Does Your Child Have ADD?

My son, 12yrs of age, was just started on Concerta in October. I probably knew last year but didn't want him on any medication as well. His grades have gradually plummeted for last 2 years. His teachers reports were always that he was never working on what he was supposed to in class he would be more concerned with others activities or conversations, or just looking out window, etc. Homework after school was a battle along with his defiancy to us. In speaking with pediatrician he had us obtain a note from each teacher and had me and my husband separately fill out a questionaire. MD also informed the tests/grades are a true tell sign as well as everyone's reports. MD said if his grades were still As and B's he would not recommend starting him on any medication. He was started on very minimal dose and all teachers noted drastic improvement on his focusing and participation. He has been slowly bumped up on dosage. Side effects could be less appetite (seems to have worked opposite for us - growing boys can eat) otherwise wouldn't know he takes anything. hope some of this helps, good luck.

One of the tests for adults with ADD is that they have had it their whole life, that it has affected them negatively for their whole life. If he can get to 15 without you having some inclination it doesn't sound like ADD.

I have ADD, so do my kids. We are a funny bunch! :)

Our psychiatrist diagnosed us. Well the kids have a different psychiatrist, duh! There are also psychologist that can diagnose. Who you don't want to go to is a general practice doctor or a pediatrician. They are just not usually qualified to diagnose.

We are all on meds, they work, why would a placebo work? You give me anything but an Adderall I know it, my coworkers know it, heck there is one that would slap you for slipping me a placebo. :)

If diet works it isn't ADD.

The pros, it works, the cons, we don't eat lunch but more than make up for it with dinner. :)

No regrets!

My son has ADHD, but likely also Asperger's Syndrome which may or may not make things look a little different on him.

The first thing is... he's 6... not 15. Probable ADHD symptoms were evident by the time he was 2 or 3. He wasn't bad or anything, but even other parents of kids HIS AGE would say "Man, does he ever slow down?" or "Gosh he's busy."

If his "symptoms" are relatively new, I'd think it's NOT ADHD which is a neurological disorder and doesn't just pop up at 15.

For his diagnosis I took him to the pediatrician who referred him to child psychologist who brought on a psychiatrist. Start with the pediatrician.

My son takes a stimulant medication right now. He likes it, I'm okay with it. We also, limit process foods etc just on general principle, but that doesn't seem to improve his ADHD or other social quirks (which is a different post).

Yes, I'm glad we got him diagnosed and on medication because it lets him feel more in control, and it really the only thing that lets him be reasonable at school (he has NO impulse control without it). I am also glad we are down the road on adjusting his diagnosis because it opens to door to services he could really use.

HTH
T.

My son does, and I do.

COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS:

- Not smart... ACTUALLY nearly all ADHD kids are gifted, some highly gifted, some profoundly gifted.

- Can't pay attention to anything... ACTUALLY, HYPERfocus (intense concentration) is part and parcel with the HYPOfocus (distractability). We struggle with paying attention to boring things. What is boring is highly individual. My passions = someone else's yawn.

- Can't sit still... ACTUALLY it's MOVEMENT that is important. Small muscle movement (facial expression, toe wiggling, keigles, breathing, tongue play, etc.) are equally satisfying, AS IS mental movement (thinking, daydreaming, etc.) for those of us who are ADHD-i, or ADHD-c. Common phrase "When my mind is moving, my body is still, and when my body is moving my mind is still."

- ADHD all looks the same ... ACTUALLY there are 3 types of ADHD (in attentive, hyperactive, and combined), that all express very differently.

- ADHD requires medication... NOPE. Medication can be useful, but is hardly required for successs. It depends on the person, their adeptness with coping mechanisms, AND the way their life is set up (ex: an ADHD-h girl in ballet school where 8 hours everyday is spent dancing can need no meds to get straight As in academics, but put her in a traditional school and she'd flunk out). When a kid lucks out with exactly what they need to max the positives of ADHD and minimize the negatives, it's VERY easy for it to be 'missed'.

- ADHD is caused by: lack of sleep, diet, parenting, allergies, etc.... NOPE, ACTUALLY, those are DISQUALIFYING factors. If, for example, the 'ADHD' is helped/fixed with diet, it was malnutrition, NOT ADHD.

- ADHD can be grown out of ... NOPE. Nothing magical abouth an 18th birthday. What DOES happen is that we learn and practice cooing mechanisms that make our ADHD less annoying to others and ourselves, or start using OTC stimulants (caffeine, nicotine, etc.), or more typically, both. ((HINT: my son has asthma -well, similar to asthma- & uses ventolin. The stimulant nature of ventolin helps a LOT with his ADHD))

ADHD is purely mental... ACTUALLY, there is a huge emotional component. We're not as extreme as bipolar folk, but we're a LOT more emotional than neurotypical folk. We can learn to monitor and manage our emotions, however, unlike bipolar folk.

ADHD meds make us high... ACTUALLY they make neurotypical folk high. We're missing neurochemistry that the stimulants are replacing. They don't make us any hiigher than insulin makes a diabetic high.

The list goes on, but these are some of the basics.

If your son thinks he does, at 15, he probably does. Take him in for an eval. And refer above : diagnosis does NOT equal 'having' to go on meds. It just makes it an option available to try.

I was diagnosed the first time at age 11, my son was unoficcally diagnosed as a toddler, and officially diagnosed at age 9. We didn't need an official diagnosis because it created no problems (ADHD in an ADHD house = no biggie / drop dead normal). We didn't need education, medication, or IEPs or other services (homeschool), so we didn't need the official DX until this year.

What does having his phone attached to his head have to do with ADD?
I have ADD. People with ADD can have what's called hyper focus as well as no focus. I can sit down with a book and look up in what to me feels like 10 mins and in reality it's 6 hrs later.
My daughter is ADHD - She is on medication , short acting twice a day medication. We tried everything. Diet changes, extra vitamins, natural supplements , therapy , caffeine, nothing helps as much as medication.

You know at one point my daughter's teacher swore she had add. I do know she has a sensitivity to corn syrup, some yellow food colorings and some sugars. Well after running around crazy etc we found out that the school was letting her eat ice cream and potato chips for lunch. So much for school lunches.. That being said if he is unfocused and hyper at times before jumping the gun and thinking add watch what he eats for a week or ask him to write it down. Then start taking some of those items away. Good just be the medicine making him feel disjointed

My eight year old daughter was showing signs of ADHD in school and at home. She seemed inattentive and disorganized in school and behaviorally inappropriate at home. She had outbursts and temper tantrums more often than any of us could handle. We took her to a therapist to start figuring out next steps and then I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. I started seeing online that sleep apnea looks the same as ADHD in children. So before going to medication, I wanted to rule that out for my daughter. She had a sleep study and turns out she had a mild case of sleep apnea. It was fairly mild, but as our sleep doc put it, any sleep apnea in children is a problem. For children with sleep apnea, they recommend trying tonsillectomy and adnoidectomy if they have enlarged tonsils. That way the youngster doesn't have to do the CPAP mask if possible.

We had her surgery over Christmas break and she is a completely different kid. The only time she gets overly emotional and inattentive now is when she doesn't get to sleep on time for a couple of days. She is learning more in school now and is happy! That was my main goal for her. I wanted my baby to be happy. We're still working on copy skills with her, because she has learned some unhealthy ways to cope with frustration, but it's like night and day from her behavior before. I recommend having kids tested for apnea if you notice them sleeping with their mouth open, snoring, or just want to rule it out before ADHD medication. Sometimes it is very hard to tell that they have it and the only way to know is with a sleep study.

You'll want to get him in with a specialist, like a child psychiatrist or neuropsychologist. If it's ADHD, they will know; they will also know if it isn't. It's not a quick medical process, but an extensive review of the symptoms, with input from everyone -- parents, teachers and at his age, him, too.

Our son has been on medication since he was four (five years ago). It's made a MAJOR difference in his life. I don't know a single parent who starts off wanting to try medication. We all investigate the alternative options. Unfortunately, with ADHD, the best treatment out there is medication combined with therapy.

I agree with the others. Diet isn't a factor with ADHD, although it would be super if it were that easy. The only supplement with any promise is Omega-3s, which can sometimes improve focus. Our son has been on those for years and I can't say they do much of anything. The do make a good nutritional supplement, so we continue.

As you begin this process, take a look at the info. on CHADD's website and the site for ADDitude magazine. Both have reliable info. on this condition. Be very careful about doing too much investigation online, though, because there's a lot of misinformation out there. The best starting point, above all else, is a visit with a medical specialist. He/she is most qualified to provide guidance.

I went to a developmental pediatrician to discuss what was going on...Luckily, I have training in this area.

The doctor said to go for testing since symptoms were present.

Then, it was off to a neuropsychologist for an extensive and PROPER evaluation.

If need be...Have him tested by somebody who has experience with adolescent ADHD --- ADD.

Lack of sleep combined with improper diet can pose ADHD symptoms in kids. For yrs, it was over-diagnosed.

My daughter was diagnosed with mild asthma right about the time I took her for testing. I completely "greened" the house---no rugs, only non-toxic green cleaners, pure laundry detergent w/ no dyes and perfumes, no candles, air fresheners, etc, etc... and the asthma cleared up. Conventional soy (as of 1995) is terrible for asthma and allergies. See OCA.com for more info. on GMO's.

ADHD/ADD: The Feingold diet helped, too ! And Barlean's oil from the health food store.

Have any of the teachers ever mentioned that he has trouble focusing between the ages of 5 - 15 (or when he started school). ADHD is usually obvious. ADD is not---and a child could fall through the cracks. As a parent educator, I have seen this happen all too many times.

Good Luck

Updated

I went to a developmental pediatrician to discuss what was going on...Luckily, I have training in this area.

The doctor said to go for testing since symptoms were present.

Then, it was off to a neuropsychologist for an extensive and PROPER evaluation.

If need be...Have him tested by somebody who has experience with adolescent ADHD --- ADD.

Lack of sleep combined with improper diet can pose ADHD symptoms in kids. For yrs, it was over-diagnosed.

My daughter was diagnosed with mild asthma right about the time I took her for testing. I completely "greened" the house---no rugs, only non-toxic green cleaners, pure laundry detergent w/ no dyes and perfumes, no candles, air fresheners, etc, etc... and the asthma cleared up. Conventional soy (as of 1995) is terrible for asthma and allergies. See OCA.com for more info. on GMO's.

ADHD/ADD: The Feingold diet helped, too ! And Barlean's oil from the health food store.

Have any of the teachers ever mentioned that he has trouble focusing between the ages of 5 - 15 (or when he started school). ADHD is usually obvious. ADD is not---and a child could fall through the cracks. As a parent educator, I have seen this happen all too many times.

Good Luck

Hi J.,
There have been two recent discussions on this topic that may help you.
:)

http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/12768126753977860097

http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/8312222510880063489#re...

You start with the doctor then they will move on to a therepist or neurologist from there.

my 8 yr old has just been diagnosed because she has a hard time focusing. one on one she does well but class room is tough for her. I just wanted a diagnoses so she could get an iep. now she will get one on one help, i was going to break down and get her the meds they prescribed. then i found out it was going to be 350 bucks. ha. so i talked to my chiropractor and he said he could help her. so thats the way im going for now.