ADD/ADHD Children HELP!!
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive May 2007:
ADD/ADHD Children HELP!!
It is me again! Timmy is having issues in school and we (school and parents) are at a loss as to what to do next. Back after the holidays (Christmas) were over we uped his meds I just knew it was time and that seem to work sortof but he is having such a hard time with focusing on things and just plain listening to directions. The teacher (thank god) is very patient and we talk a few times a week or more to discuss what is happening in class.
He is not grasping what is being told to him in the manner he should to even focus on the task at hand. For example the teacher today told Timmy "I need to see your spelling book" Timmy said "I didn't get my journal done yet." These are 2 separate types of projects and the teacher stopped him and said Timmy listen I need your spelling what part of that was about the journal and Timmy just kindof gave him a blank stare as to say what are you questioning me for?
At home there are times we have to repeat things 3-4x before they are done and I even make sure to have him repeat to me what has been told to him so I know he heard me but before he gets close to doing it he is side tracked and forgets.
He seems to think we are picking on him and we are so not but he is 9 yrs old and to me should be able to do things without being told 3-4x and as for school. They have a solid daily routine and after this many months he should know it by now.
the school counselor has talked to him several times and sees nothing wrong. He is smart and his grades are good and improving as the year goes on. He is not disturbing the class but not able to focus for him own well being.
Help ladies I am at a loss.
I am no expert by any means, but I wanted to ask, when you are asking him to do things is he in the middle of doing something else? And is the teacher having problems when he is concentrating on trying to do one specific thing, other than what he is being asked about? I know my youngest DD can even repeat directions but if she is in the middle of something she is really focused on, then she may not follow through with what she has been asked to do, especially if she is playing a game or watching tv. I literally have to make her get up and walk in another room with me and talk to her, then ask her to do whatever it is and have her repeat it. Just a suggestion, sometime it is like my dd can concentrate too hard on something and there is nothing else in the world that is going to come between her and whatever she is doing (reading a book or tv or video games especially).
Always remember that you are not alone and you are very lucky to have a patient teacher to work with you.
((((HUGS))))
No it is not that he is doing something else and is totally ingrosed into it. This is all of the time no matter what the situation. I have turned off the TV and given directions and it generally doesn't work. This is honestly just not grasping what we are telling him or totally ignoring us and I don't believe it is the 2nd.
Did he do this at all before you upped his dose? I have no real suggestions but I do know that my youngest started having problems with Concerta when we upped her dose, but when we changed to a different medication it stopped happening. Not the exact same kinds of problems, she was extremely defiant but she knew what she was doing wasn't right and would cry and apologize after and tell us that she didn't know why she acted that way. I have no clue if that could even possibly be the source of his problems but I thought I would share my experience.
Has you son ever been screened for auditory processing disorder? It's basically where your ears and your brain don't communicate well together. Your ears hear one thing and your brain just can't process what the ears are telling it to do. It often goes along with ADHD.
I feel for you. I just posted a vent and my son's adhd was part of it. I haven't spoken to the doctor or anything about changing meds. I just wanted to tell you you are not alone.
I would request a comprehensive speech and language assessment to make sure he doesn't have a receptive language problem based on what you have written.
Definitely look into it with a complete eval. Sounds more like something else is going on, a learning disability or something. My son is both ADHD and LD and what you are describing seems more like an LD issue.
I agree with Pam.
It sounds like, although you aren't intentionally picking on him, he is feeling the pressure, and it may be making him uncomfortable. He may be feeling that he is a failure because he is not living up to the expectations placed in front of him, either by you or by his teacher. He may be just as frustrated as you are.
Getting him evaluated can do him good just to know that he can get help and all is not lost. It also doesn't sound like upping his dosage is doing any good. Maybe it's not the best drug, as Tara suggested. Or maybe he could go off drugs altogether for a while and have another evaluation for ADD or ADHD. There are many ways to treat them that do not include drugs. (Myself, I can't stand the way they take the kids off one drug to put them on another and then another, and then fiddle with dosages. But that's just MHO. )
My son was given the TOVA test by the school counselor, which revealed that he hyper-concentrates, which honestly sounds to me just like what Timmy does at school, and then finds it hard to transition from one task to the next. Even though you turn off the TV and talk directly to him, his mind is still on what he was watching, not on your directions (especially if the show wasn't over yet!)
Tonya, I have no advice, just (((hugs))) My sister's son is going through something similar and I only know through her what you are going through. You have one advantage, your ds's teacher is very patient and willing to communicate, my sister has no cooperation with her son's teacher, guidance counselor, principal, or vice principal. She feels like she is sending him to the lion's den every morning, and he is only 6. Good luck, and whatever you do, know that parenting an ADHD child is, at times, not easy. You are doing the best you can. (((hugs)))
Sounds just like my son. I think I have written this same post a dozen times! I wish I could offer more advice but I really am not having much success myself. Just wanted to say I understand completely ((HUGS))
Could be the level of medication.. In some cases, some medications used to treat mental health (ADHD in Timmy's case) can cause brain fog. Has this always been an issue or is it something that has come up since the medication increase??? His body may not be tolerating his medication at the level it is being given.
DH has been on several that he ended up having issues with after increases. One that comes to mind, made him feel emotionally flat, like he was just going through the motions of life. Said he felt like he couldn't think for himself, couldn't make decisions. Example, he would know he was hungry but he could not decide what to eat.
He has had several that effected his concentration. One so bad he couldn't even watch the tv guide channel because it moved to fast. He would sit for hours with it on trying to figure out what was wrong with him and why he couldn't remember what he had just read..
He also couldn't read directions to put something together or on the back of a box to prepare packaged food. He would read them, understand them, step away knowing he was to do something with it and then have to go back and reread the directions.
Another issue, was remembering what he was told. At his job, with the kids and with me. He would remember that he was told to do something and he couldn't remember what he was to do. He would say, "I know you told me to do something but I can't remember what it was." or he would forget until I reminded him, even of simple things like Fridays are trash days. He would do things like, go out side to take the trash out. Just walking out of the house and he would forget why he was headed out there in the first place.
He tried to brush it off as age (making excuses) and I knew better.. So out of his character. I called and set up an appointment with his DR and I wrote down all the things I had been noticing and I talked to the DR.
Sad thing, he had been going through this for months.. He could see that he had an issue but didn't connect it to the medication increase and knew for certain that he was just broken (flawed, incapable etc).
In every case, a medication change has decreased the symptoms.
Brain fog is a serious and regular issue with the "emotionally ill". The medications they take are nothing to be messed with and nothing to be excused away. They are toxins and when they go wrong they can go way wrong quickly.
I could go into the rates of Suicides over improper medication levels, improper diagnosis and improper faith in a care provider.
You see there is an issue, you feel it or you wouldn't be here asking about it... Timmy needs to be evaluated and you need to go with your gut. Something is wrong. He either is over medicated or he has an underlying LD that you are just picking up on but you need to see that this is addressed and doesn't become a part of who Timmy is..
Putting a label on it with out looking into it completely can/will harm your child. Start with his DR, rule out the medications as an issue. And don't let them tell you that because he did well on it at a lower dose that it isn't the medication.. They can get med sick after years of positive effects on the same medication. Like I said they are toxins, the body wants to naturally reject the effects of the medication. From the first day you take a pill, your body is working towards figuring out how to get around the effects of it. A good example of a toxin is alcohol, we all know how this toxin works. You drink one beer you are tipsy, regular drinking over time and the more it takes to get to that tipsy stage. Drink to much and you can't think and you are lucky if you can function. Mental health medications work under a similar primis..
I am not saying, this is 100% his medication because I don't know him or his issues first hand but I am saying it could be.
Just one more thought, have you had his hearing tested lately? There is always a chance he isn't hearing you.
Good point about the hearing. My son had went through two years of preschool, kdg and in his second year of 1st grade they discovered a hearing loss. It is only in one ear and at high decibles. So its hard to tell how it really if at all effects him. But I wouldn't rule it out. We had no idea.
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