Need some advice about ADHD/ADD

[JenVi]

I though maybe I could get some advice from you ladies here. My son is in Kindergarten this year and academically he is doing wonderful behavior wise not so good. He takes a long time to get started on his work in the morning, he gets off task very easily, he is constantly touching other kids and poking at them. The teacher said it is to the point now when they sit on the carpet when he sits down next to kids sometimes they get up and move because he will be screwing around. We have tried everything taking his favorite things away, praising him when things are good and nothing seems to work. We have changed his diet to eliminate high fructose corn syrup and that seems to have helped a bit but not enough. I have him on Omega 3 vitamins also. We haven't had him tested yet but being that my step sons and DH are ADD he has a good chance of it. We did go to the pediatrician about a month ago and she gave me papers to fill out and papers to have the teacher fill out. We haven't done them yet because we wanted to see if the diet change would help. I am very leary about putting him on medication but not sure what other options I have at this point. I don't want him to not have any friends in school.

Any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Jen

[deeann7]

Blood tests were not helpful, but hair tests showed me that they were all low in calcium and especially magnesium. No wonder they craved chocolate. (There is more magnesium in chocolate than any other food on earth.)
Read more here
Non-Drug Treatment of ADD/ADHD
Non-Drug Treatment of ADD/ADHD (Part 1)

[Mama Stu]

I know this sounds crazy, but have you tried 8oz of Mt. Dew first thing in the morning. Research it. There has been success with this in treating ADHD children. One of my grandsons is ADHD and he is on medication(which I don't like) but there is a significant change in his behavior. His mom tried the Mt. Dew for awhile and it did actually work. She was not very consistent with it though. The medications they give the kids are actually amphetamines and have the opposite affect on kids with ADHD. I think it must be the same with the caffeine and sugar in the Mt. Dew. But, you have to be consistent and only give him the 4 or 8 oz.s, I can't remember now for sure which it is. Anyway, I hope that helps. I also sometimes think the schools want all of the children to be quiet little robots and not normal children IMHO

[bethanyam]

As the previous poster says caffeine can have the opposite effect. I know a friends son (in 6th grade now) drinks 1 cup of strong black coffee every morning. It works and has helped tremendously. My son is ADD. He wasn't doing the hyper thing. He would sit in his seat and do nothing. he couldn't concentrate enough to write 10 spelling words. I did medicate him as a last straw (about 8 years ago) he was on medication only during the school year, I took him off during the summers. Another part of his trouble was learning to control his emotions. He would CRY over EVERYTHING. Once he hit puberty he's pretty much grown out of it, but the medication help him concentrate, control his emotions, and made him enjoy his life better, so for me it was the answer I needed, but if I'd know about the coffee/mtn dew/caffeine idea, I would have tried it in a heartbeat.

[CW&M Mom]

You may want to work on taking out artificial dyes as well to his diet...some have good success with that.

In my daughters class last year...they specifically with a couple of boys assigned where they sat (which meant away from everyone) and actually put there desks far away from everyone and turned them the opposite direction...to help curb the attention issues.

[c-treen]

Even if you are not looking to medicate him that official diagnosis can be very helpful. With that he will qualify for adaptations in class -- say extra time to do certain tasks, being able to stand at his desk and work instead of sitting. Some kids can still do the work while standing and leaning over their desk or table but can not sit.

[lbrown1618]

I have heard alot of great things about parents (who didn't do meds for whatever their reasons were) doing coffee/caffeine in the morning and being very happy with it. But we don't drink coffee...and we have a no-pop rule in our house for the kids. So we tried to avoid that (but were open to it if need be).

Also, Stimulants don't work with all kids.

My DD is 7 now and was dx ADHD last yr in 1st gr. She was also dx as having anxiety too. We tried 3 diff drugs that didn't work for her...they were all stimulants - AND they made her otherwise quiet tics much worse. After research this yr we decided to try Strattera. Its not a stimulant and has no effect on tics and is common for kids that also have anxiety. She has been on it for 2 wks this past Monday. It is supposed to take 4 wks to build up in their system to see results. I have already noticed how much calmer she is and her teacher commented Friday that she seemed to be doing better.

So I think this was the winner for us. She also sees a psych every 2 wks.

Also, try to met with the school. Ours has a "student assistance team". Its the social worker, physchologist, principal, teacher, and some other person. That was a VERY helpful meeting. We found out about some options in class for the teacher to try. Since we have an official diagnoses, she qualifies for an IEP (individualized educ plan). Which means taking her out of class for help (not special ed), or seeing the physch in school, etc. But so far the stuff they are doing doesn't fall under that. So I don't see any reason you wouldn't be able to meet with your school's "people' and see what they can do. The diagnoses just means they HAVE TO...they can still help becasue they WANT TO. I would say if the teacher is getting frustrated, they would be open to this.

Anyway, some of the things they are doing is they have little dividers to put on the desks to seperate the kids, silent timers so they can see how much time is left for their task. My DD works well with a schedule...so the teacher made her a daily tasks list...DD can go thru and check off whats done and see what she has to do. It helps her focus and stay on task. I'm sure they is a ton more....I would never have thought of the things they DID tell us about. :-)

Good Luck!

[bunnynugget305]

I have a feeling that this is going to be a looong post. so I am going to take just a moment to stretch my fingers and take a deep breath. Ok, now I am ready.

I personally have ADD. I was diagnosed when I was in 4th grade. I remember struggling through 3rd grade. Me and my mom tried everything. We both went down to my school very often, and talked with my teacher. We even tried giving me a watch so that I could time myself. Like "ok, in 5 minutes I want to get through 10 problems". That didnt help. I would come home with just mountains and mountains of homework. It would take me all night just to do it. Then when I started 4th grade, I started to take Ritalin for my ADD. If you do not know, that is the name brand ADD medication. (I am guessing that you already knew that!) I would take it in the morning and then after lunch. The dramatic change was sooo evident. I used to not be able to focus, but all of a sudden, I was able just to sit down and do my homework! That was all fine until I started High School. During elementary and middle school I never ever had homework (because I could get it all done in class). Well, the same did not apply to high school. I remember starting high school with the same attitude that I had had in middle school. I just figured that I would never have homework, and I would be able to finish it in class. Boy was I wrong!! And when I did have homework, I would take it home and tell myself "I will do it." but I was never focussed enough to do it. I would sit infront of the TV all night. Then I would cry because I had not done my homework, even though I had wanted to. We fixed that problem by giving my a small dose of Ritalin when I got home from school. And once again, I was able to do my homework.

Next, I just kind of want to put you 'in the mind' of someone with ADD or ADHD. A lot of people just assume that those kids who have it are bouncing of the wall, wild children. Well in some cases there are. But in my case, I do not bounce off the wall.<odd statement) A good way of putting it is, have you ever felt depressed? Have you ever just wanted to get up and go do something, but you can't? Have you ever felt like you get up and go, got up and left? Well that is exactly what I feel like. I wanted to go and do my homework but I couldnt. It is hard to explain, but basically I just couldn't get up and do it. Not that I was physically unable to do it. More that I was mentally unable to do it. It is sooo fustrating. Like lets say this weekend you wanted to go and for example clean the gutters or organize your closet. whatever. And you were at home, and you had the time to do it, but you couldnt do it. You would walk into the room and start here or there, but you couldnt get motivated to just get it done. That is kinda what it is like.

My personal belief is that ALL children with ADD or ADHD should be on medication. I know that a lot of people are very anti drug, or dont want to give it to their kids because of some personal reason. I however, think that the best thing to do is give them the medication. When I was younger I did go to a phyciatrist, and that also helped. It is very hard for people who do not have this physical limitation to fully comprehend why this person cannot just sit down and do what they are told. And it is really hard for me to explain as well. For me its like, if you have a headache why not take asprin/tylonol/aleve? Why if you cant focuss would you not take medication that could help.

I would also like to point out breifly that I am not a doctor. This is my personal oppinion. I do not care if you do not agree with it. I am going to continue taking my medicine!

As for your child, the key is patience and love. lots and lots of love. As hard as it is for you it is just as hard for him. Most likely he does not want to do the things that he does. He can simply not control the behavior. With time, he will most likely grow out of the poking and hitting phase. He will probably not grow out of the hyper phase till he gets older. But he will not outgrow the incredible dificluties that come with ADD or ADHD.

I hope that something that I said helped. And maybe it gave you a fresh prospective of what he is going through. I wish both you and him the best of luck!

<I will get off now!

[tmsmalley]

Go get him tested! There are lots of options and medications are only one. If medications are the right choice for him, they're worth trying. I don't know why people get so hung up on medication for ADD/ADHD. You wouldn't try and treat high blood pressure or diabetes or a heart defect without medication. This is the same kind of thing. First, find out what you're dealing with, then work WITH the doctors. Usually that means a combo of behavioral and diet changes and SOMETIMES medication.

Tess

[Kelly Long]

My son was diagnosed with ADD in 3rd grade, he is now a freshman in college. For the first year and a half I tried to do everything natural and do the tutors, extra time on homework, anything you could think of but is was killing the whole family. It would take him 2 hours to do 30 minutes of homework. I finally broke down and got the medication, they put him on Adderall. It worked great and I was so mad at myself for putting us both through it. I just really had to know I did everything I could first before we went that route. He's doing beautifully today and went off medication in the 10th grade. He's making straight A's in college. Just do what you think is right for your child when you are ready. Some people are ready to try the medication 1st thing, I just wasn't. There is no right or wrong because every child is different. Keep praying and it will work itself out. :)