RE: adhd, there IS light at the end of the tunnel

[mattsmom]

 cooncreekers
Cooncreekers and all:
 
 I have been away from the board for the past two weeks, so only now saw your post.  I m so glad for you and your son.  This is encouragement for us as my son who is almost eleven has been on medication since kindergarten.  It is so heart breaking to see an extremely intelligent child who is sensitive and generally well behaved get labeled " lazy"  or for a parent to be told " He can do it if he really wants to" .... I m a teacher and the second a teacher tells me that a student is lazy sends reg flags waving!  
 
 We ve spent a fortune visiting specialists, medication...etc   even have tried gadgets such as a watch that will vibrate on the wrist every 10 minutes or so to bring his attention back to the teacher.  Parents try everything and hope the schools help out, but it makes it so much easier when the child reaches the point that your son has reached.  
 
 I pray that he continues with his success.

[fivegonefishing]

 cooncreekers
It s been about 14 months since dd s diagnoises.  The first Dr. that saw Samantha suggested that periodically one should re-assess the child, off meds, to determine if the current treatment is the correct one.  Well, we forgot just how far we have come with Samantha...I felt sorry for her this weekend, she was unable to coop with simple every day situations.  
 
 She doesn t have the ability to take that extra second to think the situation through.  She was back to flying off the handle at the drop of a needle, screaming, lashing out.  Her ability to sit at one task for then 3 seconds was out the window, she would forget what she was doing after a few minutes and would be distracted so easily.  Her brothers didn t help either, they noticed how easy it was to get her going and would seem to egg her on purposely just to see her reaction.  We were constently being referres; something I haven t needed to do in a long time!
 
 Her current teacher has not Samantha unmedicated, I have warned the teacher that Samantha will be off her meds for a couple of days.  In a way I m glad the teacher will see her unmedicated, now she will appriciate just how far we have come!  Samantha went from almost being suspended to being a student of the month, this teacher does not really understand how Samantha can be, the sense of frustration on everyone s part can be overwhelming.  I know she has the ability and talent to shine, but right now she needs a little medicinal help.

[cooncreekers]

 cooncreekers
if there is any comfort i can give, it is that i do understand all that you are saying. with dd#2, there was no way she could sit near the window, pencil sharpener, garbage can, teachers` desk, well, anything that moved! she also had a very hard time keeping " on task" , her name is amy, 3 letters. but that was the extent of her attention span. after her name was at the top of her paper, off she went to other things. and forget it if she started in on the paper before putting her name on it, how many of you have seen grades drop because of " missing assignments" ! and yet the child insists she did indeed do that paper! oh believe me, i have been through it all with 2 children that have adhd. but this is the key, try everything. some things that worked with my dd did not work with ds. the best ever hint or tip i can give, a timer. i had a timer set at the kitchen table for when they were to be finished with breakfast. timer goes off, whether they are done or not, they head to the bathroom to brush teeth and do whatever with the hair. timer in theere, too. timer goes off, they are out of the bathroom. then into the front room to get on shoes and coat and backpack. no timer, but by 7:15, (bus comes at 7:20)if they are not completely ready, no tv or computer or anything like that when they come home. i tell you, those timers have saved my sanity more than anything else we have tryed. the timer goes off, and they aren`t done with whatever, they are griping at the timer, not at me! and the timer did all the work, no more mom standing in the bathroom doorway yelling come on come on, you`re gonna be late again! just hang in there, above all else, your kid knows you care and are aware of and are looking for solutions. that`s half the battle right there. just be there for the kids, and never give up.

[NightOwl]

 cooncreekers
While we have never had to deal with ADHD, we have faced other problems in our family with child development and  Leigh Anne, you have done a wonderful thing in sharing with us the news of your DS s progress because THE SOONER ALL THESE THINGS ARE OUT IN THE LIGHT, the sooner there will be public understanding and support of ALL children with special needs.
 
 Some of the so-called experts want this stuff swept under the rug because it is not easy to deal with, there arent any simple answers, and any kids who makes waves of any kind causes them extra work.  You-all are right, each parent must be his/her childs advocate until they locate someone in the system who understands and wants to help (And thank God, there are a lot of caring, hard-working  people like this--the trick is to FIND one.)
 
 Each victory of Leigh s son is a victory for all the rest of us with less than picture-perfect kids.[]

[cooncreekers]

 cooncreekers
well, thanks for the thanks nightowl! i don`t want anyone to think that everything is all roses and sweet tea for our family though. yes, ds is finally beginning to see his way through this and begin to handle things so much better. but, dd#3, mom to the 3 dgk`s i watch, is still very much battling her way up through the haze of adhd. i guess i have the priviledge(?) of seeing both sides of this ailment-meaning add and adhd. dd has the hyper activity w/ attention deficiet, ds only has add. soooo, i have seen the difference between the 2. dd is 23, and still struggling, so i don`t think one is ever really freee from this, but hopefully she will soon be able to claim her victory so to speak. and yess nightowl i do think talk talk talk is the best thing we can do about this, the more we as parents talk with each other, the more we learn what has worked for other families, and maybe someday we can whip this terrible affliction. []