<p>Son has lost so many items during the short 5 week break. These items include Ipod, Ipod shuffle, sun glasses, ski goggles, and climbing gear. He is always searching for his misplaced items and never seems to know where anything is. He is very intellegent but this is really becoming a major problem. Most of the items lost belong to his siblings because he already lost his own things. What does this sound like to you?</p>
<p>No one knows on here. If you’re worried, get your son evaluated.</p>
<p>(As a student with ADHD though, I think if this problem isn’t affecting his schoolwork or attention span, you’re overreacting.)</p>
<p>Haha it sounds like boys will be boys. Every guy I know is like that, even in their mid-20s. Thats why they grow up and get married so they can ask their wives “Honey have you seen my…?” :)</p>
<p>If that’s the only symptom, I wouldn’t think so. However I do think forgetfulness is associated with ADHD, if memory serves (no pun intended.) I know my mom and I both have ADHD, and we tend to walk around with things in our hands and put them down without realizing it because we are not really paying attention, and then we have no idea where to find it afterward. Everybody does that, but we do it with just about everything we touch. >.< Come to think of it, BF with ADHD does the same thing. He has lost his sunglasses and thankfully retrieved them from the lost and found like four times in the last six months. We also tend to be disorganized, I think in part because of the ADHD, which leads to losing things-- but that is also a symptom of being a boy. 
But without other major symptoms of ADD I would not even think of ADHD just from what you describe. </p>
<p>I do think it is very difficult to keep track of stuff over break and when moving back and forth, though. I had a meltdown the day I was moving back because I felt like I couldn’t find anything, and I didn’t even unpack most of my stuff just so that wouldn’t happen. Moving sucks.</p>
<p>momma-three, I do not have ADHD. I, a middle-aged woman, just lost her sunglasses, a pair of leather gloves, a glove from the replacement pair, a hat… Quite often I search the house like crazy for my car keys. However, I have yet to lose any important piece of paper, receipt or e-mail or forget any important deadline. How is your son doing in school? Is he losing homework, missing deadlines?</p>
<p>I am surprised that his siblings still let him borrow their stuff knowing his track record…</p>
<p>Whenever I am missing everything and have looked all over for it, I check out in the back yard. We have a miniature pinscher who thinks everything that isn’t nailed down or on a high shelf is fair game.</p>
<p>Check out my recent thread in the cafe called “Help a frazzled parent.” Lots of good advice on there.</p>
<p>Last night as I was riding in a cab with 2 male colleagues in China, one of them started to scream, “I can’t find my wallet, turn the cab around, someone must have pick pocketed me.” The other colleague was panicking too. I calmly asked the driver to turn on the light, directed everyone to look under their feet and look behind them. Sure enough, his wallet had fallen out of his pocket. He said to me, “You seem pretty calm.” I said, “It happens to my husband all the time. He has lost his passport on a plane before, had to get an engineer to get it out of a seat.” I have two girls, they have their own issues.</p>
<p>no, its called he doesn’t know how to keep track of his things.</p>
<p>My D doesn’t lose things. Things just become invisible to her. In a panic she will ask me to help her find her keys or wallet or whatever and invariably it is right there on the counter or kitchen table. I, on the other hand, am forever losing umbrellas or leaving my glasses at the supermarket check out.</p>
<p>Maybe your son’s things have simply become invisible to him.</p>
<p>Often people like that develop coping skills - such as always keeping their wallet, keys, phone in a basket in a set place (by the door, on the dresser, etc).</p>
<p>IF your son isn’t having to give up hard-earned money to replace these lost items, that could also be why he’s not motivated to keep track of them.</p>
<p>nngmm…His identical twin still loans him anything he needs. I think he would give him the shirt off his back. It really drives him crazy because he loses nothing but all of his stuff is gone.</p>
<p>Sounds like unorganized. But this would not be high on my priority list. Some people just learn to live like this for the rest of their lives. They are still good loving people taking care of family… Nobody is perfect.</p>
<p>It need not be ADD/ADHD. I have one kid who is ADD/ADHD and the other who is dyslexic and is definitely not ADD. The latter kid would, for years, lose anything that was not physically attached. He lost two winter jackets during cold New England winters! [How do you lose your winter jacke?] He lost several TI scientific calculators. Uggh. The ADD kid does not tend to lose things, although this morning, she was running around looking for her makeup case. You will be pleased to know that the one who used to lose things is now a freshman and has not lost his phone, ipod, noise-canceling earphones, jacket, backpack, calculator, or anything else in the last year as far as I can recall (although he does misplace his drivers license and gym card at times).</p>
<p>My inclination would be yes it is ADD, but labeling the behavior doesn’t make it any easier to live with. Losing things is nothing to joke about or take likely. It affects not only that person’s quality of life but also his/her family members, friends, significant others and employers. It can be unbearably frustrating and a source of great stress-- e.g., not being able to find airplane tickets two hours before a flight or an SAT admission ticket on the morning of the exam. I agree with mom2ck that developing routine habits is essential to keeping track of important items like cell phones, keys, backpacks. It also helps to set up email reminders to oneself – or one’s child-- as well as some type of calendar system for upcoming deadlines.</p>