In this episode I am talking to Dr. Carrie Jackson, a licensed child psychologist and coach. She has first hand experience of a life with ADHD and coaches parents how to rebuild their relationship with their kids with ADHD. We will cover:

What is ADHD
How to recognise ADHD
Age of diagnosis
Is ADHD hereditary

You can find Dr. Carrie Jackson on Instagram @the.parent.therapist or via her website: iparentadhd.com

Transcript

00;00;01;02 – 00;00;29;26

Dr. Carrie Jackson

A lot of the times toddlers, they may display some of these behaviors where they’re more hyperactive, they’re more inattentive, but it’s so difficult to know because I’m sure, as you’ve seen, like in your art, that there is such variability where kids, they have so much energy in that moment, they seem like they’re not paying attention a lot. And so it’s really, really easy for them to look like they might have ADHD, but it’s just so difficult to know at that time.

00;00;29;29 – 00;00;52;20

Dr. Mona

Hello. Welcome back to the PedsDocTalk podcast. This week I am welcoming Doctor Carrie Jackson, who is a licensed child psychologist and we are talking about does my toddler have ADHD? How young is too young? We are talking about ADHD because I get so many questions about if toddlers can be too young to have this. Welcome Doctor Carrie to the podcast.

00;00;52;23 – 00;01;02;07

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited to be here. And I know this is a really hot topic that I get a lot of questions about too. So super excited to talk about it today.

00;01;02;10 – 00;01;25;23

Dr. Mona

And you know, I was talking with you about topics to discuss. And, you know, obviously you are a wealth of information. And I’m going to have you tell our audience about what you do. But this topic is just so important because I, even as a pediatrician, get so many parents coming into my office and there are two year old or three year old is exhibiting certain behaviors or actions, and the parent is like, hey, is this developmentally appropriate?

00;01;25;23 – 00;01;48;04

Dr. Mona

Or is this something that could be a sign of ADHD? Is it ADHD? Are they going to have ADHD? So I’m just really excited about this conversation. Because I think, again, I think so many parents have these questions and sometimes don’t know who to ask or you know, where to turn to for information. But before we continue, tell me more about yourself and what you do in your career.

00;01;48;06 – 00;02;16;14

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Yeah. Of course. So I mean, right now, my main job, I guess I would say, is that I am a licensed child psychologist and I’m located in the San Diego, California area. So here I have my own private practice where I see kids primarily with ADHD, actually, and I see them for therapy as well as for evaluations. I’m also a professor at the University of San Diego, where I teach child therapy and the Marriage and Family Therapy program.

00;02;17;02 – 00;02;40;05

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And so in addition to that, I also I like to share mental health content, just like you do on Instagram, as well as Tik Tok, primarily about parenting kids with ADHD. So and also it’s a very personal topic for me as well. So I myself, I have been diagnosed with ADHD and as a kid I definitely was a little bit more of a challenge, I think, for my parents.

00;02;40;05 – 00;02;46;16

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And so it’s really special for me to be able to help kids with ADHD who are like me when I was younger.

00;02;46;18 – 00;03;16;23

Dr. Mona

Oh, that’s a great, great way to go into a career, obviously to give back and help others. And for anyone who is not familiar with Carrie’s, platform on Instagram, the Dot parent dot therapist, and I’m going to link this on the show notes so that you can follow her. I have to also say that I have learned so much about parenting ADHD from you, because unless you have a child with ADHD or you see ADHD every single day and that’s your niche, right?

00;03;16;23 – 00;03;49;05

Dr. Mona

Like what you do, you have taught me as a general pediatrician so much that I have now been able to help my parents if their child has any issues. I want to thank you, for what you’ve done for me and other pediatricians and educators, because I think that is so valuable. So even if you’re listening to this and your child doesn’t have ADHD, won’t ever have ADHD, I think you can just learn so much just from being educated about the topic and how we can approach ADHD and, you know, in terms of diagnoses and supporting parents, in this journey.

00;03;49;17 – 00;04;12;10

Dr. Carrie Jackson

It is is so sweet of you to say because I feel like I’m also learning so much from you as I follow you and in your podcast teacher, I appreciate that so much. And I’m sure as listeners, they will hear on this episode, like pediatricians and psychologists often work together a lot for diagnosing ADHD. So I’m so happy that we are connecting on this because pediatricians are so important to ADHD.

00;04;12;10 – 00;04;13;07

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Also.

00;04;13;17 – 00;04;34;06

Dr. Mona

I love it. And again, I love this podcast so much because I get to collaborate and learn. And also just, you know, people who are listening get to learn as well. So I think the first question I have is terminology, because you hear people say, ADHD, A.D.D. if you want to just go over the terminology, basically what it means, so, you know, parents can understand what that is.

00;04;34;09 – 00;05;05;23

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Yeah. So for a lot of parents, they might have heard about A.D.D. before or even ADHD. And now, according to the DSM, which is how psychologist they diagnose mental health concerns, it’s all under the term ADHD, which stands for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. So it’s a neurodevelopmental disorder, which means that for people who have ADHD, there are differences in their brain that lead to these different behaviors.

00;05;05;23 – 00;05;32;20

Dr. Carrie Jackson

So a lot of people with ADHD, they might have trouble focusing, they might be more impulsive, or they might display challenges. And both and so now there are consider like three presentations of ADHD where one is more inattentive, one is more hyperactive, and then one has both of those. So it’s most commonly diagnosed in kids, but it’s certainly periods through into adulthood.

00;05;32;20 – 00;05;40;22

Dr. Carrie Jackson

So it is considered a lifelong chronic diagnosis because it is neurodevelopmental with those differences in the brain.

00;05;40;24 – 00;05;46;05

Dr. Mona

And I think you mentioned that you yourself but diagnosed was that as an adult or when you were a child, if you don’t.

00;05;46;08 – 00;06;09;15

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Yeah, of course it was actually as an adult. And so what happens a lot with girls, actually, is that they go undiagnosed because girls are more likely to present with the inattentive type of ADHD, which is how I am. And so like throughout school, I was doing really well. I was excelling, but I honestly did not put any kind of effort for a lot of my classes.

00;06;09;15 – 00;06;35;07

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And it was really in high school, college, grad school that I noticed these difficulties that I had. And I actually received a lot of feedback in college and grad school about my attention span. And so I was not diagnosed until I was an adult. But it’s much more common for boys to be diagnosed, like when they’re seven years old, for example, because you see them be more hyperactive in comparison to girls, you’re more more inattentive.

00;06;35;10 – 00;06;52;04

Dr. Mona

And, you know, we’ll talk about this briefly, but, ADHD, you know, is again, like Doctor Carrie said, a way we think or just kind of like the wiring in our brain. So it’s not like you caused your child to have ADHD. It’s just kind of how we are. And I think that’s a really huge concept that I think parents don’t understand.

00;06;52;04 – 00;07;18;07

Dr. Mona

Like they think that, oh, I did X, Y and Z and my child has ADHD. That’s not how it is. It’s how we are and how our brain is wired and it can be a really important concept because there is a lot of shaming and blame placed on parents when it’s really not like that. It’s we want you to know what the signs and symptoms are so you can get support to foster that child learning style and how they process information and how they if they need any accommodations.

00;07;18;07 – 00;07;22;09

Dr. Mona

That’s what we’re trying to do here. Would you agree that there’s a misconception there?

00;07;22;12 – 00;07;43;10

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Absolutely. I have so many parents who have that guilt and that shame that you mentioned, and they’ll say things like, if I would have not had them this amount of sugar, would they be like this? A lot of guilt around certain parenting things that they did. And I think that’s really important for parents to know that this is a brain based disorder.

00;07;43;10 – 00;08;02;26

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And so there’s nothing that they did that would have given their child ADHD. And at the same time, like you’re saying, they can still be an advocate for their kids and they can still be part of the solution for helping their kids with new parenting strategies, accommodations at school. Regardless of that.

00;08;02;28 – 00;08;21;07

Dr. Mona

So of course, you work with a lot of families, school age and above, but one of the things that we’re talking about on this episode is hyperactivity and concentration. Right? That’s kind of some of the tenants of ADHD. And in the toddler years, of course, you can’t expect a two year old three year old to always listen and stay still.

00;08;21;07 – 00;08;39;27

Dr. Mona

And so a lot of parents do feel like their toddlers have ADHD tendencies or ADHD characteristics. So the first question is how young is too young to be diagnosed, quote unquote? Or is there certain criteria I would love for parents to kind of hear about that, and then I’ll have a follow up question to that as well.

00;08;40;00 – 00;09;07;05

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Yeah, absolutely. So I flew with my diagnosing and evaluation practice. I followed the American Academy of Pediatrics, their recommendations for evaluation, and they suggest that the most accurate age, the earliest accurate age, can their diagnosis is four years old. So a lot of the times toddlers, they may display some of these behaviors where they’re more hyperactive, they’re more inattentive.

00;09;07;05 – 00;09;27;13

Dr. Carrie Jackson

But it’s so difficult to know because I’m sure, as you’ve seen, like in your work, that like there is such variability where kids, they have so much energy in that moment, they seem like they’re not paying attention a lot. And so it can be really, really easy for them to look like they might have ADHD, but it’s just so difficult to know at that time.

00;09;27;13 – 00;09;38;04

Dr. Carrie Jackson

But around four years old, you can start to get an accurate idea, although it’s much easier when they actually enter into the school age years.

00;09;38;07 – 00;10;01;17

Dr. Mona

So I guess my follow up question would be when you meet families that are, you know, parents of a six year old, right? And they’re now coming to you and you’re talking to them about ADHD. The accommodation, and if there’s going to be medicine involved, all of that. Will the parents sometimes tell you, like, hey, Doctor Carrie, like, I swear, like when my child was two, I was telling my pediatrician X, Y, and Z, and they said that it was normal.

00;10;01;20 – 00;10;23;16

Dr. Mona

You know, from a pediatrician standpoint, it’s really hard to predict if that behavior is sometimes age appropriate. Or is this something that’s going to be ADHD in your expertise? Is there something before for let me say, hey, this may be a sign that we need to follow this closely or that their ADHD may be a reality, or is it just really early to say so?

00;10;23;16 – 00;10;44;00

Dr. Carrie Jackson

I would think that there definitely can be signs. So one thing that I often look for in like the early stage period is like how restless your child was. So where they just playing like a high activity level and where they also, one thing that is very common is where they getting into a lot of accidents as a kid.

00;10;44;02 – 00;11;09;10

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Those can certainly be signs of a possibility of ADHD, but it’s not enough to diagnose. So at four years old, also, I will say this is the earliest age you can get an accurate diagnosis. It can still be very difficult to diagnose ADHD at that point. There is research showing that diagnoses made at four years old, they do tend to be accurate as kids.

00;11;09;10 – 00;11;43;07

Dr. Carrie Jackson

They go into the elementary school age, but those inattention symptoms that are coming of ADHD so like difficulty focusing, trouble following directions, those are actually not good predictors of an ADHD diagnosis at age four. It’s the hyperactivity symptoms at age four that are much more predictive of an accurate ADHD diagnosis at that age. So those are some more of the symptoms that I tend to look for when I am looking, at younger kids, more of the hyperactivity and impulsivity.

00;11;43;09 – 00;12;07;22

Dr. Mona

Yeah, that is just great to know because like I said at the beginning of the episode, I just feel like sometimes people will say, well, I promise, like, this is what I’ve been saying. You know, when my kid was X age that I felt like they had it all along. I guess another follow up to that would be if you have a two year old or a three year old and a parent is concerned and saying, hey, look like my husband has ADHD, I’m concerned that my son or daughter also has it.

00;12;07;25 – 00;12;25;16

Dr. Mona

So if they can’t get the official diagnosis, what are some things that they can do in between that 2 to 4 years age to kind of help them if they’re concerned about some behavioral things or, you know, is a therapist worth it? Like when would you say, hey, it’s time to get some help, even if you don’t have an ADHD diagnosis?

00;12;25;19 – 00;12;49;09

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Yeah, this is a good point. And so oftentimes, like even if I have a younger kid I’m seeing, I’ll see kids two years old as early as that for therapy. But I’m working with their parents in that moment if they are concerned about some of these behaviors that seem like ADHD, I will recommend that they participate in some type of parent behavior therapy or a parenting group.

00;12;49;11 – 00;13;12;24

Dr. Carrie Jackson

So it’s not to say, again that they’re parenting skills or the issue is just that, okay, your child, they seem to have high level of energy. They’re more impulsive. Let’s see how these special parenting skills may help some of these behaviors, like the Incredible Years parenting groups. It’s actually considered a preventative group to help with reducing any child behavior problems.

00;13;12;24 – 00;13;36;16

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And that is something I will often recommend for parents. Also, because when kids are younger than six years old, the first line of treatment for ADHD, regardless is behavior therapy, where you’re doing like a parenting group. And so I always tell parents like, okay, this may be ADHD, but it’s too young to know right now. So let’s go ahead and get started with what we know is the first line of recommendations.

00;13;36;16 – 00;13;56;26

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Anyways, you’ll benefit from it regardless. And that’s what I would suggest to parents, trying out something like that. You can, I would say talk to your pediatrician for a referral. Sometimes their community groups that offer these, they all focus on a lot of like positive reinforcement strategies for these kids.

00;13;56;28 – 00;14;15;28

Dr. Mona

I love it. And yes, I agree as a pediatrician that even if your child does not have like a diagnosis, right. And I, I think a lot of parents fear diagnoses, but some parents actually are like worried to bring up concerns to their pediatrician because they don’t want a quote unquote label or diagnosis. But I’m really trying to normalize, you know, on this episode and other episode.

00;14;16;00 – 00;14;38;08

Dr. Mona

Then when we do give diagnoses, it’s not remember, these these are not taboo topics. These are neurodiverse topics. These are important that we talk about this, but it’s also so that you can get like we talked about support therapies all of that. And so if you don’t have the diagnoses you have support in other ways. Like Doctor Carrie said, I mean, you’re never alone in that parenting journey if you’re feeling like your child won’t quote unquote, listen.

00;14;38;08 – 00;14;57;13

Dr. Mona

And it’s two and a half years old, even if that’s not ADHD, that just, you know, and that’s just a toddler, you should never feel that you don’t have help, you know, because I don’t want you to feel like alone in that journey. And I know you also would agree, and your pediatrician is a great starting point, going through your insurance for therapist and resources.

00;14;57;13 – 00;15;10;19

Dr. Mona

If you feel like you’re not being supported by your first line pediatrician. I always want people to know how to advocate for their child and for their own parenting journey. But yeah, this is a really valid point, and I’m just so happy that Doctor Carrie brought that up.

00;15;10;22 – 00;15;31;15

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Yeah, yeah, I’m happy to bring that up. And I do think so. The pediatrician is always where I recommend starting. I have noticed like a lot of pediatricians, when kids are younger, they might refer to a psychologist for an evaluation at that point. Just because it can be harder to do, like the Vanderbilt screening, is a common way that pediatricians will assess for ADHD in their office.

00;15;31;17 – 00;15;37;17

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And so I do find that I’m not sure if you even care that also for the younger kids as well.

00;15;37;19 – 00;15;58;26

Dr. Mona

Yes, I have and, yes, the Vanderbilt and we chose to talk about toddlers and ADHD and you know, how young is too young. We probably will do a whole other episode just on medications and non-medical attention, you know, accommodations and what it means, you know, if you get that diagnosis, I think that’s a whole different conversation that I think would be amazing with Doctor Carey.

00;15;58;28 – 00;16;13;11

Dr. Mona

But I do want to talk briefly about the diagnosis that you mentioned. Like the criteria. I know there’s a whole list of different things, but one of the biggest things that I think parents also should know is that the diagnosis has to be in two settings. Is that still accurate?

00;16;13;14 – 00;16;36;10

Dr. Carrie Jackson

It is so accurate. Yes. Thank you for bringing that up, because a lot of, parents do bring that up as a concern or as like a worry. So the two settings criteria, there are basically nine hyperactive symptoms in their nine and intended symptoms. And for an ADHD diagnosis you have to have six of nine symptoms, either hyperactive or inattentive.

00;16;36;12 – 00;17;17;03

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And they have to be present in two settings. And so for kids often that is school and home. So the teacher is typically filling out these questionnaires about kids. But for younger kids what is often done is using like a daycare for example, a preschool or using even like a grandparents house. I have seen a lot of psychologists do that too, but I typically tend to tend to rely on daycare providers, preschools or teachers because also there is research suggesting that they are the most accurate reporters of ADHD symptoms because they’re able to compare to other kids in their classroom and their daycare as well.

00;17;17;03 – 00;17;26;27

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And so it would be very common if you’re a pediatrician, if they ask your preschool provider or teacher to fill out some questionnaires about your child behavior. Awesome.

00;17;26;29 – 00;17;42;17

Dr. Mona

Yeah. So, you know, from my general pediatrician world, and I would love to talk about this because people must wonder, like, how does this work? So yes, under for if I have a parent comes in and they’re like, look, my two year old is let’s use the report off the what? It’s usually what I hear right. My toddler’s off the walls.

00;17;42;24 – 00;17;58;10

Dr. Mona

First and foremost, I’m having a conversation about where is this happening? Tell me about your schedule. Tell me about meal times. But there’s so much other things we have to talk about in the whole parenting journey besides just they’re off the walls. I want to know more, right? That’s usually the conversation. If I’m feeling like they need more support.

00;17;58;10 – 00;18;20;29

Dr. Mona

Sometimes we do discuss there, like a therapist or behavioral therapist. And the parent wants that. And I think that’s fantastic. But then also it’s a question on where is this happening, like I mentioned. So if the child is at home and in school, right, or like a daycare and the parent is saying, well, Doctor Ramona, like at daycare, the teachers have no concern and they say that he listens and he does everything.

00;18;21;03 – 00;18;44;04

Dr. Mona

But the parents are telling me at home there’s major concerns for them. Then I need to say, well, what are we doing at home? Is there something with the schedule, with the environment, or vice versa? Right. Like just say the parent says at home things are doing like everything’s been great. I’m happy. But then at school there’s a concern and that is why I think the two setting criteria is really important for parents to hear, even if it’s your toddler.

00;18;44;04 – 00;19;02;29

Dr. Mona

Right? Because if your toddler doesn’t have the diagnosis but you’re concerned about behavior, I want to know, is this happening in multiple places? Is this happening in one place? Because if it’s happening in one place, we have to kind of dig a little more about what’s happening in that environment. What’s the boundary setting happening? Is that just environment or is it the child?

00;19;02;29 – 00;19;22;27

Dr. Mona

Right. There’s so many nuanced discussion when we discuss behavior and focus and all this stuff. So the two setting criteria, I know we’re not going into all the criteria for ADHD on this episode, but to me, that’s the most important take home, is that to make the official diagnosis at four four years minimum, but also the two setting criteria.

00;19;22;27 – 00;19;39;29

Dr. Mona

And if it’s a four year old and above, I also have those Vanderbilt questionnaires which Doctor Carrie mentioned, which is a extensive questionnaire that the teacher fills out, usually a teacher, that the child is really seeing. A lot of, you know, in as a kindergartner, that’s probably going to be one teacher and then the family has to fill out.

00;19;39;29 – 00;20;02;02

Dr. Mona

And once they fill those questionnaires out, I review them, we score them, I look at everything, and then I invite the family back to discuss next step. Hey, your Vanderbilt form showed me that there is a concern for hyperactivity or inattentiveness or it did it. The teacher said that everything’s going good. What do you think? The diagnoses itself can sometimes take some time?

00;20;02;12 – 00;20;24;07

Dr. Mona

You know, it’s not always like, oh, yeah, here it is. And so it’s really important to have a good relationship with a pediatrician who is the first line, like Doctor Carrie said, because I think that can really help you in advocating and also monitoring. If your child is younger than four and you, you know, are concerned about ADHD and you want to continue, the process of watching their, you know, their development.

00;20;24;10 – 00;20;44;14

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Yeah. But you same criteria. I agree it super important because the rationale for that is like it is a neurodevelopmental disorder where it is across your entire life and it will show up in some ways. So I have some parents who, you know, they’re concerned, they’re like, oh, but like he is doing so well. I’m like, okay, they may be doing very well in school.

00;20;44;21 – 00;20;58;13

Dr. Carrie Jackson

But there also may be some signs as well that the teacher knows that I have had parents say that as well. When the Vanderbilts are sold out, they’re surprised that even if a child is getting all A’s in school, there is still some inherent in their behaviors.

00;20;58;15 – 00;21;20;06

Dr. Mona

Yeah. And that’s why I’m saying, like, I have had those situations where those Vanderbilt forms come back and I’m talking to the family, I know the family, and I have to dig a little bit because I’m like, maybe we need another teacher. Maybe we need to chill because it’s not always, you know, questionnaires. I’ll be honest, sometimes people don’t always not everybody, but don’t always answer them honestly or they’re in a rush or they’re like, I don’t know, maybe.

00;21;20;06 – 00;21;38;15

Dr. Mona

So it is this sort of questionnaire, plus the family plus the relationship, plus making sure that we are following up to help the family. So I love this. And that’s why, again, I’m so happy you’re on because this is what you do and advocate for families. The next question I have is a common one about is ADHD hereditary.

00;21;38;19 – 00;21;48;11

Dr. Mona

So someone will come in and say, well, my husband has it. Or you know, I notice these same things when my partner was younger. What is the research or is it hereditary? What do we know about that.

00;21;48;16 – 00;22;11;27

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Yeah. So it’s extremely hereditary. So if you are a parent who has ADHD, then you I believe it’s a 50% chance that your child will have ADHD as well. And so if you have a two parent household where both of the parents have ADHD, it makes it even more likely. So there’s definitely a strong genetic link between parents who have ADHD and their kids.

00;22;11;27 – 00;22;37;22

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And that goes back to being a really brain based disorder. Again, you know, I do want to like, tell parents this does not mean like, you are giving your child ADHD. It’s something that you don’t have control over. And there’s also like there’s no blood tests or no tests to say like like in my child ADHD or even like after looking at diagnoses like a blood test and say, does I have ADHD?

00;22;37;22 – 00;22;42;02

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Which is why we have to rely on other evaluation.

00;22;42;04 – 00;23;07;08

Dr. Mona

Yes. At oh, thank you so much about bringing up the blood work thing. I think, you know, as the first line general pediatrician, we get that question a lot. And also about food sensitivities that I swear it’s just food that my child and I’m like, no, like this is wiring of the brain. It’s such an important message because, again, to remove guilt, but also to remove that this isn’t something that you remove or something like you don’t check a box and say, well, no, I’m not going to do this or I’m going to do this.

00;23;07;08 – 00;23;28;08

Dr. Mona

You know, it’s not so simple. Yes, I have families who have children with ADHD who tell me, hey, doc, every time I give my kid X, Y, or Z, it doesn’t help him. And I’m like, look, then that is your situation. But we can’t say that that’s everybody, right? I mean, parents will tell me all the times, like certain situations for each of their children.

00;23;28;08 – 00;23;45;19

Dr. Mona

And I’m like, look, if you truly feel this and you feel like it’s, you know, a concern for you, then I understand. But there’s no literature to say. All ADHD children should be doing this then. And, you know, avoiding this and this blood test for sure, because yes, there is no blood test for this. Yeah, I completely agree with that.

00;23;45;21 – 00;24;08;09

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Yeah, yeah. You brought up like about two, two, which a lot of parents will. That’s what I see. Like parents have like a lot of guilt over too, because there’s a lot in media like Ready to Die or like different, like sugar, different things. But the research is really inconclusive, and it’s suggesting that those don’t play a significant role in the development of ADHD symptoms overall.

00;24;08;09 – 00;24;24;13

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And so I think for parents to know that, like, it’s not something that you may offend your child, it really is like a brain based disorder. Just like if they would have had a different like physical health disorder, you might not have been able to control that. And so taking some of that go off, it’s very important for parents.

00;24;24;16 – 00;24;42;09

Dr. Mona

And speaking with food. The other thing that I get told is, you know, screen time, of course I want to balance screen time for development. I use screen time for my son. But there’s a balance here, right? We don’t want to stick them in front of a TV for eight hours a day. But then I hear the guilt that, okay, my child, I showed them an hour of cocomelon and now they have ADHD.

00;24;42;09 – 00;25;05;29

Dr. Mona

It’s because I show them cocomelon. I’m like, no, no, no, that’s not how this works. Your child watch Cocomelon and that’s independent of them having this diagnosis. So really, truly, if you have any question about ADHD, if you’re like, oh my gosh, like, I swear I did this to my child, I need you to follow Doctor Carrie because she will set the record straight, but also just give a lot of guidance if you have that diagnosis.

00;25;06;01 – 00;25;16;17

Dr. Mona

So what can a parent do if they are concerned their child has ADHD? Let’s say it’s a four year old. They think it’s, you know, it’s two year old. They’re like, doctor, I swear. What would be the first steps that they should do?

00;25;16;20 – 00;25;42;05

Dr. Carrie Jackson

I think that you have definitely hit on like what I would say the first step is what you said. Contact your pediatrician, you know, at their like, school or just like a separate meeting and talk to them about some of your concerns that you have as a parent. When you do talk to your pediatrician, I would also, you know, make sure you’ve talked to like, the day care provider first or preschool and see, like, are these challenges happening at school at preschool.

00;25;42;05 – 00;26;05;02

Dr. Carrie Jackson

So you can bring those up to your pediatrician? I would say like if you’re having these concerns about their behavior too, regardless of if they have ADHD or not, this may be a time where you can get some support as a parent with like learning some new parenting skills. So like praise is one of the most effective skills for kids who are showing these signs of impulsivity.

00;26;05;02 – 00;26;23;03

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And so you can start off with some very small skills that can make a huge impact on them. And those will be things that your pediatrician could talk to you about. You can find through people on social media like me or there, even some really great books as well out there. But I definitely start with your pediatrician first.

00;26;23;06 – 00;26;43;19

Dr. Mona

I love it and I totally advocate for that as well. Not just because I’m a pediatrician, but in your first line. And I love what you mentioned about utilizing resources for your needs. So like you said, like finding the people that will help you in the issue that you have. So if you have a concern, you’re going to follow the accounts that help you provide evidence based information.

00;26;43;19 – 00;27;04;18

Dr. Mona

Supportive information, finding the books that serve your needs. There’s so many resources out there, and I think it’s just so amazing. We live in a time with all the resources, but at the same time, we don’t want to just overwhelm you and feel like you have all this info but don’t know what to do with it. And that’s why your pediatrician or a professional who deals with this every day is a great point of contact, and I think that blend is amazing.

00;27;04;20 – 00;27;22;17

Dr. Mona

Doctor Carey, thank you so much for joining me. I had such a great time talking to you. I like to do this fun little thing at the end of my podcast now, where I just ask a question, you know, just to kind of learn about our guest a little bit. So my question for you is really what has been the most rewarding part of your job so far?

00;27;22;20 – 00;27;23;02

Dr. Mona

Yeah.

00;27;23;02 – 00;27;48;00

Dr. Carrie Jackson

So I would say the most rewarding piece of my job is getting to help parents who are really struggling with, like, these emotional regulation challenges for their kids with ADHD. So I actually I love to tell the parents I work with a story about me. So like when I was a kid, like one of the biggest challenges I had was like some of these like emotional regulation challenges, which is often what you see.

00;27;48;00 – 00;27;56;08

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And as with ADHD, I remember getting so upset that I threw my A Bug’s Life. Which do you remember that movie A Bug’s Life?

00;27;56;10 – 00;27;58;28

Dr. Mona

Yes, I loved it. Looks like me too.

00;27;59;02 – 00;28;23;18

Dr. Carrie Jackson

So I threw my A Bug’s Life alarm clock at our stair banister, and I actually broke it. And so, like, as her parents were going through and like I have been there, I was that kid. Probably like your kid who is struggling a lot with some of these different behaviors. And so now for me, I get to help all of the parents of kids who may be doing things like throwing A Bug’s Life alarm clock and breaking their stair banister.

00;28;23;18 – 00;28;26;20

Dr. Carrie Jackson

And I’m much more calm now, as you can hopefully see from the interview.

00;28;26;21 – 00;28;38;19

Dr. Mona

So yes, and providing such great information. Again, Instagram is the dot parent dot therapist. Where can they find you on tick tock. Is that the same handle?

00;28;38;25 – 00;28;57;17

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Yeah, it’s the same handle. And so I actually I also have some free resources for parents of kids with ADHD. You can just go on my website which is I parent adhd.com pretty easy to remember. And I got like a free parent guide. And then I also have like a monthly membership and a group parenting program as well.

00;28;57;19 – 00;29;18;02

Dr. Mona

And I am going to be putting the website as well as your Instagram handle on TikTok, handle on my show notes. And again, thank you so much for joining me today. If you love this episode and want to learn more about ADHD, make sure you write a review and leave a rating so that we know. Show some love for my guests as well as the podcast so we can continue to grow.

00;29;18;08 – 00;29;26;27

Dr. Mona

And do not forget to follow her on Instagram and TikTok so you can learn more about ADHD, parenting, and so much more. And thanks again for joining me today.

00;29;27;00 – 00;29;31;26

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Thank you so much, doctor. My, this is so fun and I can’t wait to have another conversation sometime soon.

00;29;31;29 – 00;29;42;02

Dr. Mona

Yes we will, hopefully we’re going to talk about management. Hopefully we’re gonna talk about stigmas. I mean there’s so many things that we could have touched upon. And again, I’m just so grateful to connect with you on social and on this podcast.

00;29;42;04 – 00;29;43;11

Dr. Carrie Jackson

Major, thank you so much.

00;29;43;11 – 00;29;48;05

Dr. Mona

Thank you for tuning in for this week’s episode. As always, please leave a review.

00;29;48;07 – 00;29;51;26

Dr. Mona

Share this episode with a friend, share it on your social media. Make sure to.

00;29;51;26 – 00;29;58;01

Dr. Mona

Follow me at PedsDocTalk on Instagram and subscribe to my YouTube channel. PedsDocTalk TV.