Child/Teen ADD/ADHD
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GypsyQueen
I'MnotSICKbutI'MnotWELL!
What is it you want to know?
littlegirl
Reiki Practitioner
misshelper
New Member
Maybe, why?
I have a 12 year old son and in the last year its like he's losing his brains. He has been having problems paying attention, (home and school) forgets things easily. His grades have dropped and notes and conferences have been going on all year. His teachers say he's not misbehaved but he is easily distracted, yells outs answers, has trouble following instructions/directions and he can't keep still....and so on and so on. I spoke with his doctor about this last year ans she told my if things didn't get better by the middle of the school year then bring him in.
theArtistFormerlyKnownAs
Well-Known Member
Sounds like the average middleschool boy, to me
Thanks that took a load off
thats what someone else told me. His teacher didn't even know about the conversation I had with his doctor and one day she asked if I ever had him see a doctor for ADHD...then two weeks later that his math teacher e-mailed me and asked the samething :shrug: and it made me a little scared.
theArtistFormerlyKnownAs
Well-Known Member
Thanks that took a load off
The thing is, I'm one of the people who says that ADHD is vastly overdiagnosed.
There are likely examples of that in the responses in this thread.
Your kid could have it, no doubt, but he's a kid and I see nothing so out of the ordinary that I would flip out about it.
If you think that his declining performance may be more than him noticing girls more, the fact that eventually kids reach a point that they have to try harder in school or their grades suffer, or any other changes that occur at that age...then you should certainly look into him possibly getting tested (is there a test?) for ADHD.
I, for one, would give it a little bit of time and talk to him first. See what he thinks about the changes that are going on (grades, attention, etc)
For all you know, he is gifted and the work is too easy for him so he just slacks off.
Good luck!
The thing is, I'm one of the people who says that ADHD is vastly overdiagnosed.
There are likely examples of that in the responses in this thread.
Your kid could have it, no doubt, but he's a kid and I see nothing so out of the ordinary that I would flip out about it.
If you think that his declining performance may be more than him noticing girls more, the fact that eventually kids reach a point that they have to try harder in school or their grades suffer, or any other changes that occur at that age...then you should certainly look into him possibly getting tested (is there a test?) for ADHD.
I, for one, would give it a little bit of time and talk to him first. See what he thinks about the changes that are going on (grades, attention, etc)
For all you know, he is gifted and the work is too easy for him so he just slacks off.
Good luck!
Thats why I held up on taking him in to the doc. I know a few kid that take meds for this condition and some of them are like zombies. He's not failing just had a B drop to a D and a C to a F...thats not like him. He seems to always act up in school. He plays basketball, football, soccer and baseball and he's normal then. Well maybe this is normal for a middle school boy he is my only child so I guess thats why this is new to me...Thanks
PrepH4U
New Member
The thing is, I'm one of the people who says that ADHD is vastly overdiagnosed.
There are likely examples of that in the responses in this thread.
Your kid could have it, no doubt, but he's a kid and I see nothing so out of the ordinary that I would flip out about it.
If you think that his declining performance may be more than him noticing girls more, the fact that eventually kids reach a point that they have to try harder in school or their grades suffer, or any other changes that occur at that age...then you should certainly look into him possibly getting tested (is there a test?) for ADHD.
I, for one, would give it a little bit of time and talk to him first. See what he thinks about the changes that are going on (grades, attention, etc)
For all you know, he is gifted and the work is too easy for him so he just slacks off.
Good luck!
Why don't you tell her how many children you have had and rasied and also your life experiences dealing with children who have been diagnosed with ADHD
K
Kain99
Guest
Yake heart Momma... I raised two boys and my oldest sons teachers constantly called during Middle School.
It finally got to the point, where I told them if they were more interesting he would pay attention.
My son has grown into a fine young man. He works for the Sheriffs Department and has no attention disorders.
littlegirl
Reiki Practitioner
I have 2 on meds and 1 is not. The 2 that are on meds tested out well over the range for genius on the IQ testing, but are both failing school because it is " stupid and boring" One just started Alternative school, b/c he kept telling the teachers to shut up and leave him alone.School is best place to act up because they are confined. Out door activites are the best "release' for my children. Gotta love the trampoline
They are very artisitc, very emotional, and very active...but NOT bad.Thanks that took a load off
I also agree that ADD/ADHD is overly diagnose. On another note, I didn't think it was a teachers position to even suggest ADHD to parents.
I did some research on this a while ago when they said the same thing about my daughter. I was really shocked, or not so much, when it was mentioned that teachers (especially in Pre-K & K) were more prone to pointing out ADHD in the classroom after diagnosis/medication became so popular. I will say that after doing much research into the whole ADHD thing, I searched high and low to find out the normal behavior of a young girl. I was shocked to find out my daughter was completely normal for her age. You don't even want to know my response to the school system now.
Teachers are trained in college to detect ADHD and other disorders. It is part of their job to suggest evaluation. However, the school system usually refuses to test so it becomes the parent's responsibility to take any action. Watch out though, because if you mention the possibility to many Doctor's, they will automatically suggest medication. There are some students that do better with meds but, like you said, many are zombies. Plus, these drugs are stimulants so peers may try to buy them or convince the kid to use more as a drug. There are many behavior modifications that you could try before resorting to meds. Even kids who are truly ADHD benefit from this. Basically, lots of structure, organization and follow up by parent. Plus discuss with your child what distracts him, upsets him, and ask him to think about any changes that he thinks would help. Most kids don't analyze what's happening, but if asked may offer insight. You also could take a week and list everything he eats and what his behavior is like. Sometimes there is a link. For example, one of my kids gets very wound up, and we found, quite by accident, that when that happens we should load him up on sugar. People find this terribly wrong, but for him, it calms him down instead of stimulating him. I would resort to meds only as a last resort.
Is the child you give sugar to ADD or ADHD? A friend of mine who has add/adhd, found that if she drinks any type of caffiene, will do the exact opposite of what it does for most, sugar does that to her also (makes her very tired). Her son also has it, and he too has the same results as she does, so therefore she never medicated him, just gave him caffiene.
L
luckystar
Guest
I've never heard of this before, it sounds like something doctors should be suggesting before drugs, especially with all the Ritalin and Adderal abuse that's been going on lately.
The meds are really what im really against. He's really a very outgoing kid he makes friends with everywhere we go. I even cut out football last year so school would be the only thing on his mind when they went back. That was a big mistake after homework he was really a zombie he just dragged around with nothing to do, he would go outside but not for long cause all of his friends were at football pratice. Then I thought the work was too hard, his teachers stated when he's focused he's one of the brightest kids in the class but the hard part for them is keeping him on track. I had a talk with my grandmother about this and her answer was simply "welcome to the teenage years next he's gonna stop bathing" . Im gonna stick it out maybe I need to lay out a plan for him if he's good all week with no referrals we can go to Berts every Sunday after church. (thats his fav.) I don't know any ideas ?
Try contacting the Parents Place for Maryland, they do have an advocate here in St. Mary's. They can get you help with the school and go with you to IP's. You can call the Office Of Human Services in Leon to get their contact info. Hope this helps
Beta84
They're out to get us
So basically he just doesn't like school, but is normal otherwise. I think we've got our diagnosis. It's not necessarily ADD...the problem is school and him being a middle school student who probably couldn't care less or has other things on his mind. I think you just need to work with him on that. Focusing on anything when the topics don't interest you is difficult.
