Sleep apnea causing "hyperactivity"? Opinions? Sleep study?

[Arcadia]

My kids just had a "well baby" checkup so I was asking the pediatrician about my 8 year old's behaviour. He can't seem to stop talking and he fidget while he reads.

The pediatrician thinks that these are purely behavioural issues due to lack of peers to imitate proper behavior. He is not against homeschooling but he is pro socialization in whatever form. This boy has 3.5 hrs of outside classes per week during the school term. No neighborhood kids around as all are in school and afterschool childcare.

The ped. thinks that the only possible medical reason is that my boy either have bad quality of sleep or sleep apnea causing him to be "hyperactive" to keep himself awake in the daytime.

Anyone has experience on sleep apnea and on whether it is worth doing a sleep study to rule that out? This boy wakes up by himself without me having to wake him up. Also the last time we saw the ped. was three years ago.

I'm wondering whether it is worth the time and money to do the sleep study.

 

ETA:

His teachers/instructors are all polite about it but I do feel bad.

[swellmomma]

if his only "hyperactive" signs are fidgeting while reading and talking non-stop then I would say he is actually a normal boy.  I have found with all of my kids from ages 5-8/9 they talked my ears off all the freaking time.  and it is normal to fidget while reading, especially for boys.

If he is having other signs of disrupted sleep such as dark circles under the eyes, difficulty waking, bedwetting, other behaviour issues/mood issues etc then the sleep study is worth while.  Based on a little bit you shared I would say no, more likely he is just an active boy without any form of pathology.  

[MiMi 4under3]

Lack of sleep or poor quality sleep can present like ADHD. So I've read...

[Arcadia]

If he is having other signs of disrupted sleep such as dark circles under the eyes, difficulty waking, bedwetting, other behaviour issues/mood issues etc then the sleep study is worth while.

Other than dark circles under the eyes, he doesn't have any other issues. His non-stop talking is disruptive for outside classes though which is why I mentioned to the ped. As in teachers/instructors have raise the issue.

 

It is just that the B&M kids have gone through the red light/green light behavior modification thing so he stands out as disruptive especially at his age. He interrupts the teacher and the teacher aide has to step in. Honestly if there were no outside complaints I'll just keep my boys apart in the house and leave it be. His teachers were annoyed but polite about it.

 

My 9 year old gets upset from lack of sleep. This younger one is so even tempered its hard to tell.

 

ETA:

We had him tested for ADHD just to rule it out. The psychologist thinks his behavior during the testing was due to lack of peer models. As in my boy has no example of how a 8 year old is expected to behave and so he "misbehave".

 

ETA:

We are putting him in a lot more outside classes this fall to see if it helps behavior-wise. (One can hope)

[City Mouse]

Lack of sleep or poor quality sleep can present like ADHD. So I've read...

I have heard this too.

[PeterPan]

I'm sorry to come into this late.  It's a pretty common line about the sleep apnea, so I just assumed you had gotten proper help.  What kind of psychologist was this? And how long did he spend doing evals?  Full evals (multiple hours of testing) or just an EF survey?  Or???

 

You might want to get a 2nd opinion from someone on the Hoagies 2E list.  At the very least, your dc might be bored stiff in those classes.  

 

The dark circles under the eyes can also be allergies or poor digestion.  My dd had that when she was little, and she was reacting to milk.

[Arcadia]

You might want to get a 2nd opinion from someone on the Hoagies 2E list. At the very least, your dc might be bored stiff in those classes.

This boy does have food sensitivities so I'll watch out for that too. The main problem we had was that if anyone (family, friends, strangers) ask him to lower his voice or be quiet, he would reply "I know." and continue talking. For an 8 year old, that is honestly rude and inconsiderate. This happen anywhere too not just in class. He can tell if someone is annoyed but does not stop even when my older boy ends up crying. It was kind of like an "I know so what" attitude he gives people.

 

I don't know if it is just attention seeking or he likes to hear himself talk. He can do long monologues even if no one is listening. He even talks in his sleep sometimes.

 

The psychologist was interacting with him for more than 3hrs and he thinks family behavior therapy could help. Their pediatrician thinks that we can just do behavior modification at home instead of wasting time on therapy. I did tell the ped. that we had this problem for more than two years including outside complaints.

[sbgrace]

I have a talker too--very much like you describe.

 

He did have sleep apnea. He had surgery, which I assume helped (no follow up study yet). I haven't noticed a bit of difference in the constant talking/fidgeting/hyperactive stuff.

 

My son snored and startled in his sleep. That triggered the sleep study.

 

I don't think hyperactivity alone is indicative of sleep apnea. I also can't tell if what you're seeing is an issue or just normal personality variance and active kid energy. 

[Virg]

Both of my twins have sleep apnea and both have ADHD-like behavior, although it has been officially ruled out by in-depth evals. We were told by the sleep specialists at CHC (Children's Hospital Colorado) that new research shows that as many as 50% of children diagnosed with ADHD actually had sleep apnea. Neither of my boys have dark circles or even snores much. The sleep study was first ordered by our new pediatrician when she saw the boys hyperactivity and inattention. She had read the newer research and said she never likes to refer for behavioral until she has ruled out medical problems behind the behavior. I was shocked they both had sleep apnea! We are now working on a treatment plan :)

 

I am not really behind the socialization thing, I was told that before by other drs about my boys, of course after they found out we homeschooled. Mine at least realize that other children act differently they just don't seem to be able to keep themselves acting more appropriately. (And at times don't care! Lol) I will also say that we have seen a HUGE connection with hyperactivity/inappropriate behavior and food allergies. Not only in my children but also my nephew. When my nephew was taken off a bunch of foods at 6, the changes were astounding! None of my kids test positively for food allergies but when you take them off of foods the allergies are quite clear.

[Arcadia]

I also can't tell if what you're seeing is an issue or just normal personality variance and active kid energy.

Thanks. I can't tell either :(

We'll keep in view for a few months more and see how it goes.

[Arcadia]

None of my kids test positively for food allergies but when you take them off of foods the allergies are quite clear.

My older boy gets "hyper" from artificial food dye at a young age so we avoid artificial food dye.

My younger has food that cause laxative reactions. I'll have to be more observant if any food gets him "hyper".

 

Thanks.