Shhhhhh I can hear myself think Plus ADD/ADHD
Ohh the title really says it all!
Yesterday Dustin went back to school! So twice a week I am alone for 3 hours. The dogs are sleeping and it is so peaceful here. There are no cartoons in the background and no one asking me to get off the computer! Oh but I know later on everyone will be back home and I will look forward to next Monday.
On another note I have spent most of the morning reading about ADD/ADHD. My daughter has been going to a counselor, for her behavior. This is the same daughter that has Ehlers-Danlos. I am thinking that her behavior trouble started when she was 3 and over the years it has gotten so bad. At school the only complaints they have is that she is a daydreamer and just don't want to try at her school work. Here at home wow she's a handful! She is not hyper very moody. The school, her doctor and the counselor all have blamed her illness and the death of her dad. Every time they say that it makes me so mad. I know that her being sick and her dad being gone has to be tough on her, but I always tell them Chloe was 3 when her dad died and soon after we found out that she had EDS. If she was older when all this took place I too would have blamed both of those things, but as far has she can remember back the life she has now is all she's ever known. If anyone would come across this post and knows anything about ADD I would love your input. I would like to learn what it is like to live with a child that has ADD. I have asked for the testing to be done to see if it is ADD but they seem to be taking there good ole time about doing it, in the mean time my child suffers. In the 1st grade the school did the test on Chloe, and thought ADD but no one could tell me for sure. So here we are in the 4th grade now and nothing has been accomplished. Its so frustrating!
Yesterday Dustin went back to school! So twice a week I am alone for 3 hours. The dogs are sleeping and it is so peaceful here. There are no cartoons in the background and no one asking me to get off the computer! Oh but I know later on everyone will be back home and I will look forward to next Monday.
On another note I have spent most of the morning reading about ADD/ADHD. My daughter has been going to a counselor, for her behavior. This is the same daughter that has Ehlers-Danlos. I am thinking that her behavior trouble started when she was 3 and over the years it has gotten so bad. At school the only complaints they have is that she is a daydreamer and just don't want to try at her school work. Here at home wow she's a handful! She is not hyper very moody. The school, her doctor and the counselor all have blamed her illness and the death of her dad. Every time they say that it makes me so mad. I know that her being sick and her dad being gone has to be tough on her, but I always tell them Chloe was 3 when her dad died and soon after we found out that she had EDS. If she was older when all this took place I too would have blamed both of those things, but as far has she can remember back the life she has now is all she's ever known. If anyone would come across this post and knows anything about ADD I would love your input. I would like to learn what it is like to live with a child that has ADD. I have asked for the testing to be done to see if it is ADD but they seem to be taking there good ole time about doing it, in the mean time my child suffers. In the 1st grade the school did the test on Chloe, and thought ADD but no one could tell me for sure. So here we are in the 4th grade now and nothing has been accomplished. Its so frustrating!
posted by Crazy Momma at
6:51 AM
5 Comments:
My son has Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD). He wasn't diagnosed until 3rd grade, but I kept saying something was up. CAPD children are often told they aren't paying attention, so don't do their work really well. What in reality is happening is that they are paying attention, only they are not hearing everything. You can have perfect hearing, need a 3 hour hearing test that tests how you hear. It also affects how you learn. Was he moody? Oh, my, yes. Imagine hearing only 2 out of 3 words correctly,not understanding what it is you are doing wrong.
When he was tested in the 3rd grade they said his scores would go down because the teacher wouldn't be reading the(everyone's scores). I said I bet his would go up because he wasn't hearing the teacher say one thing and then reading another. They put him in the library at a table by himself. His scores increased dramatically. FOr example, his scores went from a 50 something in reading to a 94. Children are often misdiagnosed with ADHA-attention deficit because gee they must not be paying attention. This is just something to consider as you search for answers.
http://bluecottonmemory.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/faithful-indeed/
bluecottonmemory that is very interesting what you said. I plan on looking into that today. Thank you so much for letting me know about Central Auditory Processing Disorder
As a former elementary school principal, I am quite aware that attention difficulties are just the tip of the iceberg. ADHD children can't filter out distractions, finish tasks on-time, use their memory optimally, etc. A pill doesn't teach these skills.
My wife and I opted to use cognitive training for our son, Alex. We used Play Attention (www.playattention.com) and ADHD Nanny (www.adhdnanny.com). We've been very successful with these approaches. We also changed our parenting skills with great success.
It's just important to know that medicine teaches nothing. Parents and teachers must actively participate to help change a child's life.
As parents we need to remember that there's more to do than just medicating over the summer. I'm also aware that 1 - 4 months of academic achievement are lost over the summer by the average student. It was far worse than that for our son, Alex. Thus, we began the next year with a big deficit. Not anymore.
There is a website for ADD/ADHD at www.CHADD.org
Hope this helps.
Living with child with ADHD adds challenges, but it is hardly the worst thing in the world. I appreciate the comments about pills not teaching anything, but in my son't case without the pills we could not get him to a space where we could teach him those additional life skills. Our son is taking medication, for now, and is in counseling and we have been using playattention as well. My husband and I also attended a weekly workshop (6 weeks) over the summer on how to help our child succeed in life, even in every day tasks, despite his ADHD. But prior to medication, he could not even begin to hear his teachers. Within one hour of his first dose his teacher called me and was amazed. He had answered all his math questions first, and 100% accurately. This has continued. He is now in his classroom all day; prior to the meds he was in special ed one on one for three of his subjects. Two days per week he does not take the medication. We have seen no side effects but feel that it is a good idea to give his body a break. I fought off the idea of meds for 18 mos before agreeing. In counseling he learns mainly social coping skills. ADHD often has a strong social component. Our son's ADHD is the inattentive type, not hyperactive, so it has not been a matter of not sitting still. His body could be still...but his mind could not stop all sorts of things-images-daydreams- from entering it. One day last year he came home (at age 8!) and said he did not like himself. He could see that he was working hard and getting minimal good results. Oh it broke my heart. That's the day I called the counselor and the neuro and started meds and counseling the next week. Six months later he is a happy, healthy boy with daily symptoms of ADHD. Our goal is to stop the meds when the time is right. But I do wish people would not judge us for choosing to use medication. Every story, every case, is very very different. Some children cannot take the medications do to side effects, and some just do not do well on them. And for some families, medication is simply not their choice. I repect that.
Jo
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