Adhd - Chesterfield, VA

My eight year old has ADHD and I was told that it cannot be properly diagnosed till they are in school. They tried telling me that he had it at age 2. I waited till he was 6 before I put him on meds. A structed day does help though. My advice is to wait to put him on meds.

hey there my name is C. and i have three children a daughter who has diagnosed with ADHD she is 13 my boys are 6 n 2 1/2.
i will let you know from my daughter that a structure day is the KEY.........
meds........ it took me a while to beleive in it but it works in our home.
i know that this is not a HUGE help cause of the age group but just some advise to let you know in the near future nip it in the bud to have a structure day.
if you need some more answers to some questions please feel free to write me back..

I went through that. You didn't mention who diagnosed him with ADHD. A pediatrician alone cannot give the diagnosis accurately. It should be diagnosed after full series ofdiagnostic assessment tests have been administered by a licensed and experienced clinical psychologist.

When my son was diagnosed, we were given recommendations which included the use of stimulants as well as monthly (sometimes bi-weekly) sessions with the therapist (his psychologist). We worked together with her for close to two years. He was also placed on a stimulant, which I really hesitated to at first because I am so anti-drug. But with the help of therapy and behavioral modification, we've been able to keep him on a low dose of the stimulant. He focuses so much better with the medication so that he's not so distracted by the petty little things and nervous habits. We're lucky that we have a family doctor who is willing to work with us, instead of against us, and is not forcing us to up his meds on a schedule (scale) as I've seen others do.

I felt bad about placing my son on a stimulant at first, but seeing how much happier he is with himself, I don't regret it. He's almost nine now. We started this treatment when he was six and a half, although he had been officially diagnosed with ADHD (and some Aspergers) at the age of six. We were told by others he had all the signs of it since he was three but we hoped he would "outgrow" it. Unfortunately it just got worse as he was in grade school so we had to make serious decisions so he wouldn't suffer and fail.

I am a 30 year old mother of one 7year old who was diagnosed with ADD last year. I new since he was five that he had this problem. He had so much trouble finishing thing because he could never hear the instruction. We tried the structure with little success. I enrolled him in sports to and it helped a little. My is not very hyper he just could not focus. During the first grade I started to notice the fustration on his part. I was working with his teacher and she understood that medicating him was the last thing I wanted because of the negative conatations associated with it. But he began to cry and be fustrated with school because he was not getting things right when he knew the answer and getting into trouble for not following direction or talking our of turn. We started him on a low dose of Adderall XR and the change was amazing. He was a different child. He is working up to his potential in school. He is able to follow directions. His teacher has notice a huge improvement in his work and writting. SO in my experience medication maynot be needed at 4 but once he starts school for it to be a better experience for him and ease fustration it may be best to consider it.

I used to be a special education teacher for 7 years. I also now have a stepson who is being tested for ADD. Apparently he has trouble focusing at school. His mother and I opted for the more natural method instead of putting him on meds. I used to be a believer in meds, but that was before I knew that there were alternatives. I also saw a lot of the side effects of meds. I work for a wellness company and they have had a lot of success controlling ADD and ADHD through vitamins and supplements. I have some testimonials and stuff in my other email but that's what we've decided to do with my stepson. He's been taking the vitamins for 2 months now and it's having a positive affect. He is better able to focus and of course he's in sports to help with all the "boy" energy!

well im 24 now but ive been diagnosed with ad/adhd since early elementary school. i was on medicationa nd though many are against it... it was like night and day when it came to concentration and school work, for me. wihtout it, if i heard the smallest squeak i would lose my train fo thought and my mindwould wander.. it was crazy. but im still on medication(obviouslymy choice now) and i still see the benefits of it. but structure and organization are vital... lists help to. and fyi my mom worked with my schools and had a 504 plan or somehting like that where i had to sit near the front(less of a chance for distractions) of the classroom, i COULd get extra test time, study guides for tests. different stuff like that. and if my grades started to slip i got a phone call home to notify my mom. deadlines are useful for me getting things done, and organization and schedules are extremely important in day to day things.

do everything you can do at a young age. structure helps, meds help and counseling. my son wasnt diagnosed until 8 and he already had bad habits. i begged for help until a teacher finally listened. good luck:)

Hi K.,

I've been through everything with ADD/ADHD with my son who is now 9 years old. I agree about the fact that meds are way over prescribed and this disorder is way over diagnosed. Not knowing what to do, I had my child tested and put him on meds per doctors advice. HUGE MISTAKE!! His personality completely changed as he went from bing completely happy to crying all the time and having fits of rage. In my opinion, I'd rather have my child be a C student at school than have him an emotional reck. After his crazy outbursts, I did more research on the meds and found out some alarming stats- risk of death etc. The lesson that I learned is to take control as a parent and DO NOT rely on teachers, doctors, etc. My son is doing well now, as I have adjusted his diet, I give him Multi-Vitamins as well as DHA (Fish Oil -Omegas for brain and nerve development) and minerals. He's pretty much completely ADD/ADHD free with no terrible meds and their side effects. Please try changing your childs diet before turning to drugs. It will really make you feel like a better parent and it's in your childs best interest.

Best of Luck,

J.

I also have a 4 yr. old diagnosed with ADHD. Before I do anything, I'm trying to find another therapist first for another opinion. My husband has delt with his brother having ADHD and his ex-wife's son also. He doesn't like medicine, especially ritalin and focalin. If you can't handle your child, for your own sanity maybe start some to keep it under control, where you can tolerate it, then work with your child so he doesn't need it anymore. If he's really violent I'd try it, just long enough to get his attention. It's really up to what you are willing to part with (his personality) and tolerate (his destruction). I live in Jacksonville, NC and they have a Program called PEERS. PEERS has many classes, and one of them is an ADHD class. I don't know anything about ADHD, so I'm taking the class.

E. B.

K.,
I do not have a child that has been diagnosed ADHD or ADD. But I wanted to ask you how was your son diagnosed, for example, was his behavior an indicator to have him checked? My 5 year old stepson (lives with us) has been acting out really bad lately. More so than his normal excited behavior. The counselor has referred him to a psychiatrist and that appointment is not until March 20. I was just curious about your experience as I have had thoughts that this might be what we are dealing with as well.
Thanks,
P.

Hi K.. Hope all is well w/you and your family. I am a mother of 4, and my oldest, Seth who is 11 today, was diagnosed w/that at 5 or 6. However many wondered if he had it earlier. The best advice i could give you would be to try and find a good pediatric psychiatrist and try meds. I'm not one to want to throw my kids or myself on medicine, but their are things that are out of our control sometimes. I've seen my child w/out meds and on, and i can say he's much better on. ADHD can be misdiagnosed sometimes as well in kids. I would try meds, and you might have to try more than one, and at least see if they help. ADHD meds are stimulants that have the opposite effect on ADHD kids and make them calmer. If he is really not ADHD, they will make him hyper and then you'll know he doesn't really have it. It sucks cause I know it sounds like your child is a guinea pig, but it won't hurt your child to at least try it. And the results are huge if you find a med that works. Also, counseling has helped my child hugely. His counselor has helped him and i in teaching us ways to live w/it and function better. Reward/incentive charts helped us alot. And keep up w/him at school and get the teachers opinion w/him on meds and see what she thinks (if he goes to a preschool).

My best wishes to you though. It does get better, but requires much patience and time. Good luck w/everything!

K.,
I have 3 children and lots and of experience with ADHD it's just the hand god dealt me! My oldest son is now 9 and was offically diagnosed at age 6/7. I am worried that they have diagnosed this as such a young age. I knew my son was different from about the age 2 on. He would play along side some his peers but not interact with the same way. I just moved to the rock hill area last year and have found a wonderful nrlgst in Charolette if you want her info just contact me. Were I am going with this is you might want a second opinion becuase he is so young. I have done just about all the medications out there for ADHD inculding Ritlian and taking him off over the summers and weekends ect.. So if you go that road I have tons of info I can give you. For now I wouldn't put him on anything because if he dose have this disability it's not yet interfering with his school work. If you dealing with one of the other co-exsisting conditions as ADHD often has that would be a different story. The best thing I can tell is you it took 2 nrlgst, a devlopmental peditrian and several resource teachers to tell convice me my son had this. Understanding it is even harder becuase there is so much mis-information out there it can be difficult. I have been trying to understand this for 3 years now and it's still murky at times. If you want to reasearch this yourself on the net I would start with CHADD. They have a very informative website and support groups. If you are in Rock Hill like I am the closest to here is in Charlotte which makes it tricky to get to.