Does my baby have ADD?

Post Reply New Topic

when we try to feed her, she often will turn her head away after being distracted by something like the cat walking by or a noise outside and not look back to me or my wife when we're trying to feed her. We'll call her name a few times but she won't respond but if we put the spoon up to her face, she'll react to that by opening her mouth. She'll look back to us eventually after a minute or so.

how old is she?

You can't diagnose ADD in babies.

This sounds like all the babies I've fed during 10+ years of babysitting. I think they turn their heads away because baby food smells, looks, and tastes gross.

she's 9 months and she always finds whatever we give her very tasty except for roast turkey and gravy. She really didn't like that.

I thought with babies if they actually could concentrate on anything without being distracted it was a sign of autism

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've been in childcare for a number of years. I can usually spot ADD children at a very young age...12-18 months.

However, there is nothing you can do about it even if you could prove it. You never give medication to a child that young, and you just have to work around it and work with their personalities.

Is you child hitting all her milestones? Is she sitting? Baby-talk? If you hold an interesting object in your hand and move it from side to side, does she track it and follow? Has your pediatrician mentioned any concerns?

If you have any worries...best thing is to talk to your doctor. My son who is ADD (diagnosed at 6 yrs) was less distractable as a baby than my "normal" son. They both suffered from Sensory Defensiveness....not liking certain textures and clothing, as well as reacting to certain visual and auditory stimuli.

Babies develop differently...some grow physically and then make mental leaps, and some the other way around. Any concerns, always check with your doctor. They know best.

don't worry too much.....she's still too young...

I think you are worrying over nothing and its terrible that parents of a baby under a year old would even go on an autism board looking for answers. If anything is "wrong" with her it might be that she can't hear, but I doubt even that. I've seen the behavior you describe in many babies way before ADD or Autism was ever a diagnosis. It's common sense a baby is more interested in the cat walking around because that is more intriquing than nasty tasting baby food.

I agree. Also, even if she does have ADD, so what? I'm guessing that early age, you wouldn't want to start pumping her with drugs...ew...

Ticker- give digger a break ! Digger's here for other reasons than the baby........being a new parent can be overwhelming, and sometimes it's really hard to know whether or not something you see is just an anomaly or something to really be concerned about.

Digger, I love hearing about your baby! Be assured, everything you describe is perfectly normal. Babies do that. The world is all so new to them, so fascinating.

I do remember fretting over so many things when my son was little. But it's all rather useless. Just enjoy her! It goes by so fast.

I just want to say what a fantastic parent you sound!! !! Very attentive.

I wouldn't worry at this age. In fact I would think its a good thing, shows she's responding to her environment, besides even us adults look around when we are eating.

Im a trainned child care worker (mother craft nurse) She sounds perfectly "normal" so far.

yeah, totally. I mean, I have it, my wife has it, I want to make DAMN FU**ING CERTAIN that my daughter does well in school, makes friends and stuff and if that means picking up on something early and asking about it - doing no harm in the process, so be it!

so piss off.

thanks everyone else and yes, she's the apple of my eye and I'll fight tooth and nail to make certain she's healthy in all aspects.

Well hopefully by the time she gets to school age the clinical community will have “gotten it”, to put it bluntly ADD (Attention deficit disorder) is not a really a spectrum diagnosis and spectrum individuals who get this are likely being miss-categorized. The mainstream clinical community has just not realized this yet. It should really be called EFD (executive function differential). These individuals can demonstrate attention just fine, just not in the standard NT linear fashion. For the most part it bores the heck out of them. Provide an interesting visual based source and they can “attend” just find if they find the information interesting. In fact they can hyper focus way beyond the capabilities of most NTs. Unless they have hyperactivity issues (and not the misinterpreted theatrical play which is common for spectrum individuals) then they are just on the spectrum with EF issues.

IT is really too early to tell for sure but if she is an aspie congratulations, you have a wonderful and special child

Yea I know this is mostly a repost from another thread

bookwormde

I'm sure she doesn't have any spectrum disorder. She's hot all her milestones and then some. She smiles, giggles, babbles and I'm introducing her to other babies in stores like Wal Mart and Target. We're hoping to get her into Gymboree, Head Start, some YMCA program or something similar.