Inattentive disorder

[Lizzie62]

Thanks for the update Violetrose!
I don't suggest Ritalin, because my two daughters and I who have ADD (inattentive not hyperactive) have not done well on Ritalin. I can't say for sure, but try Adderall first. Start at the lowest dose (ask for it anyway) and he needs more, than they can up the dosage.
Good luck luv!
Liz

[MSmomof2]

Liz,

I am a newbie (just registered today). When I saw your post I started crying. I know there are people out there like me (my son) but to see it in writing was just overwhelming. A little background - My son just turned 13 and is repeating 6th grade. He was diagnosed at age 7 with ADD inattentive type. He was started on Concerta and has progressed up to 36 mg. **VioletRose - we tried Strattera (smallest dose) last year as a "pick-me-up" to try and get through homework time and my son completely fell apart; would cry at the drop of a hat** Anyway, he had his annual check-up at the end of March and I asked about changing meds because his focus seemed to be faltering in school but I didn't want to up the dosage of Concerta because he is a small boy (not nearly the size of the younger students he is in school with now much less like kids his own age) and I didn't want his appetite to completely diminish. Doc asked us to try Focalin XR 10mg. It didn't seem to do the job helping in school (rec'd several notes from his teachers that week). So doc switched him to Vyvanse 30 mg. MY SON WOULD NOT EAT!!! I had to make him eat and then he would only eat a few bites and then complain of his stomach hurting and headaches. I went back to Focalin XR 10 mg yesterday and he ate good; I am doubling it (under advisement of his doc) for school purposes. Who knows, I may end up going back to the Concerta. It seems to help the best with school, I just have to make him eat. But the Concerta doesn't seem to cause stomach / headache problems.

Anyway, your comment "I know he can do the work, but he needs more effort," I hear this all the time. I also hear "he needs lacks motivation and self-confidence to do the work." The last time I had him tested, the doc said he was mildly depressed so I've considered taking him to a psych to see if that may help. I know he can do the work, his teachers know he can do the work, and his grades fluctuate so much (he failed reading last year; this year he's failing English). I am so worried that he is not going to "make it" in life. He's already asking me (too often) how old he has to be to quit school. He hates school so much.

Another question to anyone who may know / have an answer - my son does this nasal "snorting" thing contstantly (for about a year now and drives everyone - teammates, me, his dad, classmates, etc. - crazy) and has recently started with throat clearing. His doc said his nasal passages are swollen but when we try Nasonex it seems to make it worse. BUT .. when he is building with his Lego's or playing video games (which he hasn't done in a while because of grades) he doesn't do it at all. Anyone had / seen similar behavior??

I am just so confused and needed to know I am not "out here" alone!!!
Thanks for reading ...

MSmomof2

Originally Posted by Lizzie62

Hi VioletRose,
As for your doctor/school issues, no one wants to diagnose ADD. ADHD is more commonly diagnosed because of the behavioral problems. Children with ADD are quiet and normally rather well behaved which makes them "obstinate" or "lazy". How many times has a teacher told you, "I know he can do the work, but he needs more effort." or "He's not working to his potential." They make you feel as though you have a bad child who refuses to do what he's told. I can't believe you have made it all this time without pulling your hair out! I can't tell you how many times I have sat with my one ADD daughter for up to 3 hours at a kitchen table with all distractions off of the table waiting for her to finish one work sheet. But it is so tough to get that diagnosis.

Two of my daughters and I are ADD. I had to take my one daughter to participate in a study at the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvannia. That was the only way I could get a diagnosis without going through the Child Study Team for an evaluation. I didn't want her to go through Child Study Team because of the nightmare I had with my older daughter. But thats a story for another time!

As far as medication is concerned, it will likely be Adderall, Ritalin or Concerta. I now take adderall which is wonderful! I hated Ritalin because it made me depressed and moody and I am already prone to depression and on medication for that. I haven't tried Concerta.

I think medication will help your son, and I think he really needs something. Neither of my girls are on medication right now, but both have been at some time.

The best of luck to you and your son. I also was so relieved to find out that there were others out there!

Liz

[janewhite1]

Hi, MSMomof2. Welcome to the ADHD club. Sometimes the posts here go unanswered a while, and sometimes we have boring tasks to do at work, so they get answered right away.

It's rough having an ADHD kid. But knowing what's going on can help. The medication game is a bit of a balancing act, but it sounds like you've got a doctor who is willing to tweak as necessary.

It does get a little easier as they get older. I thought that junior high was hell, but high school wasn't so bad, largely because at that point my teachers didn't care what I did so long as I passed most of the tests and wasn't disruptive. It was only around the time I graduated college that my mother told me that, when I was 13, she thought I'd drop out of school.

Repeating a grade isn't the best place for an ADD kid. Ironically, the easier the work, the worse we do sometimes. He's heard it before, hence he doesn't listen, hence he doesn't hear when they get to something he doesn't know.

You might want to consider getting an IEP, to make it easier to deal with his teachers, or, separately, finding him someone outside the situation that he can talk to regularly. Do you know why specifically his grades are poor sometimes? What is it that he can't do? What does he do well?

[Lizzie62]

awww, you poor thing MSmomo2! Its tough, I know. My two daughters and I have also wanted to quit school at a young age. Fortunatley, the older daughter found the right friends and started to excel, my younger daughter I have not let be classified and recently had it out with the principal and one of her teachers for suggesting it (still lots of bruises from older daughter). I do demand things from her teachers however. That she be put in classes that have two teachers, and that she gets extra help in subjects that she needs it in. Anyway, she is ok with school for the moment. I on the other hand quit school in 10th grade. I did later go on to college and was on the Deans and Presidents list, just couldn't get it together in high school. Besides there was no ADD when I was in school...
But anyway, I do agree with you. He needs help. I would try the concerta again if it worked before, but definetly see a psych about the depression. I'm not sure that I would load him up on meds, but you may want to see if the concerta improves his school performance first and maybe helps with his depression, he may be feeling hopeless because of that.
But doesn't it feel good to know you're not the only one?
Good luck, let us know how he progresses.
Liz

[MSmomof2]

Hi JaneWhite:

Thanks for the response. My son has never done well in school. He even made D's in 1st grade (and why I didn't hold him back in the lower grade is beyond me). In the Clinton, MS school district, they do not offer summer school until you get to Jr. High and they won't accept other district's summer school programs. He failed reading last year so he had to repeat the 6th grade. Now, I'm afraid he is going to fail English this year and he will have to go to an alternative school because in Clinton, MS you cannot repeat a grade three times. This infuriates me to no end because the alternative school is suppose to be for "behaviorial problem children." Supposedly, they have a separate section for the academic children, like my son, but all I hear about is the problem kids, which my son is not and I don't want him to become one being around that influence.

I don't even know if our school district will do an IEP. When I ask about giving him extra time on classwork / tests, etc. (as I thought was a Federal law) I get no answers. One of his teachers actually told me once that Clinton schools do not make concessions for kids with ADD / ADHD (this is public school, BTW). Trust me, I have met / talked / e-mailed his teachers until I know they are tired of me and may just pass him to get rid of me. I have no idea why his grades are low. I can go over study guides with him until we are both blue in the face and he will know the information and fail the test. Other days, he'll take a test I knew nothing about so he doesn't study and will pass it.

This last six weeks he dropped three subjects from 80's to 60's and a 96 to a 79 in Spelling. He does well in Science (has always loved Science) and, oddly enough, Reading was one of the subjects that he didn't drop last six weeks. So it varies every six weeks.