Newly diagnosed with ADD

debbie, i feel for you. i have an 11 yr. old son who has ADD as well as some learning disabilities. i don’t have much time now but wanted to give you encouragement. i will get back with you.

We have an 11 year old who also slipped through the cracks because he was also a sweet child that never caused a problem. Only got diagnosed with LDs after I pushed and pushed and pushed that something was wrong in 4th grade. Then only got diagnosed with ADHD because something was still wrong in 6th. Even I didn’t realize it could be ADHD-related because I thought ADHD was a hyperactivity thing (turns out our 11 year old is the “inattentive” ADHD type). Our other son who drove the teacher nuts because he was fidgetty got all sorts of special language and reading tutoring in 2nd grade even though he does not have any LDs (other than the ADHD). Now it appears that our second son should have gotten all that help and never did, and I will always feel terrible that I didn’t figure it all out earlier.
I am no expert but I will relay this info -
- We almost held our second son back a year after he was diagnosed with LDs because he was so far behind, but all the research I found out on the web said DON’T DO THIS. They might seem to catch up for a year or two but any LDs will eventually still be there as they move on to more advanced materials. And the pyschological consequences to being held back are awful. (This was the conclusion of the American Association of School Psychologists.) Instead of holding him back, get the school to provide the resources to try to close the gap on his skills. Our son (6th grade) gets one period a day for “language/study skills.” It’s been a great help.
- If he’s behind in academic skills, get a tutor! Our LD specialist says unfortunately most schools systems can’t give the one-on-one needed to really help get these kids back on track. Even though legally they are supposed to. I thought I should be able to help my child myself—I knew what needed to be done—but having a nuetral third party work with them gives them a safe haven and another person who can help bolster their self-esteem.
- Do you think your child may have a reading or writing disability in addition to ADHD? If so, put it in writing that you want the school to evaluate your child for a learning disability. At a minimum, they must respond to your request by setting up a team to evaluate whether there does seem to be valid reason to conduct the assessment.
- There is a lot of negative info floating around about medicating ADHD children. We have never medicated our first son (dx ADHD in 2nd grade). I hesistated to put our second son on medication since our first is reasonably successful without it, but now our second son takes Ritalin, and suddenly our formerly mediocre student is getting straight A’s! He is not a zombie, he still has his wonderful sense of humor, and none of the other scary things you hear about has happened so far. Each case is different; but if your son’s self-esteem is suffering, medication is certainly worth a try. Interesting article by Dr. Amen in Newsweek decribed 6 types of ADHD which responded differently to certain types of medication. Worth reading (although some I’ve talked to indicate that this is still somewhat controversial). Find someone who has real experience in this field. Your regular pediatrician may not know enough.
Best of luck. I hope brighter days are ahead soon!

Best advice i can give you in regard to the school is PUSH, PUSH, PUSH, or you will get nothing. Get an IEP, Individualized Education Plan(I think it stands for) outlining what you want the school to do for your kid to help them succeed in the classroom. I agree, don’t hold them back, they will just continue to lag year after year if you do that. They will perform well, until they get to the point they don’t understand, and then that could go on forever. They need to learn to adjust to the situation.

It’s a hard road to go, and most of the time takes the fun out of a lot of things. What I want most for my kid is to do well, go to college, and lead a happy, independent, productive life, and most of the time I wonder if he will be able to do that.

One more thing!! Make sure you do the counseling as a family, if you are married, your husband needs to be there too. Otherwise, it becomes your child’s and your problem, instead of a problem that needs to be dealt with as a family. It’s not just a school problem, it doesn’t go away when the kid comes home from school. It is a 24 hour a day FAMILY problem and should be dealth with in unity. Trust me on this one, been there!

Thanks for the reply. I would really like to talk more to people who have been there as we are just in the beginning stages.

Debbie

This is so true. The main reason we sought the counseling is my husband and son are butting heads. It may be a problem to get my son to the counseling but I am still working on it. Also, I think the counselor is a kids counselor and maybe we need to see if it can be combined. My son has really hit it off with the counselor though and he was resistant to go.

Debbie

I just read my reply and it did not come out right. I would really like to talk with you at a time that is convenient for you. Did not mean to put it in a way that sounded like I did not want your information.

Sorry if it came out that way.

Debbbie

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IEP_guide free iep guide and support

Greetings Debbie,

I would encourage you to check Dr. Daniel G. Amen’s website. Dr. Amen is a pioneer in ADD research and he has a vested interest as all three of his children have ADD. Through SPECT brain imaging, he has identified 6 types of ADD. His website contains a questionnaire which is a tool to help determine which type of ADD exists. It is important to note that this is not meant to provide a diagnosis but it serves as a guide to identify problems and get further evaluation. At his website, he also lists some of the supplements he has found beneficial in treating the different types of ADD. In addition, he has found that most ADD children and adults do better on a quality, high-protein, low-simple-carbohydrate diet since the lack of protein causes a tremendous problem with focus throughout the day.

I would also like to make note that Central Auditory Processing Disorder shares similar symptoms with ADD Inattentive Type. So sometimes what appears to be ADD is actually CAPD. These two different conditions require different therapy.

Blessings, momo

BrainPlace.com

Debbie,
I have some ideas of things you can try at the end of my email. You never can start being your childs advocate too early or too late. It’s easiest to have a plan made that you don’t have to use rather than to try and repair damage.

I wanted to give you some background information because you are not alone.

I have a daughter that is 9 1/2 years old (forth grade) and is also ADHD. I could not understand why when I told her not to walk in front of someone swinging she could never remember and would constantly get knocked down. My Significant Other (boyfriend sound high schoolish) has a son who is 15 ADHD and slipped through the cracks at school until he was 14. I know exactly how you feel. I have been struggling with the school since she was in second grade. She is very bright with a high IQ but because of the ADHD she is unable to complete the work in the classroom like her fellow classmates. I had to become my child’s advocate with the school because they just wanted me to medicate her and make her like the rest of the class. I communicate daily (in person or in writing) with her Teacher, Counselor and Support Staff. I am still struggling with making them understand that if she is unable to finish her work in school while she is on medication the chance of her finishing it as homework when the medication has worn off is not likely. I have tried over and over to explain that the medications to treat ADD and ADHD are stimulant, not sedatives. The school keeps telling me why I don’t just give her medication so she can do her homework and I have tried to explain that if I do that she will be up all night. Her teacher can not understand why at home it takes her two hours to complete five Math problems.
Now for some helpful sutestions:
1. Document everything in WRITING or by recorder(conversations, meetings, letters) You may need this information to receive services someday.
2. Be agressive !!
Make an appointment with your childs Teacher, Counselor and the person who coordinates in “Special sevices” at the school (at my daughters school it’s the Vice Principle). Bring a list in writing of problems your child has/had in school. Also, bring a list of solutions that you have found worked in the past (if you would like to see what my list looked just email me).
type of service she received was an SSS Plan (Student Support System). This was a written plan created by a commitee with the parent as a member of the commitee. An individual plan is developed which list modifications to be made in the classroom.
3. If you aren’t able to have modifications made, like I initially did, then you should consider having them tested for “Special Education” because of their “Learning Disability”. I want to reassure you that this doesn’t mean they are labled and taken out of the regular classroom. Almost all children identified as a “Special Education student” are mainstreamed (in the regular classroom with modifications). Talk to your Doctor, they can probually be placed under OHI (other health impaired).

Having them identified as “Special Ed students” helps a lot. A committee (you are part of the commitee) developes an IEP (Individual Education Plan) to be used to educate your child in the regular classroom. This is a legally binding contract the school must follow. My daughter doesn’t even know she is categorized as “Special Ed”.

When the plan is developed if you don’t agree with anything make sure you SIGN: I DISAGREE !!!!

Here is the best and most difficult thing you can do for your children, find time to treat yourself to a break from your kids for something special. I know it sounds impossible (I’m a single Mother) but, it is vital. I treat myself to having my nails done every two weeks. Check with friends, family members, and churches for Mothers Day out programs. Many Childrens hospitals have programs designed for ADHD parents to give them time off. The hospital I use even has a day camp in the summer for ADHD kids.
I hope this helps. I would love to hear from you to see how your doing or just to exchange ideas.
Sincerely,
Sherri