Expert: Dr Billy Levin - 7/14/2010

Question
Hi Dr. Billy Levin. I would like to know how can I find out if my child has ADHD. My son is almost three years old. I read some of the symptoms and he seems to have them all. He is very active, cannot stay still,he is not very patient. He goes to speech therapy class and I noticed when the speech therapist is working with him he doesn't focus on what she is saying. He always seems to be distracted. If she asks him to do something, he ignores her . I know boys can be very active, but I've gotten to the point where I don't even want to go out in public because of his behavior.

Answer
From you description and the fact that he needs speech therpy suggests very strongly he has ADHD (not ADD). I am surprised the speech therapist has not suggested a neurological evaluation for ADHD especially when, if he has ADHD and treated she would almost certainly achieve more with her therapy if he could concentrate. He is not too young to be evaluated and treated if necessary.Boys may be active but 3 is a particulary cooperative and stable age. Thus his behavior makes it even more certain. My advice is to have him assessed by a doctor who specializes in ADHD.