Help me to understand how to find the answers - ADD / ADHD Message Board

JackieBeth217 · 01-04-2007, 12:16 PM

I am not sure what if my son even has ADD or anything related, but I do want some feedback from other parents.

My son has always been on the go. As a child he slept very little (8/10 hours). He is very happy child (a bit spoiled now), but always good natured.

He started school at 3 1/2 at a small Christian school. He did well, but was always racing everywhere. (He had enough energy for the whole class) He continued at this small school til end of 3rd grade. They had very small classes 8 -10 kids, and he seemed to excell. It was very structured and he would get in his share of not listening problems, but nothing extreme...

4th grade he moves to a bigger Christian school (500 kids) He struggles but part of it was that we found out he needed glasses and could not see the board. His organization skill were hopeless, and I would come in every other Friday to help him clean his basket and we would take books home to make up assignments that he had missed.

5th Grade was a little better, but they also lower him to regular classes not advanced. Organization was better than it had ever been.

6th. He did really well first 9 week then things went down hill. He went from an A, B and few C student to mailing mostly C's and one B. (His grandfather passed away)

7th: Has been a nightmare. He barely manged to get D's in Lit/English class the first 9 weeks. This time he ended up with an F in English and D's in Lit/Math.

I had a meeting with Math & English teacher in early Sept. It was agreed that we would do the survey's ( Not sure what they are called, but the ones you get from dr when you think your child has ADHD) Teachers promised to let me know what is going on. Well I never received any feedback from the forms I turned in nor from the school. From time to time all I get is nasty emails that son needs to pay attention. I get no feedback as to what he is doing when I ask.

So I have set up a major meeting with school for Monday. I have always been anti-medication. I have tried working on providing alot of structure, cutting sugars from diet and focus on protein rich diet when possible. He is also 50% of the time with his father. There is no structure there what so ever.

How do you know if your child has ADHD. I know sometimes his hyperactivity drives me a bit crazy. I feel like this has gotten to a level that maybe I am doing him an injustice by not having him tested. I want to do the right things for him. I am so confused. Alot of the stuff I read seems like people have so many issue with thier kids. Other than the school stuff and the being always on the go my son is a very happy kid.

I have done so much reading my head is spinning. Any feedback from parents in simular situations.

elmhar · 01-04-2007, 01:14 PM

Hi Jackie,

I'm wondering whether you've read Healing ADD by Daniel Amen, M.D. You may be able to get it at your local public library. This book gives rating tests for parents, as well as for older kids to do. For people who are anti-medication, Amen's approach can be very helpful. He breaks ADD down into 6 subtypes & talks about both standard medical approaches (meds) as well as alternative approaches to dealing with ADD.

I can't say enough about Dr. Amen, who does cutting edge research on brain & behavior using fMRI to objectively demonstrate how various illnesses & glitches affect brain function, and then also to show how certain meds, & in some cases, supplements, restore brain function. But you can use his principles without the testing, if desired.

Most kids are diagnosed by their pediatrician, or by a psychologist or psychiatrist, on the basis of history as well as parent & teacher rating scales. Some psychologists use more objective, computerized tests like the TOVA or the IVA to see how well a child can focus. If one chooses the medical route, & esp. if one chooses traditional child psychiatry, there is generally a fair bit of pressure put into recommendations for meds, if ADD is found. In all fairness, the stimulant meds are very helpful for some kids with ADD. However, for other subgroups of kids with ADD stimulants can have a downside.

Good luck & best wishes.

sawbuck44 · 01-05-2007, 11:46 AM

Hi Jackie, sounds like your son needs to focus more while in school. I also struggled for many years (son was 5 when we first started looking into this - he is now 15 and back on Adderall 30mg daily). To see my story which will benefit your struggle, look up all the posts by me. I agree that you need to take your son to your family doctor. There are some tests that can be done, but ultimately it is up to you and your son to decide on medication. And then it's a big challenge because you have to figure out the side effects and how they are affecting your son, the dosage - too much, too little. It takes time and a lot of work with your doctor. I won't go into detail again about my son. So much has happened. I will say that he took meds for the last half of kindergarten, then off until 7th grade! where he took it just for that time. Now in 9th grade going into second marking period, he is back on. The main thing that made me accept the meds, is that I wanted him to get the best education he could and his grades and social behavior has greatly improved with meds. Of course, the other side is you wonder how he is viewed being on meds. I told him not to tell anyone lest he be judged. good luck!