ADHD......how we handle it.....

aubs1

In another thread there were some references to ADHD, so I thought I'd just share this with some of you who are parents and have a child diagnosed with ADHD......

My son, Eli, was diagnosed at age 6. We knew before that that he was hyper-active, but thought, ok, he's just a very active kid! However, when he started school, the signs became more clear, he would write his name up-side down, (no he's not dyslexic) and would do all sorts of stuff to drive his teacher nuts! Not complete his work, can't sit still for more than 10 minutes, gets bored quick, and a host of other stuff. But we did notice that he was quite intelligent, never stops asking questions, difficult stuff, even his teacher said to us one day..."this child has an amazing vocabulary for his age"....geez, that made us feel good.....etc etc etc......

We tried homeopathic medication, which helped calm him down, but still his concentration span was lacking.......we did research for months, internet, specialists, GPs and especially people who had kids who were ADHD. We got him to play soccer, cricket, tennis and his favourite summer sport, swimming, (he can swim for hours) which all helped a bit....... so, eventually we settled on (with the guidance of his paediatrician) Ritatlin, first small doses, and then finally LA once a day......ONLY FOR SCHOOL.....no weekends, no holidays, etc......within the first 2 weeks you would not believe it was the same kid......handwriting improved, it was like night and day......he is now a 95%er at school, and NO side-effects, (we watched specifically for depression, nothing).......

That's also one of the main reasons I bought him the (Taylor) guitar, so he can do something a bit more calming than just sport......he is slowly getting into more music, which also seems to help. Well, just like I said, we are slowly weaning him off the drug by skipping a day here, and a day there, and so far, he's just super, but still asks 10,000 questions a day....hahahaha ?

Heath

i am a ADHD child , my parents never believed it , said the doctors were trying to make money and so forth . in my 20's i sort professional help and tried a few of the drugs , didn't like what they did with me . after seeing a shrink and some soul searching of my own i finally understood what it was all about and how to handle it. basically if something bores me , i will not pay attention to it , if it's something i am interested in i can sit the whole day doing it . the trick is to find what they good at and let them run with and not to push them to much , adhd people don't like confortation.

AlanRatcliffe

aubs1 wrote ......handwriting improved

Is bad handwriting an indicator? I have to print block caps all the time as even I can't read my cursive (all my letters are at different angles).

I can remember reading books upside down at school, but not writing. Actually even that was more to prove the point that they were giving me readers that I'd read years before in Britain (I'd started school at four and had read The Hobbit by six and when I came to SA at nine they put me in standard one and gave me The Gingerbread Man as a reader - I was pissed).

Bob-Dubery

Alan Ratcliffe wrote Is bad handwriting an indicator? I have to print block caps all the time as even I can't read my cursive (all my letters are at different angles).

I have that problem with handwriting. Unless I write real slow and deliberately another person isn't going to read my cursive hand writing.

I can remember reading books upside down at school, but not writing. Actually even that was more to prove the point that they were giving me readers that I'd read years before in Britain (I'd started school at four and had read The Hobbit by six and when I came to SA at nine they put me in standard one and gave me The Gingerbread Man as a reader - I was pissed).

I started school in SA aged 14. I was quite struck by how different the education systems and standards were. In terms of Maths the kids in SA were way ahead of what I was used to from school in England. When it came to reading and comprehension it was the other way around. So I think what you're describing (and what I experienced) may be attributable to different emphasis in the two systems.

aubs1

Alan Ratcliffe wrote
aubs1 wrote ......handwriting improved
Is bad handwriting an indicator?

No.....what I should have said is that Eli wrote without spaces, comas and full-stops...and yes his letters were high, low, and everything in between, over the lines, under the lines, etc, it was a complete musch.......know what I mean?

Tailon. wrote basically if something bores me , i will not pay attention to it , if it's something i am interested in i can sit the whole day doing it . the trick is to find what they good at and let them run with and not to push them to much , adhd people don't like confortation.

That's exactly how Eli was, but the Ritalin does help, also why we let him into as much activities as possible to keep him from getting bored.....

Neps

Alan Ratcliffe wrote
Is bad handwriting an indicator? I have to print block caps all the time as even I can't read my cursive (all my letters are at different angles).

I can become a doctor with my handwriting!! I do have OCD though.. Mild, but it's there. A friend of mine is ADHD, and has to take medication for it (we're all in our mid to late 20's). At first when he sometimes forgot to take his medication, we'll think he's high on coffee, about 3 months later we realized whats up, and started phoning him up to remind him.

It seems all my mates either have a slight case of OCD or ADHD.. But then again, we're all creatives, so that explains it quite simply. I just think at one stage doctors were prescribing Rittalin too quickly. And teachers aren't really equipped that well to have kids in their class who are a bit 'disruptive.'

Just a bit OffTopic but actually OnTopic.. I was reading a pamphlet at the doctors today.. Sign's that you are loosing your hearing..
* Do people often tell you you're speaking too loud?
* Does everyone seem to be mumbling?
* Do you often ask people to repeat words?
* Have you been misunderstanding what people are saying?
* Do you have trouble hearing in crowded or noisy places, such as a busy restaurant?
* Do you tend to prefer one ear over the other when listening?
* Are you watching a person's lips or face closely as they're speaking to you?
* Are you turning up the TV, stereo, or radio louder than you used to?
* Do others complain that you've turned up the TV, stereo, or radio too loud?
* Do you have trouble hearing what people are saying on the phone?
* Are you straining to hear things?
* Do you find very low and very high sounds harder to hear?
* Have you been less social lately?
* Can you hear buzzing or ringing in your ears?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, talk to your doctor about having your hearing tested. Getting help early can help you reduce your risk of some types of hearing damage and cope with the damage that has already happened.

I answered yes to quite a few of those.. But my hearing is fine.. haha, reason being: 'Less Social' MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, 'TV too Loud', I didnt spend so much money on an entertainment system to just turn it to 5.. it goes to 11 for pete sake!!; 'ask people to repeat words', it's cause I don't pay attention in the 1st place when they speak; 'misunderstanding what people are saying', well, I'm Afrikaans, so english is a challange sometimes, my sarcasm doesn't always allow me to understand people correctly..

The only reason I brought this up was that some people tend to be 'house' doctors, and then decide 'this is whats wrong' instead of actually going to a quilified person IN that field to have it checked out..

Aubs.. I think the guitar thing with your son is going to work brilliantly!! It's a 'difficult' hobby, so it keeps you on your toes, and 2, it's very stimulating and exhilirating when you get that riff down you've been practicing for ages!

nick

Tailon. wrote basically if something bores me , i will not pay attention to it , if it's something i am interested in i can sit the whole day doing it . the trick is to find what they good at and let them run with and not to push them to much , adhd people don't like confortation.

Im EXACTLY the same. Last night I was working on a problem on a friends car, at 12:15am I realised I hadnt had supper yet and I should go sleep. If it doesnt interest me in the least I wont even pay 2 minutes of attention to it. Its annoying and Im aware of it but weirdly it has helped me quite a bit in life. Think my kid is the same as me fortnately or unfortunately.

[deleted]

I am by no means ADHD and am not even slightly educated on the matter, so take this from where it comes. I've heard from someone that is ADHD(or says she is) that we all have a specific learning style that our brain favours, ie. some of us like to learn by example, some by experimenting, some like facts, some are more creative (I'm oversimplifying obviously). Apparently the teaching methods used in schools favour learning facts and not for instance by example.

The school environment is not very condusive to learning for some people is the point I'm getting at. My own opinion is that the subject matter taught is often secondary to teaching children how to be taught. It brings to mind an incident in junior school when I was tied to my chair because I was getting up too often to get more maths cards to do. The fact that I was getting more work was irrelvant because I was supposed to be sitting still and working.

DonovanB

My teachers thought I was autistic. When they told my dad to get me tested he told them to sod off. I went through school not really paying much attention but I had a good group of friends and a surname beginning with a B which meant I was usually in front of the class. After school I looked back and everythign was a blur, like I went through my whole 18 years not knowing, I was just exisiting. It was the saddest realisation of my life and I am very thankful that with blessings (or dumb luck) i had the right friends and people around me to not get into trouble.

One thing about people who don't (can't) pay attention is to make them feel like you are giving them special attention, like sitting in front of the class, and they will probably pay attention.

Also pay attention to diet, there are certain food additives that cause hyperactivity and even one that works against Asthma medication.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TBHQ
http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v35je03.htm
http://www.healthyeatingadvisor.com/food-additives.html
http://altmedangel.com/additive.htm

I've had this discussion a few times (no i'm not a scientologist) but I actually don't believe in ADD or ADHD. Maybe I should educate myself on it more and I am lucky to have seen no signs in my 3 year old of it.

I do agree with Tailon although it may sound harsh.

I still feel that no matter what a parent chooses they are doing their best for the child.

Just watch for other side effects Aubs, my cousin was in high school and used to burst into tears in the middle of the day. Thats not very cool for a teenage boy. I think the guitar was the best move because (from my experience) it is a therapy that nobody can give or take away from you and it helped me to focus quite a lot and as such my job prospects improved and I became my own person.

I'll stop now. I have some intense theories on this and most psychological problems in fact, you'll all get sick of me soon... I'm a hippie

Neps wrote some people tend to be 'house' doctors, and then decide 'this is whats wrong' instead of actually going to a quilified person IN that field to have it checked out..

I don't always trust a professional. One doc said my old man had high blood pressure, 3 months later he died because of massive tumours in his brain. a second opinion from a professional also goes a long way.

Bob-Dubery

Viccy wrote The school environment is not very condusive to learning for some people is the point I'm getting at. My own opinion is that the subject matter taught is often secondary to teaching children how to be taught. It brings to mind an incident in junior school when I was tied to my chair because I was getting up too often to get more maths cards to do. The fact that I was getting more work was irrelvant because I was supposed to be sitting still and working.

One's school environment is also dependent upon the teachers one gets.

I was crap at maths all through school right up until my matric year. I got put in a special class - we were supposed to get just enough rudimentary maths, drummed parrot fashion into our heads, to give us a scrape at passing the matric maths exam.

We got a new teacher - I think it was her first full-time teaching assignment. I wish I could remember her name. What I will never forget was that first lesson. She started talking, picked up a piece of chalk and it was like something out of a Walt Disney movie. Those numbers came to life and danced across that blackboard.

I was spell bound.

At the end of the year I got a distinction for maths.

Bob-Dubery

I'd recommend Timothy Hallowell's book Driven To Distraction to anybody who thinks they have ADD, thinks a family member may have ADD or has questions about ADD.

It is a real thing. It does not mean that the person with ADD is a "dummy" or "mental". It's a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Hallowell addresses the issue of ADD being incorrectly diagnosed and over diagnosed and thus ritalin being inappropriately prescribed. He has an interesting section in the book about conditions, common in modern life, that can mimic ADD but are not ADD.

Neps

Bob Dubery wrote
We got a new teacher - I think it was her first full-time teaching assignment. I wish I could remember her name. What I will never forget was that first lesson. She started talking, picked up a piece of chalk and it was like something out of a Walt Disney movie. Those numbers came to life and danced across that blackboard.

I was spell bound.

At the end of the year I got a distinction for maths.

Bob, I think it might have been more a case of 'she's hot, and I'm allowed to look at her the WHOLE time' ?
I understand totally where you're coming from with this one.. My maths and science teacher in st.9 was the one who told me 'you can actually do Higher Grade Maths' and made me follow through with it.. (and I nailed it ? ) My accounting teacher looked at me and said 'you should have taken wood work', and he was right.. I barely made HG in my finals

AlanRatcliffe

Some interesting stuff at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_attention-deficit_disorder

I've always thought that things could not hold my attention because I mastered them quickly and then got bored. After all, ADHD is a "learning disability" and that's not something I've ever had a problem doing. Now I'm seriously wondering - many of the symptoms described fit me perfectly. But on the other hand, there are some that do not. I'm also aware that we all get a bit of the hypochondriac about us when reading symptoms on line, so I'm wary of that. I suppose it's time to speak to an expert and find out for certain.

@ Bob - The difference in the education systems make sense - I also struggled with math my whole school career (but now have no problem following some of the math in quantum physics). But reading I was always pretty advanced, even by British standards. Strange as it may sound, I just had a "knack" for reading, it's always been easy for me and until I discovered guitar, was my addiction (more than a book a day as in my early teens).

Bob-Dubery

Neps wrote Bob, I think it might have been more a case of 'she's hot, and I'm allowed to look at her the WHOLE time' ?

I feel sullied by your lewd suggestion. Go and take a cold shower.

Neps wrote I understand totally where you're coming from with this one.. My maths and science teacher in st.9 was the one who told me 'you can actually do Higher Grade Maths' and made me follow through with it.. (and I nailed it ? ) My accounting teacher looked at me and said 'you should have taken wood work', and he was right.. I barely made HG in my finals

Some prophecies are self-fulfilling. In the first year of my IT studies (at what was then Wits Technikon) we got a new lecturer at the start of the 2nd term. He came in with our papers and seperated them into two piles. He said "I'm going to call your names out paper by paper. If your paper comes off the pile on my right then stick around, you can do this. If your paper comes off of the other pile then it's your time and money but I'm telling you you have no chance of passing at the end of the year."

He was right, of course, but I do wonder how many people failed at year end or just gave up at half year because of a negative suggestion planted in their minds.

The system wasn't a good one. Some of the lecturers were not up to scratch (this was in the mid 80s). I recall one subject we had which revolved around various electronic circuits. I knew a lot of this stuff because of the job I was doing at the time (I studied at night school). So the lecturer is telling us all about the "J-K flipflop", which I knew inside out (then, can't remember it now). He yakked and yakked and I'm sitting in the class thinking "come on... get to the point." He didn't. Eventually I figured that he didn't understand the thing. Now I'm OK if we get this in the exams, but what about the rest of the class?

So I stuck my hand up and said "that's not how it works." He got sarcastic and offered me the chalk. I took it and finished his lecture for him.

First lecture of the next term we have a new lecturer. This one starts explaining the "set-reset latch". Half way through she says "which one of you is Mr Dubery?". I say "that'll be me." She says "Is this OK?". I say "very good, please carry on."

Reinhard

Neps wrote
Alan Ratcliffe wrote
Is bad handwriting an indicator? I have to print block caps all the time as even I can't read my cursive (all my letters are at different angles).

I can become a doctor with my handwriting!! I do have OCD though.. Mild, but it's there. A friend of mine is ADHD, and has to take medication for it (we're all in our mid to late 20's). At first when he sometimes forgot to take his medication, we'll think he's high on coffee, about 3 months later we realized whats up, and started phoning him up to remind him.

It seems all my mates either have a slight case of OCD or ADHD.. But then again, we're all creatives, so that explains it quite simply. I just think at one stage doctors were prescribing Rittalin too quickly. And teachers aren't really equipped that well to have kids in their class who are a bit 'disruptive.'

OCD here too. Never diagnosed by a Dr, but the Symptoms are spot on. It used to be much worse when I was kid. You do these strange things, but you don't know why, you are just compelled to do it and you wonder what's wrong with you. It's better these days, but occasionally it still "flares"up. I remember watching a talk show and the one guest started describing his symptoms, and it hit me, that's exactly what I have been experiencing. It was one of those light bulb moments, you feel a hell of a lot better if you know whats wrong with you. It's more or less under control now without using medication. I actually found it would be worse for a day or 2 after binge drinking.

I wish you all the best aubs1, I am sure your son will really enjoy the guitar ?

aubs1

Bob Dubery wrote I'd recommend Timothy Hallowell's book Driven To Distraction to anybody who thinks they have ADD, thinks a family member may have ADD or has questions about ADD.

It is a real thing. It does not mean that the person with ADD is a "dummy" or "mental". It's a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Hallowell addresses the issue of ADD being incorrectly diagnosed and over diagnosed and thus ritalin being inappropriately prescribed. He has an interesting section in the book about conditions, common in modern life, that can mimic ADD but are not ADD.

I'll do my best to get my hands on the book, Bob. If you read up on 1000 articles on professional peoples' opinions and conclusions on Ritalin, you will have almost a 50/50 for and against, with valid arguments on both sides. We had no option, we had to give it a bash ourselves, and so far, it works......

Bob-Dubery

aubs1 wrote
I'll do my best to get my hands on the book, Bob. If you read up on 1000 articles on professional peoples' opinions and conclusions on Ritalin, you will have almost a 50/50 for and against, with valid arguments on both sides. We had no option, we had to give it a bash ourselves, and so far, it works......

I was not dissing Ritalin. It can make a very positive difference to people's lives.

aubs1

Reinhard wrote I wish you all the best aubs1, I am sure your son will really enjoy the guitar ?

Thanx, Reinhard, he sure does, gets distracted now and then, but there's no rush, he's not gonna be a Rockstar in the next few years........the main thing, he's a very happy and healthy boy...... ?

Bob Dubery wrote I was not dissing Ritalin. It can make a very positive difference to people's lives.

Sorry Bob, was'nt supposed to read that way, I'm a photographer remember, everything has to have pictures.......I just mentioned in general.... ? ?

Reinhard

aubs1 wrote
Reinhard wrote I wish you all the best aubs1, I am sure your son will really enjoy the guitar ?
Thanx, Reinhard, he sure does, gets distracted now and then, but there's no rush, he's not gonna be a Rockstar in the next few years........the main thing, he's a very happy and healthy boy...... ?

That's all that matters, and starting on a quality instrument will only help him develop his skill!

Bob-Dubery

aubs1 wrote
Bob Dubery wrote I was not dissing Ritalin. It can make a very positive difference to people's lives.
Sorry Bob, was'nt supposed to read that way, I'm a photographer remember, everything has to have pictures.......I just mentioned in general.... ? ?

No problemo ?.

Hallowell doesn't dismiss Ritalin either.