Video Fitness Forum  

Go Back   Video Fitness Forum > Video Fitness Reader Forum > General Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 01-28-15, 07:13 PM  
isebelleg44
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Massachusetts
OT Child with possible ADD

I am so sorry to start this OT subject, but I find that there is such a wealth of knowledge on this board and don't know where to start.

About a month ago, my daughter's teacher brought to our attention that she has a difficult time remaining focused, on-task and attentive. She frequently falls off task and and goes in "daydream" mode. And then she has be redirected.

She is a bright girl and a bit of a free spirit. As of right now she is making nice gains with the curriculum and is a strong reader. She is only in the first grade and I want to deal with this, as school will only become more difficult.

We met with the teacher and took the advice to heart. We have been speaking to her and trying to make sure that she pays attention to school (obviously that is mostly out of our hands). We just found out from the teacher, that there has been no improvement. While ADD can't be said, it was suggested that we meet with her pediatrician.

Anyone have any experience with this? TIA!
__________________
The first wealth is health – Emerson

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
~Attributed to both T.H. Thompson and John Watson
isebelleg44 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-28-15, 07:31 PM  
beyond.omega
VF Supporter
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
I only wish mine had been diagnosed when I was a child. But there were other factors in my life that hindered me too. In college, I talked to my doctor about it, and decided I didn't want to take stimulants to treat it. My doctor told me about neurofeedback to treat it, referred me to a practitioner in the area, and it helped me a lot.

Since then I have explored other ways of dealing with my attentional issues (yoga, meditation, core exercise) but I don't think they would be as effective without having gone through the neurofeedback treatment in the past.

If this is something you want to explore, here are some resources:
EEG Spectrum: The psychologist who treated me was part of this network.
Les Fehmi: A pioneer in the field. I used his Open Focus meditation tapes after about 10 sessions of neurofeedback (at the recommendation of my psychologist.) Definitely saved me money, and was very effective. He has a book that has a CD in it with an introductory meditation: Open Focus Brain. As a side note, I really like the Open Focus Long Form meditation for exercise recovery after a tough workout. I almost always beat soreness with it, if I do it right after my workout.
A Symphony in the Brain by Jim Robbins: Kind of dated at this point, but when it first came out it was all there was. There has been a lot of research in neurofeedback since this was written, but it might still be a good read to get started.
beyond.omega is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-28-15, 07:38 PM  
bzar
Exchange Moderator
 
bzar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: PalmTreeVille
Quote:
Originally Posted by beyond.omega View Post
If this is something you want to explore, here are some resources:
[URL="http://www.eegspectrum.com/intro-to-neurofeedback/"]EEG Spectrum
we had great success with this for my son, who is now 16 YO. he stopped neurofeedback sessions in 6th grade, and his teacher recommended to his IEP team that his IEP was no longer needed.

on his own volition, he went back in 9th grade for bruxism.

if you choose to go the meds route, EEG biofeedback can be used in combination.

it's interesting - one day I went back to read some of the paperwork from the school that we kept regarding my son's situation. there wasn't anywhere in the paperwork that directly said he had ADHD. we fully agreed that he had attention problems.... but the weird thing is that I think an MD has to actually diagnose that a person has ADHD. the school team's assessments included those from licensed psychologists, a speech therapist, etc. we even took him to our pediatrician, who referred us to a psychologist. had we wanted to go the meds route, that psychologist was teamed up with a psychiatrist (MD) who would prescribe meds. so if you are interested in going the meds route, a doc will diagnose the patient with ADHD and then the Rx will follow.

the school teachers seem to advocate meds. they were bold enough to verbally say it. this was around 2004. at the time, I was a little sheepish about going the meds route, and for many it can be the right choice. but I think with neurofeedback, a person learns how to cope and train themselves to be on track. our son is doing well in school, gets A's and B's, and takes a pretty challenging load of courses. he's captain of the basketball team, plays in orchestra, yadda yadda. he sees benefit in using neurofeedback.

my friend's son says he feels loopy when he takes his meds - he's 13 YO and sometimes is reluctant to take his meds.

PM me if you have more questions.
__________________
~jeannine


Miyagi: Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important.
[walks away, still making circular motions with hands] ~ Pat Morita, The Karate Kid, 1984


disclosure: in the years 2002-2004 i had a professional relationship with a distributor of fitness videos; see profile.
bzar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-28-15, 08:18 PM  
SuzieC
 
SuzieC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Canada
We *just* went through this with my 5 year old who is in kindergarten. She is also very bright but cannot stay on task, as well as some other difficulties. What was heartbreaking for me was that she told me tries to listen and be good, but she just cannot, and asked me not to be disappointed in her. She was diagnosed with something, though it wasn't ADHD. Some things look like ADD or ADHD but can be something else. I think the only way you will know for sure what's going on is to have your child evaluated by the paediatrician and psychologist/child psychatrist. Even then it may not be black and white. I wish you all the best, I know how difficult this can be. Hugs.
SuzieC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-28-15, 08:43 PM  
sherry7899
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
A neuropsychologist can be extremely helpful. They do really thorough testing. I am not saying that other experts do not.
Some schools and pediatricians are quick to diagnose issues as ADD when it is actually something else. We went through this with our son. The evaluation with the neuropsychologist actually showed he had an excellent attention span!
__________________
"Say you are tired and you will be. Believe you are strong and you are." (Sean O'Malley)

The cat in my avatar is my sweetheart named Bonkers
sherry7899 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-28-15, 09:13 PM  
sophiesmom
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuzieC View Post
We *just* went through this with my 5 year old who is in kindergarten. She is also very bright but cannot stay on task, as well as some other difficulties. What was heartbreaking for me was that she told me tries to listen and be good, but she just cannot, and asked me not to be disappointed in her. She was diagnosed with something, though it wasn't ADHD. Some things look like ADD or ADHD but can be something else. I think the only way you will know for sure what's going on is to have your child evaluated by the paediatrician and psychologist/child psychatrist. Even then it may not be black and white. I wish you all the best, I know how difficult this can be. Hugs.
I have nothing to add but this broke my heart! I'm so sorry for your little guys and girls!
i hope they get what they need!
sophiesmom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-28-15, 11:05 PM  
LynnO
VF Supporter
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
I encourage you to read up on ADD or ADHD in girls as it can be different than boys. I would also really strongly encourage you to find out the root of the problem. Add is the common diagnosis but it could many things sometimes as simple as hearing or vision issues. I did karate with a young lady who was a speech therapist and she talked about some of the kinds of diagnoses that had speech therapy as part of the remedy.

I had a somewhat longer ramble here, but my personal experience was too vague to be helpful and I don't want to share a whole lot more. But this is what I was trying to say. And on a final note, it is never going to get easier to get a child to cooperate with therapies. Young and eager to please is a really good age.
LynnO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-15, 06:55 AM  
pattyd0319
 
pattyd0319's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Ellicott City, MD
Your pediatrician will gave you and your child's teachers a survey to fill out and based on the overall results of the survey, will determine if you child has ADD. Once you know for sure, then you can explore your options. Regardless of the treatment, it's important to know so that you can pursue a 504 or IEP at school to provide accommodations for your child which will help such as extra time for tests, reminders, and teacher notes.

Elementary school is tough for kids, I think even tougher than middle and high schools in terms of development for kids, not school curriculum. The classes are very structured with little downtime and they have a lot of material thrown out them, they have to be 'on' constantly. It's much more regimented compared to when I was in school.

My son has ADD with Anxiety and Tourettes but even when I volunteered at school, he isn't the one who stands out. I think it's just hard for kids to be still and focused for long. I am working with both his pediatrician and a psychiatrist and right now, he is only on a prescribed natural supplement called http://vayarinflipsthescript.vayapharma.com/ that is specifically for ADHD. We didn't have good success with other medications. He is in the 5th grade and on grade level. I have an IEP meeting today and I suspect they are going to suggest we take him off the IEP and go to a 504.
pattyd0319 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-15, 07:16 AM  
isebelleg44
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Massachusetts
Thanks everyone for all your feedback! I do appreciate it!

I am not all surprised at this, but am sad for her as she can't help it. I don't want to compare her to her sister, but can't help it since they are twins and are such opposites. They are two different kids and have their own unique personalities.

I am going to call her pediatrician today and go from there.
__________________
The first wealth is health – Emerson

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
~Attributed to both T.H. Thompson and John Watson
isebelleg44 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-15, 07:40 AM  
sherry7899
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Patty-good luck with the IEP meeting today. They always give me anxiety, even though I've been through them before and we have been very fortunate to have great people to work with at my son's school.

Isebelle-hugs!! It might be a good idea to explore other areas as well as ADD.
Does your daughter have trouble staying focused on things at home, or just at school? If you don't want to go into anything publicly, I totally understand.
My son's school and pediatrician thought our son had ADD based on the teacher's observations, and the school faculty thought so also. I had a gut feeling that was not the case, and I was right. I point blank asked the school psychologist if it could be a learning disability, and he said he did not think so.

He had NONE of the behavior they said he displayed at school at home. We had him evaluated by a neuropsychologist, and they found he had a learning disability.

There are also other reasons a child could have trouble focusing, such as trouble with vision or language or auditory processing disorders.

I hope you can figure out what is going on and get whatever help your daughter needs. It is really good that if there is something that she can get help with, you would be starting that help at such a young age. That makes a big difference.

Hugs,
Sherry
__________________
"Say you are tired and you will be. Believe you are strong and you are." (Sean O'Malley)

The cat in my avatar is my sweetheart named Bonkers
sherry7899 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
adhd, les fehmi

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:22 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
© 2009 Video Fitness