OT Child with possible ADD

[DeepSeaSue]

Originally Posted by videofit

Teachers want all kids on meds so the teachers have an easier job. Tough! Maybe if they were creative teachers, the kids wouldn't be bored.

Wow. On behalf of all the incredibly hard-working and "creative" techers out there, I take offence to this highly ignorant and uninformed comment.

[bzar]

it is really difficult to be patient with whatever strategy you try mostly because you don't get instantaneous results. my son was in daycare (3 YO) when he started to give our sitter problems, and she's such a nice, gentle woman. 3 YO is is really too young to do any meaningful testing. he did OK when he was in preschool. i worried a lot about him, and we didn't have any other parent who had the same experience.

in kindergarten that's when he had a teacher who was just impatient and couldn't handle it. the school moved him to another teacher who was a lot more organized.

by then the IEP kicked in, and he'd spend an hour or so with another teacher every day, and she was just as organized and had established different strategies for his behavior. this school was "mainstreamed" in that they didn't keep your child isolated from the rest of the students, which was great. we were just beginning neurofeedback with a private psychologist, going every saturday. we found her on our own and just thru a lucky chance.

DS began 1st grade at the school that my older son was at, and it was basically a much better school with more resources. we never had any "crisis" like at the other school. my son was just a playful guy and at the new school, he was settling into a routine. things weren't perfect, but better.

it was many different strategies working in concert together, and it took most of elementary school. around 5th grade, he became motivated because he wanted to join pop warner, so he really shaped up - his focus was razor sharp, and continues to be proactive with himself. he has a lot of self-control.

i honestly worried a lot, but as time went on, it got better, really it did. i can't believe we've made it this far. he inspires me. we had a good neurofeedback psychologist, and i go to her too after having seen the miracles she did w/ our son.

[Exercise Diva]

Originally Posted by LynnO

In this very thread, people that have children with ADD or other concerns have had success with medication and or other treatments. Take your time and try different things. Please understand that almost all teachers want your children to succeed and most care very much. Medication and school counselors and teachers not only saved my daughter, they have helped her succeed and thrive.

LynnO, I completely agree. I resisted the medication route for a long time but in the end it made such a huge difference, as well as the wonderful teachers who spent a lot of time working with my daughter. I do think that in some cases, the meds can be abused but when it is needed, they can be a game changer. Sarah went from being a C/D student to an A student, it seems like overnight. She's in college now and only takes her meds during exam time. There's just no question what they do for her focus. It's important to work with your child's teachers and get the proper evaluation. I do think that the ADD/ADHD label gets applied too liberally sometimes by people who are not qualified to make that diagnosis.

Joan

[videofit]

Originally Posted by DeepSeaSue

On behalf of all the incredibly hard-working and "creative" techers out there, I take offence to this highly ignorant and uninformed comment.

I'll be sure to tell the hard working, creative teacher who told me about her tenured coworkers who are giving the profession a bad name. She was no fan of the Teachers Union either so retired early in disgust.

[PhyllisG]

Originally Posted by DeepSeaSue

Wow. On behalf of all the incredibly hard-working and "creative" techers out there, I take offence to this highly ignorant and uninformed comment.

I know we are getting off topic here but I too have to defend the hard working creative teachers and there are many. Teachers today also often have to fill the role not only of teacher but also psychologist, social worker and at times parent. Being a teacher is hard work. I have worked with teachers as the psychologist to develop programs that would help children with various learning and social problems and family issues. I have never met a teacher who was not willing to work on behalf of a child. It is hard work being in a classroom with a roomful of children or adolescents. Sure not every teacher is committed but so many are.

[isebelleg44]

From what little I have read on the subject so far, ADD is harder to diagnose in girls. My daughter had two years of preschool, one year of Kindergarten and halfway through first grade, I hear there is an issue with her inattention. I am glad this teacher noticed it, as it will only become more problematic if not addressed.

I think the questionnaire we completed was ridiculous and doesn't seem like the way to diagnose ADD. We will definitely do our homework and I can't thank you ladies enough for your advice. We all want what's best for our children and have to be their advocates. I believe there are plenty of teachers out there who care as well, that the children in their classroom do well and thrive.

[sherry7899]

Isebelle- our friend's daughter was diagnosed with ADD- inattentive type in second grade. Apparently there are different types.

That checklist is ridiculous!

[DawnP]

Hi all,
I think there's been some wonderful educated and thoughtful responses to the original poster's question. I have absolutely no experience or education in this area. But my husband has. He asked me to share with you what it felt like to have undiagnosed & untreated ADHD as a child.

Until he was 10 yrs old, my husband suffered tremendously with severe attention deficit. He describes his days in the classroom as "absolute torture". He says "I would sit there with so much energy and distractions in my body that I would tremble trying to remain still and quiet. It was horrible."

Jeff tells me, "the teachers yelled at me and singled me out all the time. I spent more time in the principal's office than I did in the classroom. If you can imagine the Tasmanian Devil cartoon character spinning around in your brain, you would get the idea."

He said that he watched the classroom clock every single minute. He could not wait to be up and moving, on his bike, swimming, playing tricks on friends, digging holes, whatever.

He talks about how ostracized he was - his friends just thought he was geeky, nutty, different, a troublemaker. He got Cs and Ds until 5th grade. He always felt like he was failing his parents, his teachers. But he could NOT control it. He 'wanted' to pay attention, his brain just would not obey. He says he KNEW that it was bad to jump out of his seat and run around the room, he understood that he would be in trouble, but he had absolutely NO CONTROL. It was utterly frustrating, having no control.

The school talked to his parents about holding him back TWO YEARS in his schooling. There was no drug therapy or behavioral treatment back then. He had a controlled diet and was not allowed to eat sweets/sugar.

Jeff started swimming competitively at 7 yrs old, which helped, because he was so exhausted in class he didn't have the energy to bounce around. But he still couldn't focus and his grades were dismal. At this point his parents thought he was "special needs".

When he turned 10 in the 5th grade, something changed in his brain (as he describes it) and he was able to listen.

He said for the first time in his life he could hear an entire uninterrupted sentence. He could form an organized thought and respond. He became focused and goal-oriented. His grades turned into straight As over that year. His swimming team ratcheted up a notch and he later joined water polo. He wanted to do well and go to a good college.

Jeff made it onto the Olympic swimming team. He later went onto earn an MBA while working two jobs.

But he's never forgotten what it felt like to be so out of control, so ostracized, so frustrated, so different. To this day Jeff says he missed SO much of the basics in elementary school that his English grammar, spelling and ability to compose & write cohesively is sub-par. His mother edited many of his college essays because he fell short. 40 years later and he still hates writing because he's self-conscious about it and dreads doing white papers and presentations.

Our daughter is graduating college this year (!) in the Public Health field. And she has a lot of opinions about everything, LOL. She is suspicious of the overuse/misuse of ADHD medications. But Jeff has told her if she ever has children with ADHD and has doubts about providing treatment, the decision about how/why to treat is NOT about the parents, and how the treatment or peer pressure makes the parents feel, it's about making sure the child never feels the way he did and never misses out on as much as he did as a child.

Not to mention, nowadays it's so competitive that many parents feel their child must be excelling in school at 10 yrs of age, participating in multiple extracurricular activities & competitive sports so they can get into their college of choice.

I am not saying that drug treatment is the only way to treat ADHD - I like all of the suggestions made here for a holistic approach including neurofeedback and having teachers/parents themselves trained in behavioral feedback techniques.

Just another view from "inside" so to speak.

[SuzieC]

Originally Posted by DawnP

Hi all,

Jeff tells me, "the teachers yelled at me and singled me out all the time. I spent more time in the principal's office than I did in the classroom. If you can imagine the Tasmanian Devil cartoon character spinning around in your brain, you would get the idea."


He talks about how ostracized he was - his friends just thought he was geeky, nutty, different, a troublemaker. He got Cs and Ds until 5th grade. He always felt like he was failing his parents, his teachers. But he could NOT control it. He 'wanted' to pay attention, his brain just would not obey. He says he KNEW that it was bad to jump out of his seat and run around the room, he understood that he would be in trouble, but he had absolutely NO CONTROL. It was utterly frustrating, having no control.

These paragraphs in your response brought tears to my eyes. My daughter is ALWAYS at the principal's office. She was there her first week of kindergarten. She's only 5, has a LOT of trouble with small talk and communication, yet she told me "I'm sorry to disappoint you", " I'm different from the other kids", "I don't know how to wait", "I don't know why I run out of class". She was not diagnosed with ADHD, but with ASD and was told she has poor focus. I honestly don't know how to help her. We were told she doesn't need ABA or meds, and only RDI is sufficient, but i'm not seeing any progress.

p.s. Isabelle, i'm sorry to "piggyback" on your thread. Let me know if it's ok...

[clerkin11]

I have one child with ADD and another without it. I just want to add that having ADD is often an indication of a very bright and active mind and my daughter with ADD is soooo much fun to be with. Yes, it's hard to keep her on task, but I'm fascinated by the way her mind goes. She was not diagnosed until college, although reading back on comments from teachers it all makes more sense now (and she was very inconsistent in her academic performance). Through college she's used medications sparingly (she doesn't always like how they make her feel, but they were also a lifesaver in some ways). She'll be graduating with her doctorate this May, so please don't be too discouraged that this diagnosis means bad things for your child. They can still be very happy and successful!!