Is Is ADD or What?

Dear U.-I read your questions, then I proceeded to read them to my husband. One of our 8 year old triplets (soon to be 9)was diagnosed with ADD in the spring of last year. AND-Our son is on the medication named Concerta. Our son is on the smallest dosage of this medication each morning. Both my husband and I feel that we're not totally convinced that not only this medication-but any medication-isn't the best alternative for our son-BUT-we also have his birth mother in the picture-who is a ripper, and unable to cope with him, and his behavior, if he's not medicated. It's an ongoing battle. My son begged me the other day not to have him take his "pill"-so I made the executive decision for him not to take it. He's a gifted child, and this gift needs to be enhanced with positive alternatives-not MEDICATIONS!!!! By the way-I'm also an RN of greater than 20 years, and my husband is a school teacher. The best of Luck to you, and your child!! K.

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I'm also a busy mother of 4. 19,12,11,4. My daughter has gone through exactly what your describing. I even tried the concerta first.no medicine she took was worth the side affects. She is 12 now and in middle school she has a 504 plan that gives her more time and little things that help her. This is very important to have. She is on no medicine,this year there has been a big turn around. She needs to do her work in segments (a little break to collect her thoughts. Not everyone learns the same or can sit stillfor hours. It is difficult but she needs to learn to deal with this and learn to focus. I give my daughter little excersizes to keep her thinking . exp. go get me the broom and take out the trash. She use to only remmeber one but is now up to 3 or 4 things. A little coffee in the morning really seems to help just a quarter cup. The medicine is a narcotic just like speed. Although if I remember right Concerta is not . But did not help her and she wouldn't eat.. Goodluck to you, it does get better. She needs to understand this so she can try to fix it.

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There is a difference between ADHD and ADD. Most girls are diagnosed with ADD vs. ADHD, if they are ever diagnosed. Most of the time, people will call them "airheads" or "their head is in the clouds" or they're in "lalaland". Daydreaming and not paying attention is never really complained about by teachers unlike the crazy hyperness of ADHD kids, which has more behavioral problems (and often boys are diagnosed with it).

I would read up all you can about it. There are great books out there. Go on Amazon and type in ADD. It will help you to help her deal with it. She may need to learn organization skills or to have a goals for focusing (set a timer at home for 5 or 10 minutes for something like homework).

But do make sure that she is diagnosed by a specialist like a child psychologist. ADD/ADHD is always the "easy" answer to a child's problem these days. My son was diagnosed at 4 with ADHD, but his behaviors now that he is 8 are NOT consistant with ADHD, and we've only now begun to suspect he has OCD instead. Being that your daughter is older though, the dr. should be able to pinpoint it fairly accurately.

I would recommend you give her Children's Liquid Health Attention formula (it's a vitamin), and you could check out Native Remedies Focus formula for kids as well. I don't know anything about Concerta personally. My son was on Focalin for 3 weeks, until he started having a bad reaction to it, then Adderall XR, which worked ok but did have a bad crash in the evening, and now he's on Vyvanse, which works pretty well, and is newer to the market. He doesn't crash on it in the lower dosage.

Have you or her doctor looked at her diet? Too much sugar and carbs make me unfocused, so what does it do to our kids.

My kids use Isagenix, and so do I and my husband. Here is a link to the vitamins, and they kids can eat the bars and shakes.

http://powerup.isagenix.com/us/en/isakids_essentials.dhtml

Dr. John Gray (Men are from Mars, woman are from venus) is a part of Isagenix and he is really big on nutition for Add and ADHD, not putting kids on medication and speed. google him for more info on that.

Let me know if you have any questions and the best of luck!

Don't know if any of your doctors have talked to you about changing her diet.
It is amazing what happens when All sugars, processed flours and red dyes are removed from the system.
I had to do this with my oldest.
Meat, Fruit and vegetables were his diet. Healthy snacks only.
All fruit juices. You would be surprised how mansy are made with High Fructose Corn Syrup.
I know it is hard with little ones to drop all sugar, but there are lots of othr things she can eat. It takes a couple days to see a change, but you will be surprised the changes you see.
good Luck
Explain to all her teachers that she has food allergies and they will watch her thru lunch and snack times.

Have you tried to give your daughter a gluten free diet? Sometimes with the new preservatives it confuses the way our bodies work. She could be allergic to an ingredient in her diet. My daughter was eating chips from a renowed brand and all of a sudden she was not happy, crying all the time. I stopped buying the chips and she is doing so much better. New ingredients to promote transfat free sometimes doesn't work in our best health. I hope this helps. C.

Have you talked her pediatrican yet? My husband and I were having the same problems with our son last year. We tried every type of discpline technique we could read about and nothing helped. When he started kindergarten, he got into trouble everyday. His teachers were saying the same exact thing that your daughter's teachers were saying. So we talked to his pediatrican. He observed our son several times and had both my husband and I and our son's teacher fill out forms of what he was doing. His doctor did diagnose our son with ADHD and put him on a small dosage of Vyvanse. It has helped him so much! Definitely talk to your daughter's doctor, let them know what's going on. It might not be ADD or something like that but they can point you in the right direction. Good luck!

Was she 'diagnosed' by someone at the school or by a child psychiatrist/psychologist/child development professional? I am a (currently not-employed) school social worker who saw my fair share of ridiculous 'diagnoses' of ADHD, etc. when I worked in the schools. I just always am concerned about the term 'diagnosis' and WHO is making it.
Lots of kids have true ADHD or something on the spectrum, and lots of kids are misdiagnosed and the real issue is improperly treated. Hopefully she's been thoroughly tested and not just 'labeled' with ADHD.
My son is has dual diagnosis Bipolar Disorder and ADHD. He took Concerta for 3 days, but we quickly learned it was not the drug for him. That's not to scare you. Concerta is fast-acting and fast to leave the blood stream. If it helps, you'll know right away. If it's not the right med, it's out of the system quickly. My son had the opposite reaction of BECOMING STIMULATED (that is, he became INSANELY MANIC) on the drug, which was certainly not the intention when we started. He does have bipolar disorder, however, and that is why he had the adverse reaction (typical of kids with bipolar disorder). For ADHD treatment, Concerta has a great reputation and is a great 'starter' med for any kid who's never taken meds for ADHD. It only has one active drug as opposed to a combination, etc.
I hope that helps a bit and doesn't leave you more confused. I just like to hear that there has been a REAL diagnosis, as opposed to a bunch of opinions. Thanks!

I have been dealing with ADHD/ADD issues in my son for over 3 years now. You mentioned Concerta, is she on that now? I do have some experience with that medicine, so if you have a specific question about it I wouldn’t mind helping you out. You might want to look for a pediatrician that deals with behavioral problems; they will be more likely to figure out what’s exactly going on with your child. We had a Physiological Evaluation done on my son (which was done at a local school) and they were able to tell us what my son was at risk for. Your best bet is to see if you pediatrician can give you a referral to All Children’s Hospital, to their behavioral and development department. My son saw a Dr. Shapiro there and he was able to run tests on him and tell me what’s wrong. There was NO guessing they knew what he had. I highly recommend it, because you don’t want your daughter to be getting treatment for something she doesn’t have. If you’re interested you need to ask about All Children’s ASAP, we were on a 7 month waiting list to see him. If I can help with anything let me know, I know how hard this can be.

Hi U., I would suggest having your daughter checked by a homeopathic doctor- as compared to a pediatrician/family doctor. There are many different routes to take to take care of this situation. My stepdaughter was 'diagnosed' with ADHD when she was 4 or 5. Her mom immediately put her on ADHD medication, and it only worsened her condition. I say this because when my stepdaughter came to our house, I didn't give her the medication and she was fine. Unfortunately, her mom found out and had a hayday but my daughter hated being on the medication. She was a much happier little girl off it than on it. The side effects were disastrous, she gained weight (then refused to eat becuase she would get sick after taking the pills), went into mood swings, and very lethargic.She got constant nose bleeds and wouldn't fall asleep at night, once she did fall asleep she would snore due to the medication making her throat/nose swell up. Her attention span went down to where she would sit in a daze all day, sort of like if she was high. Her mood swings were like you says yours are- my daughter would cry at almost anything, and was extremely sensitive to everything around her. She often made comments about not being loved and wanting to die becuase she hated her life. Depression is one of the biggest side effects of medications for ADHD and ADD.

Another thing that I did for her was make sure that she (and her brother, who was tagged for ADHD too) were given high protein and vitamin-rich meals, plenty of fiber rich foods, lots og green veggies and little junk food. I remember making peas and my son who was 5 at the time looked at his plate, then looked at me and said "what are these green balls mom?" He had never seen or eaten green peas before!
At their moms house they are fed pop tarts/toaster strudels for breakfast, chicken nuggets or pizza for lunch, and burger king/wendy's/fast food for dinner. Most meals are microwave meals, rarely to never are they made from scratch food.
Usually they would never go to the bathroom while they were at our house for the entire weekend (#2) but once they didn't have the medication, and ate healthier foods, they were fine.

A homeopathic doctor is able to tell with minimal testing exactly what the childs body needs for nutrients. No bloodwork, no long hours of testing, and it's not painful. They simply have the child stand with one arm held straight out with different types of food and vitamins in their hand. Certain reactions will tell the doctor waht is needed, or what the child is allergic to.

I don't know your exact situation, but i do hope this helps you! I also had my stepkids to go outside and play MUCH more often than when they were at their moms house. Of course you know, this helped them sleep at night, but when they weren't on their medication for 48 hours they were absolutely normal.

Personally, I wouldn't suggest running to the DR for a prescription and hoping it works.

Try feeding your daughter extremely nutricious food, you will see her excel in school and go back to being a normal little girl, with no negative side effects :) If she doesn't like greens/health foods, I would suggest having her drink XS. It's sugar & carb free drink from a company named Quixtar. It has all the nutrients and vitamins that the body needs, but also has been tested and proven to help kids with ADHD and ADD. They have great flavors like cranberry grape, coka, rootbeer, tea, etc...the drinks are healthy for all ages. Just be careful as some of the drinks DO have caffeine in them. I prefer the ones that don't have caffeine because they don't give me that 'high' after the caffeine has worn off. THe ones that have only vitamins in them give me energy all day long. My kids LOVED them and I didn't mind letting them drink it! They never knew they were drinking something healthy!
I wish you the best!

Is she in the appropriate level class for her abilities? Kids that are bored because they are not being challenged act in the manner you described. A suggestion for you at home about her behavior, consistency. Stay consistent in everything, from consequences to expectations. Have rules and procedures for doing things. As a teacher, I have no more than 5 rules that are pretty much non-negotiable and then procedures for everything else. For example: a rule would be: don't interrupt someone when talking a procedure for the same behavior: wait until a break in the conversation and then say excuse me if you need something. As a parent, if the child is not acting in the desired manner you can prompt. "if you need something while I am talking, what should you do?" eventually they will catch on. If it is ADD consistancy is a big deal. Drugs are great, when used appropriately. My brother had ADD, his body did not naturally make dopamine receptors like most people...the drug aided in making the receptors. But consistancy is key. If she can't follow a list of things to do, give one at a time and wait until she does it to give the next. You can make a chart and have her give herself stars after she completes each task. Your life will be so much easier if she knows what to expect daily and what will occur if she fails to comply.

Oh my YES!!! Mine is now a 9 year old boy. We went through thousands of dollars of testing and 2 years of avoiding medicine. I work in the health field, and many years in the adolescent mental health field, and the drugs scared me. After trying to control the environment and stimuli for 2 years, we resorted to Concerta, a long acting Ritalin. It worked well for about 6 months with varying the doses. It caused headaches and eventually quit working. He is now on Adderal with amazing results. He is very interactive about his meds and if they help him or not. He expressed at 7 that he didn't feel that he fit in at school, church, and sometimes the family. We told him, "we are family, if the holes in this world won't let you fit, we will knock them bigger to make a place for you in this world and in our family!" I say create a big support team. Hound the schools, attend and request meetings. Be her support team and make the others follow through with you. Show them that this girl is special and priceless and show her as well that you will not let her fall through the cracks. Medicine is not evil, it just must be closely monitored. There are a lot of books. Be mindful. I feel that finding your child's creative outlet helps you form tools that they can use to express while they are on this journey. I tell my son, the medicine doesn't make the problems go away, it just gives you mental tools. You must still learn to USE the tools to structure your behavior and aptitude to what is expected in this world. Consider asking for specialized testing for aptitude and gifted. MANY ADD/ADHD children and adults have aptitude and brilliance that is hard to tap because of the boundaries and norms of our society. Our prayers are with you!

I was reading your post and was wondering if you have seen a pediatric neuroligist? I am not a doctor but some of what you decribe sound like absence seizures. They appear as daydreaming but the person is really not aware of what is going on--it could explain why she may not be hearing directions just given and then asking strange questions. Just a thought.....
L. W

My grandaughter at age 10 has been diagnosed with the same thing after much testing by her doctor. She can't stay focused on anything But will focus on 1 thing that catches her attention and all other things just don't sink in. She was failing in school until put on a medication . I don't know which one but it has made all the difference at school. Her behavior at home has not changed but she is now able to focus at school and all her grades are A's and B's. My daughter was failing 1st grade and was diagnosed as hyperactive back 30 yrs ago and put on Ritalin. That also made a tremendous difference in school and within a month all her grades were way up and she passed. She was on it until about age 11 maybe. It also didnot change behavior at home. She and my grandaughter were mouthy brats,lol, inspite of the disapline they get and got. Good luck.

Hello, My son what diagnosed with ADD last year, all this sounds too familiar. after trying to go the all natural route, we decided to try concerta. His focus, attitude and all around behavior improved emensely. There are things you can do like diet especially very important that also help. But I found we needed the medication because as you probably know it's hard getting in all the omega 3 oils and proteins that their brains thrive on. Hopefully we will grow out of this, but for now I say try it, it helps! Good luck
L.

I agree with Gerri that you should look into nutritional changes in her diet. I don't remember if she mentioned red dye in foods, but I will! My 4 year old daughter was having difficult focusing in school this year before Winter Break. We cut out all red dye and started giving her vitamins (from the health food store to avoid any weird ingredients) and also fish oil capsules that she can chew up. Both products are from Nordic Naturals. Anyway, after just a few weeks, she started being more calm in class and since Christmas, she is focusing well in class and has no incidences.
Another thing to consider that I read is that since kids don't get PE the same in school, they have a lot of energy to burn. If you can get your children burning off steam after school, that can help in the long run.
Another way to improve focus is to put her into karate. Kids who do have ADD have significant improvement after taking karate.
Maybe you can take her to see a holistic doctor who can help you resolve these things. There are a number of them around depending on where you are.
Good luck!

I raised an ADHD daughter, she is now almost 28 and I have to say it's been a long haul. She was/is definant, disruptive, implusive. If I had to do all over again would I do meds? Don't know !? The only thing available at the time was Ritalin. The first day I put her on this med it took the spark out of her personality never to be my little girl again. She was on Ritalin for 10 years. Then many years of all sorts of meds. The school system was the worst, she was thought of a problem child and not a child with a medical disorder. I only pray that things in the schools have changed over the years. She is no longer hyper, but very disorganized, implusive and most of all oppositional definate. She can't hold a job because she cannot follow directions/rules her way is the best way. I may sound bitter and I am because I am now raising her two boys. I love my grandsons dearly but this is not how life is suppose to be. I hate to be a downer but raising a child with ADD or ADHD is a long rough road.

U.,

My son has simliar symptoms. He is very sweet and his teachers love him, however he has problems focusing and with anger. My son is ADHD and Bi-polar so I completly understand what you are going through. I have used a reward program from both me and the teacher and that helps to a point. Like for every day that he completes all work he will earn a star and if he gets 4 stars he get 30 mins on the computer or viedo game if he gets all 5 stars then he gets an hour and a half. Also if money is not tight (which would be nice) we use Chucky Cheese or bowling, somthing he really likes to motivate him to do good all five days. The teacher has a little chest with small toys and if he is good he get to pick a toy (5 stars again). Also the teacher allows him to stand up and work at his desk so that he can move to get rid of the energy and finish his work at the same time. Another thing that helped last year was moving him next to the teacher's desk. As for Concerta we tired it, however with my son being Bi-polar it did not work, it clashed with that medicane. I hope that you find the one that works for you. He is on Strattera and it works for him. Best of luck and hope this helps.

A.

I wanted to add to Tery F's response and confirm the coffee thing. My best friend has a daughter that is easily distracted. The doctors thought she might have ADD. My friend's sister in law is from Venezuela and is a pediatrician. In her country they would recommend that the parents give their kids coffee, a stimulant, sound counterintuitive, doesn't it! She said that ADD meds are stimulants. Well, my friend couldn't get her daughter to drink coffee so she found the mini Mountain Dews and would give her one in the morning. The difference was so drastic for her at home and at school that she was convinced. She is now on med (not sure which) and is doing much better.

I feel for you. I know how desperately you love your daughter and just want to help her. I wish you all the best!

Being a mom of a now 15 year old with ADHD, I know what you are going through... My son was in Kindergarten when he was diagnosed. They started him on Ritalin that worked for a while then he was on Adderall. That worked for a while then he was on Concerta. Concerta worked the longest. Just with in the past year he has been changed to Medadate CD.

The Concerta is a good starting med. Like I said it lasted the longest. He was on it from 2nd grade up until this past year. If you decide on your daughter taking it ask the doctor about it and he/she should start her on the lowest does and see how that works for 2 weeks and then if there is little or no improvement then go up to the next dose... and so on until there is a significant change. Some parents (NOT ME) give their ADHD kids a break from the meds in the summer time. I would talk to your doctor about that before you do it though.

You will see a major change in your daughter. The teachers will too. And your daughter will start to feel better about herself. She most likely feels out of control (hence the super sensitivity) this will help her feel more in control. Another good thing you might want to do is to see a behavior specialist and a neurologist to do further testing.

Take time for you, I know how frustrating this is. I will pray for you. But seriously you need to make sure that you have YOU time, it will help you recharge. Take a bubble bath lock the door turn on music, got get your nails done, go for a walk... something, just breath.

Hope this helps.
Blessings to you and you family,
K. J.

" The Lord Bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace." ~ Numbers 6:24-26

I have to agree with some of the other responses that this is an overdiagnosed or misdiagnosed disorder. ADHD is different from ADD b/c like someone previously said it lacks the hyperactivity part. It does seem that boys more than girls are diagnosed with this disorder. There are effective medicines out there for both disorders. My nephew was on a few different ones including Concerta. He went to an MD that specialized in ADD/ADHD and has a child of his own with it. He too agreed that a lot of times these are behavioral problems and nothing else. It doesn't really sound like this is your daughter's case because she really seems to be struggling. Have you ruled out any type of learning disability? Has she been tested for one? Have you tried any other methods with her to address her symptoms like a behavior program of some sort, i.e. reward system for increased focus, remembering, etc that she can actually track her own progress? Even if her diagnosis is true medication does work. She may have to try more than one to meet her specific needs. The only bad thing I have to say about these medicines is they have awful side effects but every child will react to them differently. Some doctors even suggest to give her medicine during the school year and have her take a break over the summer. She can grow out of this too without a doubt! I don't know if this has been helpful but I just want you to know that you and your family can get through this and it may not last forever! Just do as much research as possible! Best of luck to you!

I can only tell you what I did with my own children. I have twin boys age 5 with sensory processing disorder. In other words they are on the "austistic spectrum". very mild but most of the problem has been with focus and attention. I have a website. www.mymonavie.com/ydoacai I can't even imagine ever giving my boys meds for this and I can tell you personally what MonaVie did for my boys and many other children. If you are intereted and want more info please let me know and I would be happy to mail you some information.

God Bless and good luck,
Debbie Penge
###-###-#### or ____@____.com

These medications are to help the child's chemical balance. I have 5 year old twins and they have had it for a few years but I had the same concerns as you did and didn't want to put them on the medications. When they started to struggle in school is when I had to take action to help them. My sister has her son on concerta and it works very well for him (he is 13 now) my daughters however are only 5 so we put them on a low dose of adderall. It works great for them. They are doing better in school with focusing and behavior, they are calmer and it really cuts down the outburst. Unfortunetly sometimes it works for the emotions and sometimes it don't. That is the whole finding out the medicine that better suits your daughter. I also have tried a medicine that you can buy over the counter to help them sleep at night called Melatonin. My girls couldn't sit still long enough to go to sleep or just kept going until they couldn't go anymore. This medicine I found gave them a good nights sleep to where they were ready to go as much as focused in the morning. This is a drug-free nighttime sleep aid. It has vitamin B6, calcium and promotes normal sleep patterns which my girls really needed. You could put them on it and take them off. Hope you find what your daughter needs. Good Luck!

OMG U., this sounds way to familiar. This actually is my daughter that you are talking about. My daughter to is 9 & I am going threw the same exact thing. I have heard so many different things, ADD, the age, us moving (& her going to a new school)...I just don't know what to do or think anymore. I haven't had her tested yet for ADD, but alot of people including my husband says that it might be a good idea because speaking to alot of people whose kids have ADD, sounds like it could be. I just don't know if I am in denial with the whole ADD thing or if I just don't believe in ADD, but I to need to do something just to help her...She is an awesome kid, very polite to everyone else, very social, everyone loves her, great kid, very athletic, just the whole focusing thing & doing good is school has all of a sudden been a struggle. I had another baby, a boy 11 months ago & was thinking that maybe its a whole jealousy thing, but she loves him, helps me take care of him & just up until recently never had mentioned anything against him. She now is starting with well you do for Michael & not for me, you love him more. So, I am not sure what advice to give you other than hang in there & your not alone. Can't say that I ever heard of that medicine that you are talking about. But, they do have ADD groups that you can inquire about. There are plenty of people going threw the same thing & have done their research very thoroughly on it. I would check on line for any ADD groups that you might want to contact for some answers. Good Luck.

A.

My daughter was diagnosed at 5 with ADD. I tried working with psychologists and modifying the behavior. Didn't work. When she was seven, I finally gave in and reluctantly tried Concerta. The change in her is remarkable. She can now focus,remember and is so calm. She hasn't become spacey or lost her sweet personality, but she has lost the behaviors which prevented her from interacting normally at school and home.I would encourage you to try the medicine. The worst that will happen is you will take her off of it. Good Luck!

When I was a child, I had many of the symptoms you are describing. I was a daydreamer who never turned in homework and found it difficult to concentrate in school. In 6th grade, I changed to a very challenging school and was suddenly doing research reports instead of worksheets and participating in classroom debates instead of listening to a teacher drone on and on. I went instantly from a "problem" student to the honor roll. Before you give your daughter medication to change her, please make sure it isn't her environment that needs changing. I consider my lack of ability to focus on boring things as one of my greatest strengths. It has allowed my to excel in my career since it HAD to be interesting. Sometimes the hardest children to raise, grow up to be great.

This sounds like it could be ADD not ADHD there is a difference.I was diagnosed as a child with ADHD. I took Ritalin which very much helped me but I dont recommend it because of the side affects. I was taken off of it at 13 because I was "cured" of it. Well from that moment on I struggled with everyday life but got no help. It wasnt until I started back to college that I could no longer ignore it. I went to the doctor & got put on Adderall. It is amazing the difference. Do I still struggle? Yes some days are better than others though. My son was also diagnosed with ADD after years of me trying to convince his father that he had the same thing as me. My boy struggled needlessly for years because he didnt get the help he needed. In 8th grade I finally told my husband that was it that he was getting tested. The first day on his meds he came out of school & said mom I cant beleieve how much better I could concentrate. That was all I needed to hear but then I already knew it would help him. Sadly I think it was too late though because of all the years of struggling he hadnt learned good study habits & all that goes with school because lets face it he couldnt concentrate long enough to grasp concepts. He struggled all through high school & stopped taking his meds because he wasnt gaining weight & you know its very important for boys to have muscles & all that. He did graduate but barely. He went on to college & failed but he is trying again with a renewed sense of wanting to get this right. I must also add he is extremely intelligent. He scored a 1300 on his SAT because he does learn just in a diffferent way but most teachers wanted him to learn their way & he just couldnt. He always tested very well getting As on almost every test he just didnt want do the work which is because to him its boring & tedious which unfortunately is part of the ADD. He is extremely bright, creative, & very intelligent & I hate to see it not being used the way it could be. He is almost 21 now & struggles every day with the little things most people just breeze by doing. Things like writing in his checkbook when he uses his debit card, paying his insurance on time. If we didnt remind him it wouldnt get paid. The best advice I can give you is whenever you give her directions try to give only 2 at a time at the most. Like if you want her to clean her room, vacuum, take the trash out, etc dont give all of them to her at once make her come back to you for another chore or she will forget them & go onto playing or whatever she got distracted with then that starts a whole other mess. You can also try giving her coffee yes i said coffee because it is a stimulant just like ADHD meds which work completely opposite on the ADHD brain. Now I would try it on the weekend at home just in case she doesnt have ADHD that way she can go outside to burn off the caffeine but if it calms her or she tells you she can concentrate then I would say definately she has ADHD. My son hated coffee so I would only make him drink it on the mornings he had big tests like the FCAT or class tests. He hated it but he also knew it worked. Also you might want to watch anything with red dye #40 this drove my son up the walls literally. The way I describe what it feels like to have ADH is imagine yourself covered with a million ants & you have to move to get them off well thats how it feels all the time for someone with ADHD. To this day I cant sit still I am always moving some part of my body which is something the teachers always told me was to stop fidgeting. Teachers need to understand what its like & until they take the time to truly understand it our kids will suffer. Her teachers need to be on top of her for sure but not constantly because that will just undermine her self esteem. Good luck with this & Im sorry its so long but the thoughts just popped into my head & on here they went ahhhhh such is the life with ADHD lol . Please ket me know how it goes with you daughter. Be the advocate she needs because no one else will have her best interest at heart like her mom.

My son sounds a lot like your daughter. He is in 1st grade and has Sensory Integration dysfunction. Basically they have trouble processing the things you and I can adapt to every day, the lighting in the classroom, distracting noises, stimuli in the classroom or elsewhere. She has trouble processing more than one or 2 steps at a time it sounds like(my son is the same way) give him too many instructions and none of them will get done. If it has been documented and is a problem for her in class, you can request a meeting to get her staffed in for services. They will test her (at no cost to you) and determine what would best help her in the classroom. My son has it written in an IEP that he gets extra time for assignments, and prompting so he can complete his schoolwork. You can email me offline for more info if you want. ADHD can go along with any number of things like SID. But I think there are better ways than medication to help, just my oppinion.

This does sound familiar, and our daughter's doc suggested it may be aspergers though she is too young for a real diagnosis. There is a lot of cross-over with ADD symptoms. I would ask your doctor what he or she thinks about that.

In the meantime, we have had some success with writing out instructions and letting her decorate them. Then having her do a task. Worth a try maybe! Good luck!

ADD is hard to diagnosis in girls, because often it lacks the HD part, meaning hyperactivity. Have you completed a Connors questionaire? The school should be able to provide you with checklists called Connors to complete for your family at home, as well as her teachers. The school counselor should be able to score them as well. It scores in a variety of areas including: hyperactivity, distrabilitity, somatic complaints, depression etc. but looks at combined factors indicative of ADD. (I worked as a counselor before deciding to stay home with my son) That is good info to bring to your pediatrician. Since ADD is a medical issue, it has to be formally diagnosed by a physician. Hopefully they can work with you if you decide to go the medication route. Then be sure to have her teacher complete checklists after being on the meds to see if they work. Fortunately usually people notice results fairly quickly if the meds work. I would also be sure to monitor her eating, since the meds can decrease appetite. Although I don't believe in overmedicating kids and it is a really hard decision to make as a parent, for kids who truly have ADD, meds can make a complete difference in school, activities and self esteem. Good luck

Hi U.,
It could ADD (the kind without the hyperactivity). Since the hyperactivity component is not present, many times this kind gets missed, specially in girls who are "sweet" but "just don't pay attention". However, it could also be a Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) or a Language processing difficulty. Have you had your daughter screened or evaluated for either condition? An audiologist would evaluate CAPD and a speech language pathologist would screen/evaluate for a language disorder. If your daughter is in public school, there should be a speech language pathologist at her school that you can talk to. I would suggest you research these options, since the treatment for these is different and does not involve medications. If you don't know how to find an audiologist or SLP, you can go through your pediatrician or health insurance, or you can go to www.ASHA.org to find a qualified provider in your area. Good luck!
C.

Sleep is important to all especially growing children. Monitor the sleep. Also, diet is important - watch sugar, dyes, over processed foods. Overall supplement that my son has used with great success is Zija, all the Vitamins Minerals Amino Acids,etc that we need in a day in one can. Safe for pregnant women, infants - everyone. They make it from a plant called the miracle tree. Here is my website: www.myzija.com/katbranch
Also, a company called Native Remedies has products to help with focus,etc. my son has been on BrightSparks & FocusFormula for a while now and has had great results noted by home and the teacher. Best of luck in your Healthful Journey.