ADHD Anyone?

My 8.5 yr old is ADHD and I am as well.
I had the problems you are talking about. Is she on medication? That's the only thing that has helped myself and my daughter. We do vitamin supplements and medication. Magnesium, Flaxseed oil , B vitamins, vitamin C and a small can of coke zero ( none of the sugar but all of the caffeine) in the morning because mornings are AWFUL before her meds kick in.
We also tried everything.
Also pick up the book " Taking Charge of ADHD" by Barkley.
And pick up " learning to slowdown and pay attention. " I don't remember the author but it's a book written for kids with ADHD.

Yup. My son was finally diagnosed at age 15, and the Straterra has CHANGED HIS LIFE. He was disorganized, non-empathetic, couldn't pay attention in class, always forgetting to do homework, complained his mind was in chaos, school assemblies were torture for him. Yet, he was reading by 5, writing complete stories by 7, excelled in every subject area, would ace his tests, but couldn't do his homework or finish anything to completion. We eat a very good diet of mostly fresh food, very very few processed foods. All of my kids breastfed into toddlerhood.

One interesting thing he found out this year, he concentrates better while doing his home work (or anything for that matter) if he's listening to techno music. Something about it helps him focus better, probably similar to the way the stimulant in the meds calm his brain. I don't have a problem with giving him medication if it helps him, I am also on medication that helps my moods, we're just wired differently from others. Women like me were given Valium 40 years ago. Although we do not go to the doctor for every little sniffle, we are both glad for the chance to live normal lives because of medication.

I have a suggestion for you! I usually do not suggest a diagnosis to anyone, but this is jumping out at me. There is a condition called Non Verbal Learning Disablity that manafests with some ADHD like symptoms and a math disablity, but high or average achievement levels elsewhere. These kids also have trouble reading some social cues, non verbal langague, akin to some of the social disfunction assoicated with ASD's, but not fitting that criteria fully and without many of the assoicated issues.

If you have never taken your daughter to see a neurophsycohogist, you might want to give that a try, and see if she fits this category. It may help you to find more therapy that will be helpful. At school, you will need to stick with ADHD and a math learning disability (NVLD does not fit into the IDEA diagnositc categories.)

Strattera is helpful for many kids. What you found is typical too, all the treatments that are out of the standard of care just do not help. Try some theraputic interventions, like a social skills class and some speech and langague therapy, as well as cognative behavioral therapy to see if you can get her some help with the non verbal language skills.

M.

Hello fellow mother of an ADD kid!

My almost seven-year old daughter has the ADHD without the "H". It sounds like your daughter has this as well. My daughter takes Metadate, 10 CR mg. It has made a complete difference in her ability to focus and follow directions and just basically organize herself socially and in terms of her learning.

I had ADHD when I was a kid. I was on Ritalin. I had to go to the nurse's office during my morning classtime and then go back to class after taking my medication. As I recall, I definitely felt the difference before and after taking the medication. Kids were not so nice back then (I am 45). Having our daughter take her medication during breakfast is a great idea. Anyhow, as an ADHD kid, I could well recognize the symptoms and did not hesitate for one moment to have my daughter take medication. An untreated ADHD kid can pretty much be guaranteed a social life filled with loneliness and misery.

Anyhoo, your daughter has a terrific ally in you.

Good luck Mama!

E.

Find the book "a mind at a time" and books regarding ADD and ADHD - learning about this "disorder" is a huge help.. Kids with these disorders are often very bright. and I really don't think it should be thought of as a DISorder - but a DIForder - it's just a different way their brain is wired. She may have a learning disability with math - it's not uncommon to see learning disability and ADD / ADHD go hand in hand. My son has ADD (used to be ADHD when he was younger - he's now 11) and has great difficulty with language based skills (reading, writing, decoding). He's had special educational help for it and it's been wonderful. Find your child's strengths and encourage her - tell her how proud you are of her acheievements and that everyone has thigns that they are really good at - and things that they're not great at - that's how we're made. Set expectations that are appropriate for her to achieve and communicate with her - telling her that you know she can achieve these things and that you'll work together. Many highly succssful adults I know clearly have ADD - they are the creative thinkers who come up with inventions, new ideas, they are the people who end up being the highest sales people in their company, etc. It's all about channeling their energy. Medication helps but be cautious about the dosage. I try to be very conservative in keeping my son's dosage as low as possible so he doesn't feel anxious.
I think that one day when our kids are adults we'll find that their ADD was something of a gift. Like anything else - we are faced with hurdles in life and we can work around them or allow them to stop us or slow us down. Your daughter needs to know this is not a tradegy but it's just part of how her minds works. She's never be one of those people who organizes other people's homes for a living - she'll need to hire those kind of people to organize her home one day - but with her out-of-the-box kind of thinking she'll have the resources to afford it!

Your sweetheart is either ADHD-i (inattentive... it means that she's hyperactive *mentally* not physically) or ADHD-c (combined, hyperactive mentally and physically).

The vast majority of girls don't get dx'd until 5th or 6th grade. I was dx'd (I'm adhd-c) in the 5th when I was 11. 20 years ago. It's a great gift, but you're dead in the black... standard things do NOT work with adhd kids. It's like telling a diabetic to just "get over it".

VERY GOOD move on not retaining her. NOTHING is worse than boredom for adhd kiddos. I'd lay down serious money, that if you'd retained her, her grades would have dropped from A's and B's in all her subjects except math, to C's & D's.

My son is also adhd, but as I am as well, it's a lot easier on me I suspect than it was on my mum. <laughing> Although, I will say, PARENTING adhd and BEING adhd are two totally different ball games.

Do check out this site:

www.additudemag.com

K. - Melillo's book Disconnected Kids may give you of a few different ideas to try. Brain Balance in Plano is a franchise based on Melillo's work. The testing they do is helpful and they also recommend doing the metametrix TRIAD test to help to see nutritionally what is happening with the child. My son is autistic and in the program for the second time. He showed improvements with the first session. The target audience is ADHD and dyslexic kids.

See if you can get her into the Special Education program at her school. They should have some things in place for ADHD, which should include some social skills training, which will help her to better understand those social signals your talking about. It will also get her more help in the areas she needs. Sometimes this can be as simple as more time to take tests, or testing in a different environment (like in a quiet room away from distracting students, etc).

My daughters are very small, but my sisters are ADHD and a friend's daughter is ADHD. When my sisters' were diagnosed there wasn't much to do for them, and at that time Sp. ED was only for children with a lot of issues. But I've watched my friend's daughter improve dramatically with medication and with the services special education now offers. I'm also working towards a degree in elementary education, so I've through my courses I've seen some of the services schools offer.

What services each child receives is based on the needs of that child, so it's worth it to inquire and see if they can help.

Kathy,

I have a very good frien whos son went through so much due to ADD/ADHD. The side effect of medication made him loose wt and other related issues, she put him on a nutritional supplements for kids with brain food such as Omega 3, she saw a night and day difference. Now he is an excllent students, enjoys sport activities and off all meds with his Doctor approval.

Let me know if you are interested and I will share more information and introduce to other moms who can share thier kids resaults.

Best Wishes.

I have about 10 friends who have solved this problem through nutritional supplementation. This takes between one and three months, but they have such happy children now! Many of them are teachers experienced with the type of learning issues your child is experiencing. You tried diet changes, but because our food is so depleted of nutrients these days, there's not enough in it (even if you eat organically) to make a difference. There are particular ingredients necessary to establish brain focus but you can't do it by mixing & matching supplements on your own. You have to get one comprehensive, balanced, bioavailable product made for kids. It must be powder that you mix in liquid. Not a premixed liquid, not a pill.

Are the teachers all teaching math the same way? The reason I ask is my daughter who has ADD, and I really struggled with math. When I was in college in my 30s, I found out the answer to my problem and hers. There are different learning styles. If the teachers are all using one style, and your daughter can only learn using a different style, that could be part of the problem. I would suggest doing some research on this. I found a friend that was very good in math and he sat down with my daughter and asked how her teacher explained her assignment to the class. Then, he explained it to her in a different way. You could just see her face light up, it finally made sense to her. It puts a lot more work on the parents, but it might be worth looking into this. If you find out this is part of the problem, you could meet with her teachers and explain this and most teachers are willing to work with kids to make sure they succeed.
If you would like to chat with me more about this, please send me an email and I'd be happy to try to help you more.

rdiconnect.com is a great website with lots of resources. It can give you lots of support and direction for working with your daughter beyond what the Straterra is helping with. (am NOT NOT NOT suggesting to stop the meds, but add to the help)

You might look into QEEG-guided neurotherapy (also called brain-mapping and brain-training). It might confirm she's on the right medication or suggest a different medication might work better. The brain-training (usually twice a week therapy to speed up or slow down specific areas of the brain which are operating significantly outside the "average" range for her age and gender) might reduce her struggles. My ADHD/dyslexic son has done 3 series of neurotherapy, and we've seen improvement. It's not a magic bullet or a quick fix, (those don't exist!) but it helps. The therapy has been used for 20+ years to treat stroke and epilepsy patients. It's safe, non-invasive, and not painful. It has only been applied to learning issues within the last 5 years or so as research databases to which your child's map can be compared have grown.

Lots of learning different kids have to learn social skills directly from a teacher and books, because they don't get it intuitively. My kids go to Shelton where social skills is an official part of the curriculum. You can learn to read body language even if you don't do it instinctively or easily. A social skills group could be a huge help.

Good luck.

My daughter was diagnosed ADHD at age two and a half. She was on meds for 4 years. At age 6, we took her to an optometrist specializing in Vision Therapy and pulled her off the meds. After the therapy, she was a normal kid. Today she credits that therapy with saving her life. Oh, and she has no memories of the 4 years she was on the meds. That's our story.

My adhd daughter wasn't diagnosed until she was 13, after 2 years of really struggling under the workload of middle school. We tried nutritional supplements and behavioral therapy, first before deciding to try medication. Because of her age, she was put on Vyvanse, which works well for adolescents. She is a different child on meds (in a great way!), confident in school and in social settings.
We are a homeschooling family, so I see all of the struggles first hand.
Maybe switching medications will bring more positive results. I was told by her doctor that lots of kids have to switch medications after beginning puberty, because what worked for younger kids, makes older kids feel "drugged" or just doesn't bring about the best results.