ADD Question......

[poster]

In the second week of school the teacher calls and explains child has a "focusing" problem and I request a conference. During conference teacher informs me that if child was diagnosed (even w/out medication) with "ADD" there are programs available to help but at this point nothing she can do extra for the child as that would be unfair to the other students.

How would you respond to this bit of information? I have mixed feelings about it and would like to hear others thoughts.

 

[lovinmaryland]

In the second week of school the teacher calls and explains child has a "focusing" problem and I request a conference. During conference teacher informs me that if child was diagnosed (even w/out medication) with "ADD" there are programs available to help but at this point nothing she can do extra for the child as that would be unfair to the other students.

How would you respond to this bit of information? I have mixed feelings about it and would like to hear others thoughts.

I had the same thing happen last year with my son. After meeting w/ the teacher I called our pediatrician and set up an appointment. It turned out my son does have ADD and we decided to try him on the smallest dose of Concerta.

It actually has worked out great. His grades are where they should be he is able to focus and is not getting up wondering around during class. I don't give it to him on the weekends only during the school week.

I hope this helps you

 

[Nickel]

Her diet may be to blame. On the other hand, it sounds a little like the teacher is passing her off and doesn't want (or hasn't been given the resources) to deal with it. I wouldn't have the warm fuzzies if I'd had a similar conversation.

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/teaching/add-adhd-diet.php

http://www.myomancy.com/2006/07/add_adhd_diet_a

 

[poster]

Thanks...

....and is not getting up wondering around during class. I don't give it to him on the weekends only during the school week.

I hope this helps you

..it is helpful but what kind of signs should I be getting at home, or are there any? I've made an appointment with the doctor. My daughter isn't getting up and wandering during class, she's sitting quietly, behavior is NOT an issue and she can get through assignments in one subject but not the other. She's 3rd grade this year and never has a teacher suggested this be a problem.

 

[smoothmarine187]

I'm not even going to get fired up on this topic today

 

[onebdzee]

His diet may be to blame. On the other hand, it sounds a little like the teacher is passing him off and doesn't want (or hasn't been given the resources) to deal with it. I wouldn't have the warm fuzzies if I'd had a similar conversation.

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/teaching/add-adhd-diet.php

http://www.myomancy.com/2006/07/add_adhd_diet_a

My youngest is on an IEP right now because of his reading....last year his teacher said that he was ADD....went to the dr., got all the test done(to include the $400 for psychological testing that I had done on my own)....come to find out the school was a little off in their "diagnosis"....he is mildly dyslexic

 

[poster]

His diet may be to blame. On the other hand, it sounds a little like the teacher is passing him off and doesn't want (or hasn't been given the resources) to deal with it. I wouldn't have the warm fuzzies if I'd had a similar conversation.

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/teaching/add-adhd-diet.php

http://www.myomancy.com/2006/07/add_adhd_diet_a

I'll have the read up on the diet issue and talk to my doctor. She's a very good eater and actually prefers healthy foods so I'm not sure that's a possibility.

I don't have much faith in the teacher either, during our conference she emptied my daughter's desk and discovered all this imcomplete classwork which she was unaware my daughter didn't finish.

 

[Nickel]

I'll have the read up on the diet issue and talk to my doctor. She's a very good eater and actually prefers healthy foods so I'm not sure that's a possibility.

I don't have much faith in the teacher either, during our conference she emptied my daughter's desk and discovered all this imcomplete classwork which she was unaware my daughter didn't finish.

Eating healthy isn't the issue, it's eating the right foods and avoiding the ones that trigger the ADHD symptoms.

 

[vegmom]

..it is helpful but what kind of signs should I be getting at home, or are there any? I've made an appointment with the doctor. My daughter isn't getting up and wandering during class, she's sitting quietly, behavior is NOT an issue and she can get through assignments in one subject but not the other. She's 3rd grade this year and never has a teacher suggested this be a problem.

What school district are you in?

 

[vegmom]

My youngest is on an IEP right now because of his reading....last year his teacher said that he was ADD....went to the dr., got all the test done(to include the $400 for psychological testing that I had done on my own)....come to find out the school was a little off in their "diagnosis"....he is mildly dyslexic

The school should have be doing the LD evaluation. They recieve IDEA money to fund this sort of thing. You should only have had to take your kid to psychologist if they had ruled out any LD.

 

[Nickel]

I'll have the read up on the diet issue and talk to my doctor. She's a very good eater and actually prefers healthy foods so I'm not sure that's a possibility.

I don't have much faith in the teacher either, during our conference she emptied my daughter's desk and discovered all this imcomplete classwork which she was unaware my daughter didn't finish.

Your doctor may tell you that diet change does not help and that Ritalin or other drugs and counseling are the only effective treatment, but that is not so! In a recent study, researchers compared a group of children treated with Ritalin to another group which received a mix of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, amino acids, essential fatty acids, phospholipids, and probiotics. Both groups showed significant and essentially identical improvement. The treatment was based around these known eight risk factors for ADD/ADHD: food and additive allergies, heavy metal toxicity and other environmental toxins, low-protein/high-carbohydrate diets, mineral imbalances, essential fatty acid and phospholipid deficiencies, amino acid deficiencies, thyroid disorders, and B-vitamin deficiencies. They concluded: "These findings support the effectiveness of food supplement treatment in improving attention and self-control in children with AD/HD and suggest food supplement treatment of AD/HD may be of equal efficacy to Ritalin treatment."
(Outcome-based comparison of Ritalin versus food-supplement treated children with AD/HD. Altern Med Rev. 2003 Aug;8(3):319-30.)

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/teaching/add-adhd-diet.php

 

[poster]

My youngest is on an IEP right now because of his reading....last year his teacher said that he was ADD....went to the dr., got all the test done(to include the $400 for psychological testing that I had done on my own)....come to find out the school was a little off in their "diagnosis"....he is mildly dyslexic

In my opinion, and I'm just the parent, reading is the main issue. She has always struggled with it and doesn't like to do it. They're telling me she doesn't qualify for the "Intervention" program but yet she scored really low on a math test last week that she had to READ the questions for. She knew all the answers when I read it to her. She's not comprehending and is not confident enough to trust what she reads.

 

[PrepH4U]

I'll have the read up on the diet issue and talk to my doctor. She's a very good eater and actually prefers healthy foods so I'm not sure that's a possibility.

I don't have much faith in the teacher either, during our conference she emptied my daughter's desk and discovered all this imcomplete classwork which she was unaware my daughter didn't finish.

Sounds like the teacher may be the majority of the problem. :shrug: Evidently she doesn't have very good organizational skills or she would have already known that your daughter had incomplete work. Could be that she has also mixed up your daughter with another student. :shrug: I have seen that happen also.

 

[poster]

What school district are you in?

Calvert

 

[poster]

Sounds like the teacher may be the majority of the problem. :shrug: Evidently she doesn't have very good organizational skills or she would have already known that your daughter had incomplete work. Could be that she has also mixed up your daughter with another student. :shrug: I have seen that happen also.

I'm very concerned that my daughter is just not interested in the teacher/bored and I'm going to go through all this testing and whatnot for absolutely nothing. She doesn't talk about or show much interest in talking about her teacher at all. Then there's her reading issue and I'm really resentful that I'm being told there's help she can't utilize. Is this me being a parent or is/has anyone else had this problem.

 

[smoothmarine187]

I'm very concerned that my daughter is just not interested in the teacher/bored and I'm going to go through all this testing and whatnot for absolutely nothing. She doesn't talk about or show much interest in talking about her teacher at all. Then there's her reading issue and I'm really resentful that I'm being told there's help she can't utilize. Is this me being a parent or is/has anyone else had this problem.

I had the same problem It's probably the same fat lazy slob of a teacher.

 

[vegmom]

Calvert

Talk to your vice principal. They handle IEPs at the Elementary level.

The school should test for any learning disabilities.

Why did they say she did not qualify for any "intervention" program?

 

[poster]

Talk to your vice principal. They handle IEPs at the Elementary level.

The school should test for any learning disabilities.

Why did they say she did not qualify for any "intervention" program?

1st: Teacher told me her 2nd grade benchmark scores where to high for her to qualify.
2nd: Different day Intervention teacher tells me she tested her and she didn't show any indication of needing Intervention.

When I asked what kink of testing they did she didn't really tell me but offered to test her again one on one for a better determination. From what I'm getting I believe they don't want to put her in Intervention because she had "Title I" in both 1st and 2nd and was an "Early Success" student in 2nd grade. Problem is she isn't progressing like she should unless she has the extra help.

 

[poster]

Talk to your vice principal. They handle IEPs at the Elementary level.

The school should test for any learning disabilities.

Why did they say she did not qualify for any "intervention" program?

What is IEP?
No one has offered to test for learning disabilities, do I have to request/demand this? I'm getting the feeling that they just want a diagnosis and then we'll help you. I know they have more experience in this field but I really feel they're shoving the ADD issue at me to keep me busy.

 

[vegmom]

IEP is Idividualized Education Program. What it is is a document that you and the school agree on interventions and goals for your child. I would speak to the vice principal or guidance counselor and ask about an evaluation for learning disabilities.

Here is a link with info about dyslexia:

http://www.dyslexia.com/library/symptoms.htm

Or it could be your child just needs a bit of a "boost". She may be able to decode words just fine, but just never developed reading fluency. My own daughter went thru that. Best thing to help that is to have them read short passages out loud, for maybe 5 mins at a time. Audiobook/print read-alongs also help. Prince Frederick library has a ton of those.