I also have a 4th grade boy who has been identified as gifted. He also is adhd. Right now he is great at learning what he needs to know but the problem is his work is messy and he misplaces homework papers. It got so bad that the teacher now gives him an automatic F if he turns something in late. She wrote a letter telling us of this and needing our signature back in Jan.. We found the paper in mid Feb while sorting through his trapper. So needless to say, we didn’t realize what was going on and he would continue to get F’s when they should of been A’s.Hence a poor interem report.
We have tried him on concerta for 4 months with the 2nd month trying a 36mg dose instead of 18. 18 didn’t seem to be enough because he would say he concentrated less by 10 am and at 36 he was just too medicated. Sometimes mood swings at the end of the day, not eang and sleeplessness. He now is off of concerta because it didn’t really seem to help and at this point he does seem to concentrate a little more on what needs to be done. We have a daily grading at home of how he does in 3 areas at school and 3 at home. He gets rewarded or not according to how he does. It’s just gotten started this last week.
I’m glad to hear there are others like me. The hardest to deal with is the unorganization and forgetfulness. He’s a real bright kid but it gets lost in the clutter.
I found this board and am glad I am not alone and appreciate the support of other’s stories.
Re: Another gifted and ADHD child
I like the idea of a watch alarm. Where he has a hard time being organized though is when he works on the paper and then they are excused for, say recess. He stuffs it in his desk because he says he doesn’t have time to open his trapper and put it in the right folder. Well, he forgets he left it in the desk by the time the paper is due and hence the late paper. I’m trying to come up with something to help him take the time to get the paper to the correct folder. He just isn’t organized. To me it just doesn’t make sense not to just look in his desk- but it’s trashed a lot.
I agree he needs structure. This is exactly what we want to teach him as we’ve never dealt with this and we can’t put it off. It will just train him to stay this way.
Yes, home and school is both being addressed.~ I just need that cheerleader helping me to stay with it :) I appreciate your comments.
Re: Another gifted and ADHD child
You might consider trying a different stimulant. Some kids who don’t do well on Concerta, for example, have better luck with Adderall. It is easier to tailor the dose with regular adderall (not the XR version) because the pills can be safely split. My son takes adderall in the morning before school and it lasts through the day without the need for him to take another dose at school. Just a thought …
Andrea
Re: Another gifted and ADHD child
Did your son try concerta too? Or was Adderal the first used and it did well? Have you noticed side effects?
I do think about this,but at the moment, it seems that the extra effort we are putting in has helped. Of course I help out in his class today so I’ll see what his teacher has to say.
Thanks for your suggestion!
Re: Another gifted and ADHD child
We were lucky that the regular adderall worked well for my son. It took some tinkering to get the dosage right, but the side effects are limited to appetite suppression, at least for my son. It has not been a problem. He takes it after breakfast and it wears off before dinner, so only lunch is affected. He still will eat, just not as much. We did try adderall XR because my son will start middle school next year and we thought it might be good to have a longer acting medication so that homework would be easier. Unfortunately, the XR did not work for him — he became very silent and emotionally flat, which is a sign that the dose is too high. XR only comes in a limited range of doses and we could not work out the right one for him, so we are back to regular adderall. We may try adding a dose after school next year to deal with homework.
Andrea
Try getting him some type of reminder (watch with an alarm) to associate the need to turn in his work. He needs to be taught a very structured system that is consistently maintained to learn to be organized - this requires home and school to be consistent at all times.