To the parents on the board

[freakygirl]

Anyone have a child that has ADHD? If so..

I would like to talk to you...

 

[Bob_Bytchin]

Anyone have a child that has ADHD? If so..

I would like to talk to you...

I do...I have two in fact.

 

[Barely__There]

Anyone have a child that has ADHD? If so..

I would like to talk to you...

I have an 8 year old boy with ADD, who is busy enough to be ADHD. PM me if you like

 

[freakygirl]

I don't even know where to start.. I've read a little on the net.

My daughters teacher and I had a conferance today at school. It was an unofficial one, I had gone in to talk to her about my daughter "forgetting" to turn in some paper work.

We started discussing how Kimber is at home.. how things are at school and have come to the conclusion that it's looking like ADHD (which from my understanding is the same as ADD. According to the add.org website).

What were the symptoms of your children? How did you go about finding a dr? The teacher suggested taking her to a specialist rather than her regular pediatrition. Where would I find a specialist in my area? In other words.. how do I know the dr is a specialist and not just someone who thinks they know a lot about it.

I don't (if I can avoid it) want to use medications. I read up on some alternative ways of dealing with it. Therapy and counseling. Has anyone tried these? Did they work?

What can I do to help my daughter? I read to her, have her read to me. I limit her tv time. I try to break big tasks into smaller tasks.

 

[Guest]

 

[busybody..]

Freaky

There is a must read article on this subject in the Wall Street Journal of July 1 1995....I believe..see if u can get it......

PS....I dont believe ADD or ADHD exists.........

 

[freakygirl]

Re: Freaky

PS....I dont believe ADD or ADHD exists.........

I didn't either.. but I'm starting to.

 

[busybody..]

FreakE

u got PM!

 

[Nora]

Freaky, between your boobs jiggling and Bob's uh..hoohaah bouncing, I think *I* have ADHD.

 

[freakygirl]

Freaky, between your boobs jiggling and Bob's uh..hoohaah bouncing, I think *I* have ADHD.

lol

sorry.. I have avs off. I keep forgetting what my av is of.

 

[Nora]

lol

sorry.. I have avs off. I keep forgetting what my av is of.

I'm sorry, what did you say? I was distracted...

 

[busybody..]

FreakE

I read somewhere that a dramatic reduction in sugar intake by kids HELPS.

I have some thing of interest to discuss, if u care. I went thru a similiar incident with my BABY, and I refused any sort of test or meds......I said this is BS!.......I stood my guard against no nuthing teachers......

My BABY is now in U of Penn, 4th ranked school in the country......and there is NUTHIN wrong with him.

Read the Wall Street Journal article I alluded to earlier.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Re: Re: Freaky

I didn't either.. but I'm starting to.

Freaks, while you're seraching the net, look into info on allergies. My nephew and my sister-in-law were both diagnosed with ADD (which I think is different than ADHD, and are treated differently).

They were both also diagnosed, after testing, with several food allergies. They altered their diets, and have been 'undiagnosed'.

 

[freakygirl]

I'm cooking dinner and reading PM's

Please be patient with me....

ok.. a little history about my daughter.

7 years old.. second grade... talking at 5 months.. walking at 9 months..

VEGETARIAN (organic) diet (her choice)... very little, if any, processed sugar..

Highly intelligent.. reading at a 4th grade level.. but isn't "retaining" the info. Which isn't a huge deal.. but it's a concern.

Very unorganized.. needs to be reminded several times to do something.. but if I break it down to smaller tasks.. she is able to do them.

I have her ears tested.. does have minimal hearing loss in one ear. Had her eyes tested.. she's had glasses two weeks.. her reading and school work has not improved.

 

[It'sasecret]

Freaky there is a difference between ADD and ADHD. I am not an expert but ADD kids have a difficult time staying on task and paying attention, while ADHD kids have that problem PLUS they extremely hyper. Before you consider meds the teacher should be working with you to try some behavior mod. for your daughter. You may ask her to get the help of the school child study team.

 

[busybody..]

FreakE

Talking and walking early? Reads well? Sounds like a very bright kid!

As such, she may b too advanced with class and IS BORED!

Needs EXCEPTIONAL things to stimulate and excite her and her teachers always cater to the lowest common denominator. That is what i went thru with my kid. I in effect told the teac (who told me my kid had ADD)

and this is a quote:

"Dont give me this shit......U r a boring teacher and he doesnt wanna hear the same shit 10 times"

teach thought I was nuts.....But my kid turned out GREAT Thank G-D

 

[Texan]

ADD/ADHD is real. However, I believe it is over/mis-diagnosed. If a child is truely ADD, the medications are a big help, if the child is not ADD, the medications are a stimulant and will make the symptoms worse. One of the best tests for ADD is to put the child on the medications (Ritalin/Dexadrine) for a short time with CLOSE observation. If the child improves significantly (calming, improved concentration, etc.) then the chances are pretty good the child does really have ADD. If, on the other hand, the child is more, rather than less, active and is less able to stay on task, ADD is not the proper diagnosis.

I'm definately not a doctor, nor do I play one on Lit. I have two kids that went through the diagnosis attempts when they were younger. Both were mis-diagnosed. Both boys were significantly worse on the meds. The older boy was later correctly diagnosed as Manic/Depressive BiPloar. The younger boy turned out to be just a fairly high strung Type A personality. The younger son is now a freshman at Texas A&M University, and will likely be extremely successful at whatever he does.

During the whole process, my best friend has a son who was also diagnosed (correctly) as ADD/ADHD. His son was put on Ritalin years ago, and has grown up very successfully on the medication. He is now a college Junior and has been off the Ritalin and on a very low dosage of Dexadrine for several years. Because he's older now, he can better manage his own actions and concentration levels.

I don't know if this helps at all. One other thing I remember from all the reading I did during those years, was that true ADD/ADHD is very rare in girls. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but it is apparently much more common for boys.

When it comes to meds, I belive that when the correct med is matched to the correct ailment, the results are good. When the match is wrong, the cure is often worse than the disease.

just one man's thoughts.

 

[busybody..]

FreakE

Schools get PAID EXTRA CASH for every kid they diagnose as ADD and ADHD..........to them your kid is a cash cow.....dont trust em...trust your judgement....have u talked to your girl.....is she craving attention? Does she feel "funny" cause of hearing problem and glasses in school?

We should talk.......I am harmless.......call collect

 

[Ezarc]

My son is 6 and had been diagnosed with ADHD for a year and a half. He is a great and smart child. He does have problems with controlling his temper, almost always has to be moving, is loud even for a kid, and has some trouble adjusting in social situation. My ex-wife is in the community mental health field so he was diagnosed pretty early.
He is on a behaviour plan(I agree with), OT(again I agree) and is taking medication(I strongly disagree). I will say that he more good days than bad and is still a great kid.
I hope this helped some. If you have any questions don't be shy about pm'ing me. BTW I am ADHD too.
Take Care,
Ezarc

 

[Barely__There]

I'm cooking dinner and reading PM's

Please be patient with me....

ok.. a little history about my daughter.

7 years old.. second grade... talking at 5 months.. walking at 9 months..

VEGETARIAN (organic) diet (her choice)... very little, if any, processed sugar..

Highly intelligent.. reading at a 4th grade level.. but isn't "retaining" the info. Which isn't a huge deal.. but it's a concern.

Very unorganized.. needs to be reminded several times to do something.. but if I break it down to smaller tasks.. she is able to do them.

I have her ears tested.. does have minimal hearing loss in one ear. Had her eyes tested.. she's had glasses two weeks.. her reading and school work has not improved.

Okay, step one is to talk to the paediatrician. They will do an initial assessment, along with one that you do, and her teacher does. It is like a grading of various areas. i.e. has trouble staying on task 1 = low 5 = high. These scores are compared and an average is found. From there, a complete medical to rule out any physical/organic reason, i.e. thyroid, etc. If it is thought there MAY be a possibility of ADD/ADHD, then the paed will refer you to a specialist. Only after all things are considered, should you decided to see if your daughter would benefit from medication or not.

As explained to me, ADD is NOT the inability to focus, but rather the inability to PICK what they focus on. While most of us can tune out many distractions, the ADD/ADHD child/adult, is constantly being challenged by them. It is similar to a short circuit in one area of the brain, where the message to prioritize what they are doing doesn't get through.

We started my son, at age 7, on the lowest possible dosage of 5 mgs/day. There was a noticable improvement in his ability to control his impulses, sit for longer that one minute without the fidgets, and to act in a more socially acceptable manner.

The forgetfullness, to me, is a clear sign. The inability to retain things long enough to follow through. You also need to realize that this is NOT a stigma anymore. Your daughter needed help with her vision..you got her glasses. If she had diabetes, you would make sure she got insulin. Medication is not an end in itself. Helping her with memory triggers could work.

A wonderful book that I found could help. It is probably at your library too. "Driven to Distraction" by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey. It is important to remember too, that this is NOT her fault, and she is NOT doing these things on purpose. ADD children get very frustrated because they really are trying, yet sometimes things elude them.

 

[freakygirl]

Re: FreakE

Talking and walking early? Reads well? Sounds like a very bright kid!

As such, she may b too advanced with class and IS BORED!

Needs EXCEPTIONAL things to stimulate and excite her and her teachers always cater to the lowest common denominator. That is what i went thru with my kid. I in effect told the teac (who told me my kid had ADD)

and this is a quote:

"Dont give me this shit......U r a boring teacher and he doesnt wanna hear the same shit 10 times"

teach thought I was nuts.....But my kid turned out GREAT Thank G-D

Ok.. I am the one that brought up ADD to the teacher. I'm the one that approached her. This isn't about boredom. This is showing up in more than her school work. It's at home too. She is an "only" child most of the time.. she isn't bored at home.

The teacher and I talked as two parents.. NOT as parent and teacher. She said Kimber is a very bright child but doesn't apply herself. It's not boredom..

Here at home.. and at school.. Kimber can't stay on task. About an hour ago.. I turned off Kimbers tv and made her sit down and read to me.. she wouldn't sit still. She was reading but not retaining the information. She'd read a paragraph and I'd ask her a question.. She'd start to fidget in her chair.. scratch her head and find any reason NOT to answer my question. She honestly could not remember what she just read.

 

[busybody..]

In case you all dont know

There is a class action suit AGAINST shrinks and the drug compnay Lilly for FOISTING this so called disease on the public.

The reason it is found mostly in boys is cause boys are plain and simply more robust then girls and the school system tries to DUMB down and GIRL down the boys......Read the Journal article, it is an EYE OPENER!

ADD and ADHD is bogus...a for profit "disease" made up by shrinks for their OWN benefit!

Also get the court documents about the class action suit....worth reading!

 

[freakygirl]

ADD/ADHD is real. However, I believe it is over/mis-diagnosed. If a child is truely ADD, the medications are a big help, if the child is not ADD, the medications are a stimulant and will make the symptoms worse. One of the best tests for ADD is to put the child on the medications (Ritalin/Dexadrine) for a short time with CLOSE observation. If the child improves significantly (calming, improved concentration, etc.) then the chances are pretty good the child does really have ADD. If, on the other hand, the child is more, rather than less, active and is less able to stay on task, ADD is not the proper diagnosis.

I'm definately not a doctor, nor do I play one on Lit. I have two kids that went through the diagnosis attempts when they were younger. Both were mis-diagnosed. Both boys were significantly worse on the meds. The older boy was later correctly diagnosed as Manic/Depressive BiPloar. The younger boy turned out to be just a fairly high strung Type A personality. The younger son is now a freshman at Texas A&M University, and will likely be extremely successful at whatever he does.

During the whole process, my best friend has a son who was also diagnosed (correctly) as ADD/ADHD. His son was put on Ritalin years ago, and has grown up very successfully on the medication. He is now a college Junior and has been off the Ritalin and on a very low dosage of Dexadrine for several years. Because he's older now, he can better manage his own actions and concentration levels.

I don't know if this helps at all. One other thing I remember from all the reading I did during those years, was that true ADD/ADHD is very rare in girls. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but it is apparently much more common for boys.

When it comes to meds, I belive that when the correct med is matched to the correct ailment, the results are good. When the match is wrong, the cure is often worse than the desease.

just one man's thoughts.

From what I've read.. it's hereditary.. Her "real" father has it. Never was treated.. and never learned how to deal with it.

Girls are better able to "mask" ADD.. They aren't sure why.. but it has something to do with the make up of the female brain.

 

[freakygirl]

Okay, step one is to talk to the paediatrician. They will do an initial assessment, along with one that you do, and her teacher does. It is like a grading of various areas. i.e. has trouble staying on task 1 = low 5 = high. These scores are compared and an average is found. From there, a complete medical to rule out any physical/organic reason, i.e. thyroid, etc. If it is thought there MAY be a possibility of ADD/ADHD, then the paed will refer you to a specialist. Only after all things are considered, should you decided to see if your daughter would benefit from medication or not.

As explained to me, ADD is NOT the inability to focus, but rather the inability to PICK what they focus on. While most of us can tune out many distractions, the ADD/ADHD child/adult, is constantly being challenged by them. It is similar to a short circuit in one area of the brain, where the message to prioritize what they are doing doesn't get through.

We started my son, at age 7, on the lowest possible dosage of 5 mgs/day. There was a noticable improvement in his ability to control his impulses, sit for longer that one minute without the fidgets, and to act in a more socially acceptable manner.

The forgetfullness, to me, is a clear sign. The inability to retain things long enough to follow through. You also need to realize that this is NOT a stigma anymore. Your daughter needed help with her vision..you got her glasses. If she had diabetes, you would make sure she got insulin. Medication is not an end in itself. Helping her with memory triggers could work.

A wonderful book that I found could help. It is probably at your library too. "Driven to Distraction" by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey. It is important to remember too, that this is NOT her fault, and she is NOT doing these things on purpose. ADD children get very frustrated because they really are trying, yet sometimes things elude them.

Thank you for the information. I'll check the library for the book.

 

[freakygirl]

busybody.. Your name fits you well.

Until you spend a few hours with my child.. ahh fuck it.. nevermind.