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5 year old repeating beginning of sentence multiple times...ADHD? Dyslexia? Something Else?

MomofADHDBoy6 profile image
9 Replies

Does anyone have experience in their young child trying to communicate something and repeating the beginning of a sentence over and over until they are able to complete their thought? My son has been diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia. When he is trying to describe an event to me, for example something that happened that day at school, he seems unable to string his thoughts together. He repeats the beginning of the sentence over and over until he is able to complete his train of thought or sentence (maybe like 5-10 times). This is even when he on his medication during the day. Should I be concerned this may be something else besides his ADHD or Dyslexia? I just googled it and can't seem to find this exact behavior in speech anywhere.

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MomofADHDBoy6 profile image
MomofADHDBoy6
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9 Replies
minecraftmuffin profile image
minecraftmuffin

Oh, my kid absolutely does this. He's very very very very chatty, though, and I had put it down to him wanting to make sure he had the conversational floor even if he hadn't quite gotten his thought ready, though this was before his diagnosis. He's only been medicated for a few weeks and I can't remember if he's done this recently and if/when it happens when his meds are still in his system or not. I'll start paying attention to this specifically!

MomofADHDBoy6 profile image
MomofADHDBoy6 in reply tominecraftmuffin

Thank you for your reply! I appreciate it very much. :)

Nancy1949 profile image
Nancy1949

My grandson (8 yrs old) does that a lot! Sometimes it takes him forever to tell me something. He is adhd and dyslexic.

MomofADHDBoy6 profile image
MomofADHDBoy6 in reply toNancy1949

Thank you! I bet the combo may make it worse than if it was just one or the other!

Hi there,

My daughter used to do this when she was younger and we saw an SLP for assessment. I was told it was part of a developmental phase and it would pass. She is now 9 years old and no longer does this. Maybe worth an assessment if you are concerned?

Willowbee37 profile image
Willowbee37

my son who is 9 now went through that phase as well. It can be a tik which is very common with ADHD kids and it’s usually worse when they are excited or tired. He actually went to occupational therapy for awhile and they worked on it with him. Do you notice it on and off meds or just one or the other?

MomofADHDBoy6 profile image
MomofADHDBoy6 in reply toWillowbee37

Thank you. He seems to do it on or off the medication, but usually only does it if he is really trying to tell us something important to him (maybe it gets him excited like you said so it triggers that response). That's good to know!

Willowbee37 profile image
Willowbee37 in reply toMomofADHDBoy6

Yep, that’s probably it. My son is 9 now and only does it if he’s really anxious or nervous. Very common in boys this age, even more so with ADHD at this age. Work on taking a breath, counting to 5 and then trying again. It’s hard though cause you don’t want to draw attention to it cause that makes it worse too!

MomofADHDBoy6 profile image
MomofADHDBoy6 in reply toWillowbee37

Yes exactly lol!

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