I am not an expert but I have been a support for my Godson and his mother for sometime. He is now 10yrs old and was first diagnosed at 4 years old. His doctor would not put him on meds until he was older. I suggest that you get a second opinion and if your child is in preschool work with the teachers to provide aid in helping with any issues.

Checkout theAmerican Academy of Chid & Adolescent Psychiatry website (AACAP) Below is a page with articles that might interest you. I will also send this information to your email listed in this thread. http://www.aacap.org/page.ww?section=system&name=Search+Results&indexId=default&hitsStart=1&query=ADHD&x=6&y=9

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FYI my son was diagnosed at 3 1/2 not a commom thing but it does happen. We had 3 different dr's see our son and did testing. They all agreed on med. We tried behavior management, vitamins, fish oil and changing diet with some improvement. Ultimately because our son was in preschool and was already having issues there the pshychiatrist said we should try him on med so that we could find what worked before he started Kindergarten. He didn't push us, he said we can try it if we didn't like it we would take him off. We started him on Adderall but he had horrible appeitite suppression and because it only lasted about 8 hours he would "come off" the med having severe mood swings and crying all the time. We then changed him to Dexedrine which is a purer form of amphetamine which worked much better. He still had some appetite suppression but not as severe "let down". However this past year he developed tics of the mouth, throat and nose. ( he had been on the dexedrine about 6 months) We took him to a pediatric neurologist who suggested Straterra. I was against it because as you mentioned it had not been used in younger children( our son was just about to turn 5). But after discussing the pro's and con's with the neurologist and psyhciatrist we put him on it and he has done great. He has to take it 2 times a day everyday but it maintains a constant level vs. the ups and downs on and off the amphetamines. I know however that each child can have a different form of ADHD and some meds work better on some than others. So you can always try and see what happens. I did a lot of reading online by googling "adhd meds in young children". You will see a ton of different opinions. Ultimately you have to make the decision you and your husband can accept. I hated the idea of placing my "baby" on such meds, my husband said no way but after doing it he admited it was the best thing we could have done for our son and us. I still worry what the future holds but he is now over half way through Kindergarten and doing awesome. We still have to be on the up and up with him with discipline because he still has some not so desirable spontaneous acts that ADHD kids tend to have. Another note, for our son the amphetamines made him act almost catatonic after he took it, he lost alot of the "spirit" about him that made him so fun to be around. With the Straterra he acts more like himself but exhibits better concentration and is more in control. Good Luck. I know how exhausting and frustrating it can be. I hope you find what works for ya'll

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I have experience with 2 children. My son was diagnosed @6 and we waited until he was 8 to put him on meds. I wanted to try everything before jumping to medication. I finally gave in after the 5th doctor diagnosed him and we had tried behavior modification, parenting classes, family counciling and so on. I even tried home schooling (I am a sub teacher). It finally took doctor #5 to put it into perspective for me. My son wears glasses and doctor #5 said, "You have him wear glasses to help him focus because medically he can not focus his eyes, Why not have him take a pill in the morning to help him focus because he can not focus his brain?" This made so much sense after all we had been through. I know I tried everything with him so after all of that I gave in and put him on meds. He went from not reading at 8 years old to reading constantly. He still has math issues at the age of 16 (now) but he is an avid reader and his self esteem is much better because we no longer have all of the negative issues we once had. He takes a combo of adderal and strattera When little sister was diagnosed at 4 I made the discussion to wait until she started pre school at 5. She has been reading since 4 and doesn't have any learning issues. With her it was more behavior and the inability to sit long enough to stay out of trouble. We even had to put a lock on the outside of her bedroom door because she would take off at night and walk out of the house on our 2 acres of land, in the woods. She is now in the forth grade and is on strattera and adderal combo and it works well for her.

Outside Exercise and Martial Arts Both of these things have helped my children tremendously. Martial arts have helped my children use their brains and their bodies at the same time. They have to make quick discussions and than react. This has been a wonderful adventure. This type of sport is different than one that they just run. By working their brain by making quick dicsussions and than following with their body they are learning to think first before acting as well as combining different parts of their brains in an activity. All exercise is good, but one that combines brain and body is fantastic. It can also give some much needed self esteem. Good luck to you!

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