ADHD/ADD

[onlyoneboy]

It has been brought to my attention that my son, who is 6 1/2, may have ADHD. He is in 1st grade this year and is having alot of problems in class. DS has always been a high spirited child and since he has been our only one I have nothing to compare him to. We have meet with his teacher and principle and they didn't have any suggestions as to things we can do to make things easier (for him to focus) in class and at home. DS has an appt this afternoon with a GP and hopefully we will get a referral to a psychologist. Some of his problems are: easily distracted, has a hard time focusing on getting the task done, interrupts class, blurts out answers (both right and wrong).

Does anyone have a child with ADD/ADHD that can give me some advice?

[doeeyedgirl]

I have a 9 year old that was diagnosed last year. He had some of the very same symptoms. He is very easily distracted, has a hard time concentrating, had horrible hand writing and would forget things very easily. After much research as far as helping in school, organic medicines, etc. I decided to make an appointment with his pediatrician. She was very helpful and very supportive. We made the decision to try a medicine called Concerta. It was a hard decision to make, putting my young boy on meds, but it was the best one that I could have made. It helped improve his concentration, his handwriting, his participation in class and brought him from a D average to a B average. The best part is that the meds are not addictive so we generally don't give them to him on the weekends. You can definitely notice a difference in him, but it isn't harmful. I usually let him make the decision at that point. He has never complained that he doesn't like the meds or that they make him feel funny. In fact, he never really had any side effects from it at all. The only thing they do say is that it may cause a lack of appetite in the afternoon, but just to replace that with a good bedtime snack. We have done this and noticed no weight loss at all. Hang in there. I know this is a tough decision. If you ever need to talk, vent or want to swap stories, I would love that. It's sometimes nice to know that you are not alone in your journey.

[love]

I had ADHD throughout school. And I think I not outgrown it sadly. BUT I did horrible in school. My parents did not want to medicate me and let me suffer throughout school. I did figure out myself that if I got a bright colored paper and wrote with bright markers for some reason I was able to concentrate better and remember things. Yup I was the one in the stack of 50 papers with the hot pink test. Luckily a lot of my teachers were very helpful and did understand.
I hope you can find what works for him. It is a hard thing to live with and I'm glad you are asking for help!!!

[onlyoneboy]

Thanks for your support. We saw the GP yesterday and were referred to a psychologist. Now it's just a matter of how long it takes to get in to see him. It seems like a slow process but luckily the school and DS's teacher are working with us to try to find tools to help him while we wait. It's nice to hear from others that have been through this. Thanks again.

[healerarina]

My 4 yr old has ADHD, but that doesn't surprise us. DH and I both have it as well. We did medicate her with a long acting ritalin (medadate CD). We had to medicate because she has impulsivity issues and it is safer to medicate than to not. She actually left our old apartment without waking DH or me. I am glad we lived in a large safe complex. I am curious how she will do in school when we send her to pre school next year.

As for coping methods, maintain rigid patterns. I know it sounds a little crazy, but try giving him a small amount of caffine, like a couple sips of caffinated soda. If he has ADHD, that should result in an improvement of behaviors. I wish I could be a little more helpful, but I am having pregnancy brain issues, I am almost 37 weeks.

[onlyoneboy]

I'm having pregnancy brain issues too. I'm 14 weeks so I have a while before I retain my old brain again. I've never thought of trying caffine. We don't have pop in the house so maybe I'll bring home a can tonight and give it a try. We do have pretty rigid patterns at out house. After school he goes to daycare for about an hour then I pick DS up. We head home around 4:00 and he has to do his homework right away (we tried doing it after supper but that didn't work). After he is done with his homework he gets free time till dinner at about 5:15. After dinner DS has to help clean up by clearing the table and going to wash his hands and face. We usually have family time till about 6:45 then it's time to get ready for bed (brush teeth, get jammies on, etc..) Once all that is done we will lay either in bed or sit next to the bed and read a book for about 10 minutes then it's lights out. The only TV time he gets is at daycare and after homework is done but before supper. We do have an Xbox, but, DS only gets to play games on Friday nights, Saturdays and Sunday's before football starts. We have found if he plays games on the Xbox during the week he gets too wound up and won't go to bed, not that bed time is easy anyway. It usually takes him 45min to an hour to shut his mind off and fall asleep.

[deannemdm]

DD has struggled with ADD for a few years. SHe does take stimulant medication, but we also tried something called TL..therapeutic listening... It is done with an OT (occupational therapist). It basically consists of listening to modified CDs with professional grade headphones... this is so wider frequencies can get to the brain. These new frequencies create new neural pathways which help with concentration and attention. Few if any side effects (maybe low anxiety with certain CD). You listen to the CD for 30 minutes twice a day with at least 3 hours between. No screen time while listening but almost anything else goes. Every two weeks you trade in CD and you do this for 12 weeks. Really made a difference on DD report card after 8 weeks of treatment. Asked GP about it and if it would help help DD and she wrote referral for OT. Three months later we had appt and she was average to above average on everything but auditory processing. ONly 3 appts or so and mostly done at home. Very passive treatment.

[kim]

Hello, I'm new to this website, so forgive me if these things have been mentioned already. But here are 2 good resources:

MN Chapter of CHADD (chadd.org is the national site, www.chadd.net/template.cfm?affid=172&p=about is the MN Chapter)

LDA Minnesota: www.ldaminnesota.org/


Tons of good resources at these sites.

[onlyoneboy]

So I wanted to update all of you. We meet with the child phychologist and DS was diagnosed with combined AD/HD and oppositional defiant disorder of childhood. We have decided to do a medication trial and biofeedback therapy to see if that helps. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for all the support.