ADD / ADHD Community

ADHD and Autism both have 'tics'. Tics can be physical (ex: hand flapping) or verbal (like humming). My son's most annoying tic is having to touch everything around him - especially in places outside the house.

Hi Lilipad,

I think it would be appropriate to have your son seen by a child neurologist.

Here is a link for you to explore:

www.ucomparehealthcare.com/drs/child_neurologists/

Your son's behavior doesn't sound like a "typical" 13-year old boy. I'm a little surprised his pedi didn't recommend this before ???

A neurologist would be a good starting point for you guys.

I'm glad you posted, take care !

-Kathleen

I have noticed my son snorting lately. It is really annoying and i think this is tick because when i ask him if he needs to blow his nose he says no. I'm not sure if i need to ignore this or talk to him about it. I have wondered if his throat feels funny and that is why he does this. He has an appointment with an ENT on thursday. He has had tubes since he was 22 months old and now he is almost 6 and they still haven't fallen out. One has dislodged but is still in his ear canal i can see it but it doesn't move. He is now saying that loud noises hurt his ears so we'll see what happens on thursday and go from there.

While I was reading your post I couldn't help but think of my friends little boy. He has ADHD ,Autism, along with Cerebral Palsy (think that is how you spell it). I don't know where you are located but Rileys Childrens Hospital in Indianapolis Indiana works wonders with children. They have helped Lance out a lot. Maybe you could look into it.

Wow - your next to last paragraph sounds exactly like a description of my 6 year old daughter! And she definitely has ADHD Combined Type/Primarly Hyperactive. Sometimes I have to ask her to go into another room for 5 minutes so I can concentrate to pay a bill or something because there is almost never a time when sound isn't coming out of her....if not talking or singing, then it's a constant humming. She's able to control it (mostly) at school now, but by the time she gets home it's like she's just got pent-up noise to make!

I would take him to a pediatric psychologist or psychiatrist for a full evaluation.

I suspect that the rocking back and forth could be a result of medicines. Look up tardive dyskensia on google. You might be shocked about this.

I also suspect he is outcasted by peers and he is humming as a way to remain cheerful and fill the silence of loneliness. Give him a fresh start somewhere new. A chance to make friends. It could be he is paranoid but I doubt it. I bet he is being bullied or excluded socially.

Try to get to the root of the problems. Explore every avenue, even if you expored them before.

Some of his behaviors make me think of a kid with allergies, crazy as it sounds. Watch this video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRDpcWZUEiU

Some of what you describe sounds like possible vision disorder. Visit here: www.pavevision.org/

I say this because my son had an undetected vision disorder. His teachers reported that he "hummed to himself". In 2003 he devoted 3 months to vision therapy and all is well.

Hope this helps. Please write back. We care.

Well lili -

My son is 8 years old. He has just been recently diagnosed with ADHD. Very strange though, the symptoms that your son is having are "to the T" my sons as well. Medication has helped him to ease his nerves quit a bit, but not completely yet.

I cant believe that your pediatrician did not look into your concerns more thoughouly. I think you should go to a behavioral specialist.

MY SON WAS ALSO DIAGNOSED WITH ADHD BUT HE WAS ALSO DIAGNOSED WITH PDD-NOS(PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER NOT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED WITH SIGNIFICANT.)I FIRST TOOK MY SON TO A DEVELOPMENTAL CLINIC WHEN HE WAS IN THE KINDERGATEN BECAUSE THE SCHOOL THOUGHT HE MIGHTIVE BEEN AUTISTIC BECAUSE A LOT OF HIS BEHAVIOR WASNT NORMAL AND WHEN THEY BROUGHT IT TO MY ATTENTION I HAD HIM TESTED THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH HIM.BUT I KNEW OTHERWISE BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOUR CHILDREN AND SOME OF THE THINGS HE DID WASNT NORMAL LIKE HE DIDNT LIKE BRIGHT LIGHT,HE DIDNT LIKE THE SEAM OF HIS SOCKS TO TOUCH HIS FEET SO HE WILL TUCK HIS SOCKS UNDER,HE DOESNT LIKE CHANGES.AND THERE WAS LOTS MORE.I TOOK HIM TO ANOTHER DEVELOPMENTAL PEDIATRIC JUST TWO WEEKS AGO AND GOT A SECOND DR TO CHECK HIM OUT BECAUSE NOW THAT HE IS IN THE THIRD GRADE I SEE DIFFERENT SYMPTOMS.JUST LIKE YOUR SON HE LIKES TO HUMM A LOT AND EVERYTIME A KID IN HIS CLASS LAUGH HE THINKS THEY ARE LAUGHING AT HIM.HE DOESNT LIKE PLAYING WITH KIDS HIS OWN AGE HE PREFER YOUNGER KIDS TO PLAY WITH.THANK GOD HE DOESNT HAVE A BEHAVIOR PROBLEM.HIS ADHD IS MORE LIKE ADD HE IS NOT HYPER.ME PERSONALLY IM NOT PUTTING MY SON ON MEDS.HE IS COPEING JUST FINE WITH THE SUPPORT FROM THE FAMILY AND TEACHERS.I JUST STARTED GETTIN HIM INVOLVED IN SPORTS I WAS SCARED HE WOULDNT COMPREHEND LIKE THE OTHER KIDS.BUT HE JUST FINISHED BASKETBALL AND HE DID BETTER THEN A LOT OF KIDS ON HIS TEAM THAT DOESNT HAVE PROBLEMS.NOW I HAVE HIM IN SOCCER AND HE IS LOVING IT.LOOK UP PDD-NOS.YOUR SON SOUNDS A LOT LIKE MY SON.DONT JUST SETTLE FOR ONE ANSWER.YOU KNOW YOUR KIDS AND YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SHOULD BE DOING AND NOT DOING.I FEEL LIKE A BIG LOAD HAS BEEN LIFTED BECAUSE I FINALLY GOT ANSWERS SO I KNOW HOW TO TREAT IT AND THATS WITH EXTRA LOVE AND SUPPORT.I HOPE THIS HELPS YOU AND GOOD LUCK.

First, get a new doctor. It's obvious you don't trust this one and I don't think I would either. If you don't trust the doctor, you should get a second opinion. You'll need a psychiatrist with ADHD experience. A regular doctor may have some experience, but a psychiatrist is a specialist and will have more experience in this type of behavior and its causes.

Everything you described in the 3rd paragraph sounds familiar. You said he hums to himself a lot, he rocks back and forth sometimes. Its noticeable, but not big deal. He seems paranoid because he saw a bus go by and thinks someone was laughing at him. He's talkative and easily frustrated. He constantly wants to irritate others.

The root of ADHD is poor impulse control, but on multiple levels. The human brain has the ability determine which thoughts are worth thinking about and which are just random junk to be discarded. The brain also decides which actions are worth taking and which should be ignored. ADHD brains aren't very good at either one of those tasks. We have to consciously filter the noise in our brains and the barrier between impulse and action isn't as selective on ADHD people as it is for most people. That combination can look pretty weird from the outside. Try to look at your son's behavior from the perspective of an ADHD person.

I think ADHD isn't described correctly. Its not really an attention deficit. It's more like attention OVERLOAD. For me, it's like having a million thoughts in my mind while I'm looking at EVERYTHING all at once. I see stuff other people don't because my eyes and mental focus are always moving. I do and say things without thinking about it first especially when I'm bored. I get bored EASILY. It's hard to stay still so I'm usually moving something. I have some verbal ticks that pop out when I think of certain things or when I want to get my mind back on track. I'm pretty good at not doing that stuff in public now that I'm older. I wouldn't call myself paranoid. I don't think anyone specific is out to get me. But I know there are bad guys and I've been burned enough in the past that I like to keep my guard up. I always think about safety and security. When I was a kid, I was constantly told that I'd done something wrong by teachers, parents etc. Sometimes I'd get dressed in a hurry and get teased if my clothes didn't match or a button was wrong. Most of the time it was completely unexpected and embarrassing.

Let's think about your son.

Keep in mind he's still a kid with a kid's imagination. Anything at all can set his mind moving in an unexpected direction. He may see a piece of trash on the ground and wonder how it got there or imagine a whole story around it. Then he moves on to something else a few seconds later.

He hums to himself a lot, but doesn't seem to be thinking about anything. You said he gets distracted easily and can't concentrate. Lots of people hum when they're distracted. Lots of people move from foot to foot or nod their head, stroke their beard or tug on their ear lobe when they're distracted. ADHD people get distracted a lot more than most people. He may not be aware of how he looks when he's doing these things. You are probably paying more attention to what he's doing than he is. He's probably thinking about something else.

He likes to talk, but not everyone does. He might get frustrated when they ask him to stop talking. He gets bored easily. He might want to irritate others, just to see something happen. Even non-ADHD kids do that sometimes.

It's possible someone on that bus WAS laughing at him. Kids do that. Or maybe he just saw someone on the bus laughing and his imagination ran with it. If he has low self esteem he may jump to the conclusion that they were laughing at him. I'm not sure I'd call that paranoid.

You're doing the right thing. Tell the doctor your concerns. Even if it's not ADHD you'll find out what it is and hopefully get the right treatment.

Good luck. - Chris

Dear Lilipad:
I just found your post in one of my searches for humming and adhd and noticed it was 4 years old. Which would make your child almost 17 years old or so. Can you tell me what has transpired the last four years? My child is 9 and all your above statements apply to her.