5yo Hurts himself

[Tchpec91]

My 5 year old with ADHD who is constantly active continues to hurt himself. In 24hours, he was wrestling in the living room and busted his head on the table requiring staples and then was swinging so high he fell and busted his lip. He has no control over his body and at this point I’m fearing for his life!

[BLC89]

Hello Tchpec91,I'm sorry this is happening. Is your son in any sports? Maybe if you can wear him out he'll have less energy to fling his body about.

My son raced his bicycle and that was a great fit because you have to focus when you ride and you have to work hard. Or rock climbing so he can safely climb things?

He's energetic, as best you can, help direct that energy into something with a bit if structure.

Ask him what he likes and see if there is a group that does that so he can interact with others of the same interest and learn to do things more safely.

BLC89

[Lovey23]

Hello,

My son is nearly 5 and I find my son does this when he has a burst of energy and I haven’t worn him out enough throughout the day. Some days he becomes over stimulated, does he respond well to calm small quiet activities when his like this, have you tried magnesium as well in his diet? Here for any advice also, our place is very small and I fear the same thing. And we’ve been there and his hurt himself at kindergarten and split his head open once. Good luck in finding some solutions… crash mat out the back might help?

[SecretAgentIEP]

Please have child work with an occupational therapist (OT) to work on understanding his sensory profile, he may have prioceptive, vestibular or other sensory seeking needs that they can create a sensory diet for and you should take him to a trampoline park or find a site where activity like tumbling, climbing, etc. can be done safely. Please work with a therapist so you can learn to help him meet his needs safely, using a positive approach. My son was like this and the OT, parent counseling and medicine for his ADHD was helpful and he is now doing well in school and at home. A good diet and sleep were also key (we ensure he gets protein, hydration, and magnesium daily and we use children's melatonin), which you can discuss with child's pediatrician (preferably get a dr with experience or has a specialty in ADHD)

[CHADDMOM]

Active kids and active kids without impulse control or inhibition of their behavior, are as you are witnessing two different kids. Whereas typically developing children occasionally hurt themselves, kids with ADHD lists of accidents and injuries are quite different, the latter being most often the rule. Just know that this is very common and expected in ADH. Since the gross motor functions are at peak, the fine motor functions can be delayed. Children with ADHD have a2-5 year delay in different social and emotional growth. The brain’s cortice is slower to grow and develop across the surface of the brain from back to front. This delay can make the reason for doing something more attractive to do, because they seemingly have no consequences realized, and no past memory to create pause.

While there is no “making it go faster”advice, there is understanding the why and making your own course corrections in what is called developmentally appropriate supervision. Understanding that your child’s developmental age and chronological age are very different because of the ADHD, will make how he is supervised during the day different, watching him more closely, because his behavior is related to his developmental age which is younger.

Preemtive speeches are not going to work as they do with kids who don't have ADHD, because of the working memory issues. It seems as if my son didn't have any working memory and when they tested this executive skill during a neuropsychological test, he scored very low. Getting around this in the future, where it can improve, however to globally improve his day to day struggles, would be to making sure that everything he needs to remember is externalized.

Creating a “prosthetic environment” for him will gradually make it easier for him to recognize what he cannot do well yet, without the embarrassment. This might mean visual cues like reminders to slow down, pictures to show a skill like handwashing by the sink, or other external Visual aides to make it easier to function. Asking your child what he thinks would help is the beginning of his accountability in this life span issues. So in stead or constantly reminding him to slow down, use phrases like “steady like a turtle” Ask him also to show you how he does things. Making him the “teacher” is a great way to make him feel as he has contribution.

Hope some of this helps. 😊

[amjohnson3]

Hi there -- sorry this is so scary! My kiddo was similar at that age. He took parkour lessons for a while, which I think helped him learn how to fall (more) safely. If there are any near you, I recommend those. (The ones we went to clearly had other, similarly neurodiverse kids.) Also, I second the sensory-seeking point. I think my son went through a pretty significant sensory-seeking phase--it's not as severe now--but he loved spinning (on swings, for example). We got him a swivel chair (amazon.com/dp/B0C1B7GRLX?re..., which he still likes (he's almost 7). If you've got a safe space, you could hang a "sensory swing." There are other, similar tools (balancing boards, etc.) that would probably help, too.

[MommaBsue]

Oh boy, this sounds very familiar. My son is now 14 but at 5 he was a lunatic. I would suggest giving him goals of physical activity so he can be redirected in a more positive way that will not hurt himself. Maybe doing somersaults to one wall and then somersaults to the next wall or maybe crab walks or bear crawls or something to keep him continually active. We really like to wear our son out which at that age did seem impossible. Lots of dancing and music

[Mamamichl]

for a moment I was unsure if the pains were deliberate. You need to get that kid to a gymnasium or a padded place to focus those energies in a safer space

[InspiredMom]

Yeah, I can relate.

My 10 has broken 6 bones and has stitches above his eye. All were around that age I believe. He was 2 when he got stitches.

He is a wild man. He’s my tree climbing, speed running, try everything kid. He is still that way. He loves climbing he’s just better at it now so he doesn’t fall nearly as much. And he’s learned got to fall safely. We did gymnastics, we took him to parks constantly so he could “challenge his body” to see how strong and capable it is.

We keep him in sports year round and if there isn’t a season for something we swim almost daily in the summer months.

He scares the living hell out of me sometimes but he’s getting older and I am finally seeing a bit of a change. Will he be a thrill seeker when he’s older? Maybe. Does that terrify me to no end? Of course. My husband was the same way but through the years and after becoming a Dad he’s settled down. Understands the reward isn’t worth the risk. No more dreams of someday skydiving or jumping his mountain bike over a campfire.

I wish you well. I want you to know you’re not alone.