. Also, hyperactive kids don't need as much sleep as other kids, so we've found that a bit later bedtime (9:30) and they are calmer in bed than if we try to force it on them earlier...........and they still get up early!

 

[tmli]

My ds has alot of the same issues and has been evaluated over the last several months for an extremely rapid heart rate as well. His comes any time especially when he is just relaxing and he gets all the symptoms of a heart attack to go along with it. He's worn a heart monitor several times and we have not been able to "catch" the attack on "tape" as our pedatrician puts it. Our ped. thinks he knows the cause but until we've caught one the pediatric cardiologist won't see him to repair it!!! Just another issue in our long list.

My current problem is we've been to all the specialists, have all the diagnosis and reports and can't get the support. WHat a system we have!!

 

[paigevz]

my brother also wore a monitor and couldn't catch an episode............................when he got older, the problem seemed to just fade away, but then he joined the Reserves............at Basic Training, it started up again, and when he said he had to stop the physical activity when an "attack" would come, they said he was "goldbricking". So, he had his medical records sent over, and they put a monitor on him..............still wouldn't happen "on tape". Finally, it did, and because of that, they discharged him. They said they wouldn't have taken him if he'd told them about it. He honestly thought it was no longer a problem. Anyway, less than two months later, the Gulf War started, and his was one of the first units mobilized.

He saw a doctor about it again after he was discharged, adn the doctor told him the problem is not dangerous normally, but if you were to exert yourself when that his happening, who knows what would happen. He said there's good reason for people to naturally stop when that occurs. He also said, though, that other than stopping exertion in an attack, the best way to keep the attacks under control is to keep the heart as strong as possible, so regular physical exercise is a must.

If your physician already suspects something, though, maybe it's different than what my brother has, because he's been told, his can not be repaired..........it is incurable. Fortunately, though, it's not serious, doesn't shorten his life or make him more vulnerable to a heart attack. It's just a peculiarity of our family.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm nurse, not a doctor, but I can translate "doctor" into regular English.

my mother is quite hyper and self-medicates with about a gazillion cups of coffee a day.........stimulants calm hyper brains/bodies instead of hyping them up like in usual people.......she has had a rapid heart beat problem that did not onset until age 55

Many people do self-medicate with coffee without knowing why they use it, but that they feel better with coffee. One of the side effects of caffeine can be a rapid heart rate. So anyone with rapid heart beat problems will probably find it improves if they cut down on the caffeine. Cola and some over the counter medications are some of the common things that also contain caffeine.

My younger brother was diagnosed with severe ADHD and also with PAT which stands for "something tachycardia", translated to rapid heartbeat. As a child, he took tranquilizers for the heart problem, but didn't seem to stop it much. He found that "shocking the system" seemed to work. He would run a sink of very cold water and put his face down into it and often that would stop it.

PAT stands for Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia.
Paroxysmal means something that begins and ends suddenly, without warning. Atrial means it's the top chambers of the heart that are beating incorrectly. Tachycardia just means fast heart. It's a temporary problem with the electrical system of the heart. There is a problem in the electrical system of the heart, but the muscles and valves are fine. It's usually more unpleasant than dangerous. But it is important to get it checked out by a doctor so you know what it is.
It's hard to "catch" an episode on a monitor (since it comes without warning). There can be different causes of it and the treatment depends on the cause (and also how troubling it is for the patient).
Some "home remedies" that can help end episodes include holding the breath and bearing down and cold water (either drinking ice water or putting the face into cold water).

Has anyone with ADHD kids ever had a problem with rapid heart rate with their child. And if so, what did you do about it? We have started yoga nightly to try and calm her down a bit, plus massages but so far I don't see a change.

If she's on any of the stimulant medications for ADHD, those can cause rapid heart rate as a side effect. As the others mentioned, panic attacks and anxiety (which can cause rapid heart rates) sometimes go along with ADHD.
Hopefully other parents can help you out with some other calming techniques to try.

 

[riu girl]

DD7 is not on any medication and the rapid heart beat only occurs when she is "hyper" which is a lot of the time. It doesn't take much to get her excited (a new book, someone at the door, a phone call for her, having a bath) so she is wound up (but can be settled down pretty easily) most of the time.

I will continue with the Yoga and see if that helps. I will see what the results of the heart test will be (she was very calm during the test though so I don't know if this will be a true reading). Wearing a heat tape might help since that will catch her heart beating rapidly. I will speak to the doctor about it. Thanks for the tip.

My husband has similar difficulties and smokes non-stop and drinks about 12 cups of coffee per day. Plus he is anti-anxiety meds. I am trying to find "healthier"ways to deal with my daughters hyperness. It is frustrating to watch her sometimes. Sometimes she goes for hours without stopping (running, playing, fidgeting). I feel so bad for her sometimes. At those times I simply put on a movie for her or encourage her to draw or read (then at least I know she will be still).

Again thanks for the info.

Suzy V.

 

[paigevz]

Good luck with your daughter, riu girl, I'm amazed she'll be still reading, coloring and watching a movie. My boy is never still off meds. In fact, he even thrashes and grinds his teeth in his sleep! He's a great kid, though, and I'm sure your daughter is too!

 

[riu girl]

I just re-read this thread and just wanted to thank everyone for all of the info.


Again, thank you.

Suzy V.

 

[SueM in MN]

Hope things work out for you.