Heart racing?: Our 4 year old is on his... - CHADD's ADHD Pare...

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Heart racing?

AWeib profile image
11 Replies

Our 4 year old is on his way to what we believe to be an ADHD diagnosis. He’s in play therapy, getting chiropractic work and we are attempting to alter his diet. He’s been in a few camps this summer and the feedback we’ve gotten from the counselors is similar to what we saw in pre-school and see at home - lack of body control/awareness, inflexibility with tasks or games they want to do, and quick to anger/lash out when he doesn’t get his way. We’ve been talking to him a lot about what’s going on lately, trying to figure out his triggers etc. And the one thing he keeps saying that is concerning me is something like ‘My heart starts beating so fast that I can’t control my body’. Now, he’s four - so that could very well be something he heard from a coach or teacher that he’s repeating but we certainly have never mentioned his heart beat and I am just curious if anyone has ever heard something like this from their kiddos. I know I am reaching - this is all just really over whelming and the more I read the more nervous I get to how all this could go. He’s already been kicked out of one camp and he starts Pre-k in 2 weeks and we don’t know what to expect there 😓 Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

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AWeib profile image
AWeib
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11 Replies
Cjkchamp profile image
Cjkchamp

If preK is through your school district start getting them involved to get services in place. Occupational therapy may be a good thing to look at. Meds were not successful for our son, but broad spectrum micronutrients recommended by the psychiatrist worked well. Just another thing to consider for the future.

SecretAgentIEP profile image
SecretAgentIEP in reply to Cjkchamp

Though I know each child should be treated individualized and with their doctors, can you share the brand and dosage of the micronutrients?

Cjkchamp profile image
Cjkchamp in reply to SecretAgentIEP

We chose Hardy Nutritionals Daily Essential Nutrients. We started with one pill twice per day over three years ago. He is now at the full dose which is 4 pills three times per day. There is also a brand called True Hope.

SecretAgentIEP profile image
SecretAgentIEP

Get a psychological evaluation for ADHD, which may require medicine. My ADHD kid experiences their emotions/stress physically and frustration, irritability may decrease if you start to help with coregulation, time management, and organization to help them navigate things that are harder for the child to regulate due to their nerodivergence. My child experiences this and giving him lots of love and security helps him engage in the interventions that can improve behaviors and attitude.

Elijah1 profile image
Elijah1

With the comment about the heart rate, does he also have anxiety?

AWeib profile image
AWeib in reply to Elijah1

Not that we are aware of 🤷🏻‍♀️

eva2022 profile image
eva2022

I’m so sorry that your son was asked to leave camp. Mine was, too, this year. It’s so hard to hear. When I told other moms, quite a few shared that their children didn’t do well in camp, either-the camp counselors don’t have training to help children with any sort of coping or difference from the group dynamic. Preschool has been different than camp for us-the teachers are trained to help children and work with the parents to help the child. I would reach out to the teacher early on and make yourself an ally, and stay hopeful that your child’s teachers will be trained to handle ADHD. Honestly, the two things that have helped us was 1. A shift to thinking ‘how can I fill up my child’s need for sensory activities? (This came from OT, so we try to do three OT activities a day - like running, jumping on the trampoline, eating carrots 😂, ect) and 2. praise the positive opposite - this came from a Yale researcher named Dr. Kazden. He has a book that is super long, but his articles in Slate magazine are easier to read and implement. At three, my son told me that he had a motor running inside of him that he couldn’t turn off-I’m a stay at home mom, and I know that he didn’t get it from anywhere else because he was only with me. I think ADHD kids can be very self aware. But I would also maybe get a physical just to make sure that his heart is ok.

HoldingonLou profile image
HoldingonLou

Who is guiding you in changing his diet? Follow up with your child's doctor about guidelines with changing his diet. It's important to focus on foods that maintain normal blood sugar levels. Have you mentioned to his doctor what he said about his heart racing? It just maybe his way of describing how he feels but checking it out maybe the safest approach.

When my son was diagnosed with adhd, we of course started with the school psychologist. Collected all the paperwork and such but I took my son to a Psychologist for testing for his diagnosis. It took several days to have done but she was great with him. He saw a counselor to talk about how he felt inside and the dr prescribed different meds until we found one that helped. It's a life long challenge so I wish you well.

Trying1978 profile image
Trying1978

Hang in there & remember there are many times of kiddos & many types of ADHD type issues & what works for you will likely be your thing.l, not someone else's.

I know that's not incredibly helpful but I have 3 kiddos 8 yo & under & the one who ended up with a diagnosis & meds is not the one I would guessed at 4 yo. They are (supposed to be) beyond hesitant to medicate at that age.

For us, I wish we'd started tee ball/baseball earlier. I am not a sports dad or anything but it has helped so much, even before we started the meds. Not saying baseball itself is the answer but finding one thing our son (middle child boy with girls on either end, to boot) ended up liking, being good at & that was all his own really helped.

You have all my sympathies. 4 has not been an easy age for our kiddos so far, regardless.

katcald profile image
katcald

I know exactly what you are going through. Our son was the same - couldn’t sit still (but even to watch TV!) diagnosed with sensory processing disorder did play therapy limited sugar food colorings and preservatives. He got kicked out of Montessori school which was the best thing that happened to him - went to the public school for preK and they really woked with with him (the teacher didn’t make him come to circle time if he didn’t want to, for instance, and made sure he sat near her so she could redirect him.) he was formally diagnosed at age 6 and we put him on medication. It made a HUGE difference. After a week he said to his teacher “I can hear everything you’re saying now”. He’s 14 - starts high school this fall and still needs accommodations (he has a 504 plan) and medication but has come a long way.

Hang in there!

ArchieD profile image
ArchieD

While you take medical help, maybe you can try other forms of healing. I had a friend who recently completed her holistic healing diploma from healingcollege.co.uk/5/holi... and has managed to help many people with similar problems. Maybe you can do it too and help your son.

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