DD with ADHD

[Steffie]

I wanted to share with you ladies. I have been a member of RR for years, and I don't post very often, but I feel like you are all very dear sisters in Christ and I wanted some support.

My dd was diagnosed ADHD last year (during 2nd grade) and although I knew this for awhile, this was the first time it was told to us officially by the school. I held her back in Kindergarden as she was having learning difficulties. On top of ADHD, she is also dislexic (sp?) so learning to read is very hard for her, although she has high spirits for it, as she still wants to learn more and more, even with the difficulties of it.

She is in 3rd grade now, and I recently talked to her regular class teacher, her special class teacher and counsuler (sp?). They believe, as I do as well, that her attention span is a big stumbling block in her reading and learning levels. She has a 1st grade reading level at this time. Last year, I discussed with Dh about taking her to our family doctor (that is christian) and seeing about maybe trying medication. He would have none of it. Very against it at the time.

The recent meeting with the teachers, I decided to again try to talk to dh about it. He has agreed to let us see what the doctor would say. We took her last week to our family doctor that wants us to take her to be tested by doctors for the paperwork and he would then place her on medication if all came out the same (of course if we still wanted to try it). We haven't gotten the call for the appt. yet at the center to get her tested, but I wanted to assurance that what we are doing is good for her.

I have tried diet changes and vitamins etc. and working more with her, but I really believe for her learning potential she really needs more that what we are doing. Dh and I have prayed about this, and I hope that I am going with Gods' leading on this.

Any stories to share? Thank you all and God bless,
Steffie

[antsinmypants]

I'd have her checked for allergies first, and keep a food diary. Check and see if certain items trigger her more than others.

My BIL has ADD/ADHD type symptoms and red food dye (esp one color) send him over the edge crazy... I mean drunk crazy. You'd never know he hadn't gotten into something unless you'd met him before he got into it.

My brother who is high functioning asberger's or something along that line has issues with Celiac Disease (but due to one test not popping positive, he refuses to even consider the diet) and has major issues with sugar. It turns to blood alcohol in his system, and I think mom caught that one just before he went to Kindergarten.

She'd been watching items he ate and witholding sugar items.. up to and incl making him drink dry milk that'd been reconstituted rather than skim or whole. He was a completely different person on sugar (still is, but it is less pronounced!).

I know a good bit of kids that have food issues, and you watch them, and it's so discouraging their parents don't want to withold the items because it is more difficult for them (needing to find an alternative or make something for breakfast more wholesome than cereal).

She could have an allergy test done on the major food items (grains, sugar, dyes and milk/Casein) - depending on the type of insurance you have, it can be done by skin test or blood... but it has to be something your dr reccommends and refers you over for.

Some kids do better on meds, but IMHO, meds are pushed more than things that would be better handled by changing up how one eats (by blood type and allergy/allergen concious).

[Live4Jesus]

I would definitely take her to your pediactrician and tell him/her about your concerns. Try some natural ways of handling the ADHD part - I'm sure there's lots of info on the internet.

My daughter was diagnosed when she half way through 4th grade (she was also diagnosed with ODD - oppositional defiant disorder). We started her right off with learning how to control it herself with deep breathing, getting focused exercises, etc. We did put her on meds - but a low dose because we didn't want her to have to rely on it. We wanted to be able to take her off of it soon. The meds did great as did the other things we did. We put her in orchestra - learning an instrument really helps them to be able to concentrate.

We would only have her on her meds during the school week - never on weekends or vacations. By the time she was in 6th grade, she would take her meds only when she couldn't control it herself and by the time 7th grade came around, she was off of it completely. So she wasn't on meds for very long at all.

She became a different person after we were able to control it. And now, she's 18 and shows no effects of the ADHD. The ODD on the other hand...well that's a different story all together. lol

[Sealed]

Hi Steffie,

My 11 ds was diagnosed with ADHD at an early age (1st grade). He also has central auditory processing difficulty, which both combined have made it a struggle for him to learn, esp. in a traditional classroom setting. (we are homeschooling this year for 6th grade and having a blast, btw).

In addition to our christian pediatrician, we have been to a child psychiatrist and a child developemental psychologist.

Anyway, medicine was recommended for him when he was in 1st grade, not so much for behavior, b/c he has never really had behavior issues at school, but because academically he was getting way behind and really struggling; However, we did not give medicine to him at this time. Dh was not ready.

Dh, a physician, was really opposed to medication until he felt that it was the last, desperate thing to do to help ds. And...it finally got so bad that in 3rd grade we realized that we had to do everything we could try to help ds, so we began the prescribed medication. We switched prescriptions several times and we did find and ADHD medicine that helped some. We used it for the whole school year (we skipped weekends and holidays and summers) We continued on with medication during the school years from 3-5th and stopped this year for 6th.

The one thing I can say is that if your son is really struggling, and you suspect it is the ADHD that is really effecting his school performance then I would consider trying medication. It might help! And, if it doesn't
you can always stop the medicine.

I will add that my ds had no ill side effects (other than becoming a little more serious, which wasn't such a bad thing!) during the time he was taking the ADHD med.

Will be praying for you and dh and son. I remember in the beginning how I was so worried. (not saying that you are like me, but it seemed like such a HUGE decision for us to give our son med.s, we were afraid of everything!) It wasn't a cure either, but it did help some. If our dr.s suggest medicine for our other children at some point, then we would have no problem giving it a try.

Praying for ya! Hang in there. Pray for God to give your dh wisdom about the matter and He will lead your family to the right decision.

Blessings, Anne

[Steffie]

Thank you so much for the replies and opinions! And most of all the prayers for us and our daughter!

I will consider the allergy testing, but as of now, I want to do a "trial period" of the medication. Just as Anne said, our doctor said we could stop it at any time if we felt it wasn't working how we wanted. Our doctor also stated that it is to be used only when needed for learning at school and that they don't take it on weekends, vacations, and summer break etc.

We actually have cut sugar down tremedously in her diet. Both my children drink Crystal Light flavored drinks or just water in place of the koolaid and sugared tea they used to drink lots of. She is not just this way at school, but any task is hard for her to get through as she gets distracted so easily. Attention is very short in most any thing we do. I just feel so badly that she has struggled so much through school, and I want to know that I have done all I can to help her.

I started her in ballet last year. This actually helped her keep more in tune with her teachers at school as well as ballet as she loves it so much. She is in her 2nd year of it now and she is doing really well considering her attention is so short.

Anyway, thanks again and still looking forward to any more replies!
God bless,
Steffie

[Rebecki]

Here's a mom in favor of medication! We tried everything for our son, who is ADHD and ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder). The ODD rarely rears it's ugly head anymore as he's gotten older, but the medication that he's on (Straterra) has made him excell in school and it gives him the ability to focus that he didn't have before. (Straterra is also a non-narcotic, where Ritalin and Concerta are narcotics)

Are meds truly over prescribed? I'm sure they are. However don't discount the medicine just for that reason. If your child is truly ADHD, then the meds will only help. ADHD is a disorder, like being nearsighted. If someone is nearsighted, you don't take away their glasses and try an alternative. Give them the glasses.

I must stress though, you should have your child tested by a liscensed psychologist who specializes in this area. Don't just have your Dr. look at them and write a prescription. There are several tests that your child should go through in order to get an accurate diagnosis. It won't happen in one Dr. visit. My son went through cognitive, visual, and theraputive testing with a psycologist, also DH and I each had to fill out a massive questionaire about our son, then it had to be evaluated.

Ultimately you have to do what is right for your child. Some people have great success with natrual means. I'm not discounting them, but don't discount the synthetic meds either.

[wife]

Just a bit of warning... my son was on adhd meds and there is a period of time when they come off the meds.. We called it the witching hour. It was horrible. It is like everything that the meds stopped came out all at once.

Diet has helped him a bit and I use supplements. It isn't like he was on the meds, but it is better. And by diet I don't just mean sugar and dye. We eat whole grains, no refined products, no HFCS.

Also, how are her bowel movements? I find that my son has "issues" so I give him a fiber supplement. And I notice a change when he takes them.

[Sealed]

Oh, I forgot to mention that our kids take Karate, have been for the past 1 and 1/2 years and it has really helped with focus, self-control,too!

It is great that ballet is helping your daughter's attention! What a smart idea. I bet the music is having a good effect as well as the dance and instruction. My ds likes to listen to Mozart while doing his schoolwork. I have heard there is a connection b/w music, math, sequential thinking....something like that.:thinking

:)Anne

[wife]

Oh, I forgot to mention that our kids take Karate, have been for the past 1 and 1/2 years and it has really helped with focus, self-control,too!

It is great that ballet is helping your daughter's attention! What a smart idea. I bet the music is having a good effect as well as the dance and instruction. My ds likes to listen to Mozart while doing his schoolwork. I have heard there is a connection b/w music, math, sequential thinking....something like that.:thinking

:)Anne

My son was on the swim team this summer and I don't know if it was the 2 hours of daily practice or the discipline but he sure was calm during swim season:thinking

[ChayilWoman]

I've appreciated reading through this thread. I've wondered for 2 years now if my oldest daughter is ADHD. A few months ago we cut out food coloring, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners and BHT and TBHQ. I've noticed some improvement but not a lot. As a homeschooling mom it's good because I can cater more to her learning styles and difficulties but it's also problematic because it's just me and the internet in trying to figure out what's going on. And there is a lot of conflicting information on the internet, as I'm sure you all know.