ADD OR LD

[lilk]

Please help my 9 yr. old is having trouble concentrating at school. His teacher has requested we get him tested for ADD and LD. I have talked with his Dr. concerning this matter. I however do not want to put him on medication. I would rather change his diet. Dr. says diet change doesn't help in most cases, but it is my decission if I want to put him on meds. My son has not been diagnosed with ADD or LD at this point. Does anyone have any information they can share with me concerning this matter? The Dr. did give me a perscription for Strettera, but we have decided not to use it, at this point. I'm concerned it will affect the testing results. Does this make any since? Help! I just want what is best for my son.

[sixfreds]

I would say follow your feelings.
I wouldn't start by trying meds so it is easier for teachers in school I would try other things before any meds.
We have a school meeting coming up and I think they are going to suggest meds for one of my ones and we are against that so that isn't going to happen but I say follow what you feel is right and don't let anyone talk you into any meds.

Eileen

[SHOPGIRL]

There are pros and cons to having a child on meds. Being ADD and LD are two totally different things. If your child is ADD then he has a hard time focusing and staying on task. If he his ADHD, then he may be becoming disruptive and have a ton of excess energy on top of not being able to focus.

If he is LD, then he would have a learning disability. When he is tested, they'll test his learning, give him an I.Q. test, psychological test, etc. .

You'll have to fill out a form on his behavior at home too.

First of all, I'm a person that rarely goes to the doctor. I take a bunch of herbs, vitamins, and I use homeopathic medicine to stay well, and when I'm sick. I use both western and eastern medicine. So, if you want to try the natural approach, I'd give it a try. I'd eliminate white sugar, anything with a dye in it. You might also want to have him tested for allergies. I have a friend who an herbalist that has recommended different remedies, but I can't think of what they are right now. PM me if you want me to find out what he recommends.

On the other hand, I teach and on a daily basis I see kids on meds and off meds.

They've come a long way with meds, it can really help a child focus and learn. A kid can go from failing to getting A's and B's by being on meds. They usually stay out of trouble, and become really hard workers. When the kid isn't on meds, they don't pay attention, are easily distracted, and usually end up in trouble and with failing grades.

Some parents just have their child on time release medication while their in school.

Meds help the student, not the teacher. Before a child would ever be put on meds, then they need to have full testing done.

LD, ADD, and ADHD are treated different.

I'm not a person who would immediately put my own child on meds without trying other things first. I would would want my child to be successful so I never would be opposed to giving my child meds so that they could learn.

[lilk]

Thanks Eileen (thats my middle name) and Shannon. I do want whats best for my son. And am waiting for the testing, the teacher says it will take about a month to fill out the paper work, and then we will have to wait for a testing date.
My son is not generally hyper, so I don't think its ADHD. He does have difficulty with his reading and spelling. We work on those things alot.
We do not drink anything with caffine(sp?). We don't use much stuff with dies in them ( as I am prone to kidney infection). I do make alot of things at home from scratch. We will be cutting out sugar, this will be hard!
I also perfer to use the natural approach first, and pray alot.
I have ordered some books from the library on ADD diet.
Thanks again for the advise!

[SHOPGIRL]

From what you said, it's very likely he is LD. All of that will show up in the testing. I'd just work with him as much as you can at home. You might try reading his text aloud to him, then asking him questions about the reading. He might be having trouble comprehending what he reads if he struggles with reading. Also, maybe get some books from the library that are easier for him to read, that will help him get more confident about his reading.

Spelling might be something he always struggles with. Show him the syllables in words, and I would just say practice a lot with him. Divide up the number of words that he needs to learn each week by the day. Then, practice a couple each night, then each night thereafter, just keep adding a few more. Just a couple ideas.

[babymav]

My personal opinion is stay clear from the meds I have had so many friends that have gone through the same thing. I say change his diet, limit TV and video games and get him involved in things that interest him (you will probably see a huge difference) If he is having trouble in school as far as academic (get a tutor and also continue to work with him yourself) I did for my son and it worked wonders. Now he is at the top of his class. If that fails then I say consider the meds (if you are open to it) but at least try the natural approach first.

It seems (to me and it's just my opinion) that schools these days are just going for the easy approach (meds). That's just my opinion But do what you feel you are most comfortable with I would say get the full testing done before you make any decision.

[frugalbutterfly]

We have been going through this with Christopher since he was about 2. We have always been dead set against popping the pills with him. He has been tested and does have a LD but also had ODD since 2. He is very smart though, just not able to focus. We wanted him to learn to "deal" with things rather then pills(if he chose to go off when he is older fine however, he would not know how to deal with life "changes" and challenges). So, we have been working for years with him to get him to "get a grip", he has is just an angry child(death of his sister(he was 3, she was 10), our house burning down in 2000 he was 5, then my accident and turned our lives into a massive mess, he has had alot, but we all have and he is the only one like this ). He has had all the testing done and been in "therapy" however, I won' t do that now with him, he is very, very easy to "lead" and right now at least we don't need any more hurdles to have to survive, enough already .
Ok so, once I came home from the hospital, I could not(still can't but better) deal with any loud noises, too much action, ect. I would have to have dh put me in our br and close the door with the tv up loud so, I would not hear him fussing asnd fighting which is what he does. So, we tried to not have to do this but, it got so bad for me that we did have him put on meds in May. He would still fuss here and there and we had to make him go outside and stay out(door was always open) and come in when he "settled", he knows I "freak out". Well, he made all B's and C's on his report card. It is helping him stay "focused", he also I htink just felt he could only get bad grades KWIM. Now he sees he CAN do good. Well, he still fusses at home but, has never been a problem at school to begin with, it just helps him "focus" or concentrate(he has never been hyper or diagnosed as ADD or ADHD, just ODD and LD). Well the last 3 weeks WE decided to try giving him the meds at night(Dr. wanted to up his adderall, he is on either 15 or 20mg and been at that point sicne about June) mainly because he still gave us such a hard time at home, well he is a kid and all this has been hard enough for us and we are adults that understand and know alot more then he does so, yeah he you would be angry. we chose not to and try nights, he is suppose to get it at 7am. He has not given us a fit like he has always done either, he has triee and it jsut does not happen, he still gets uptight though but not like he did.
I would have him tested to see what is going on. When Chris was in just Kindergarten, his teacher(I did not like her personality a bit and we did change him but the "damage" was done), she said flat out to me, he needs to be on Ridalin(he has NEVER been hyper either) so he could "learn". Well, I have seen too much of how exh family is on that stuff and I said, it ain't happen, I would never do that to my child.
He would not be on anything now I doubt had I not been in the accident and not able to tolerate "input". I don't know if anyone else would be more agaisnt it then we are. However, I have needed so much medication myself jsut to survive so, we figured we gotta give it a shot with him. It is not a miracle cure but so far it is helping him control his anger which is his biggest draw back in life. He is the sweetest little boy, so everyone says and is so caring and kind and helpful(umm, tell me where my kid is), this has been him his whole life, either the nicest sweetest kid or the worst.
I would first look at all your option before you make a choice to put him on anything and the schools will say this child needs meds to be able to teach, well I ain't putting him on it just for your benifit.
Have him tested, I think here anyway, the teacher recomends testing and the guidence counsler sets it up and they can do a big battery of testing, MAKE them do that if, they are not willing to do it.
Chris has also had a reading "tutor" at school last year, still does, is ESE for the LD, and is in about 3 programs at school on top of those for "extra" help to try to get him caught up.
Avoid as much changes as you can as far as his eating schedule, trips ect. try to keep things as "normal" as you can. Our ped. said with Chris, things needed to always be the same, as much as possible anyway. Like bedtime, dinner, everything on "schedule".
What works for one though may not work for the next, only you can decide what is the best for him, that is your job, not what the techers say, firends say, ect. You have to choose how to "approach" things an what to do.

Goodluck with this and I hope you get some answers and can figure out "what" you need to do to hekp you little fella

[canadian gardener]

Had this problem with ds. ADHD, later ADD.

For many years we were able to manage it with a good diet (google Feingold diet) and caffiene believe it or not, which does help.

If and only if he is ADHD or ADD a strong cup of coffee MAY help (doesn't work in all of them, but our boy was helped).

He was in a highly structured school (private Catholic, small class sizes) but the year he went into high school (gr 8 huge classes) he needed meds to keep his marks up.

Then in Gr 9 to 12 we homeschooled him and his sister.

No more meds, back to coffee, diet, and things like allowing him to do his work facing a corner of a quiet room with no distracting pictures, just a blank wall, no sounds, smells etc.

The books on the Feingold diet are helpful as is "Is this your child" by somebody or other Rappaport. find them in your library.

I found the meds helpful for our son, but it was after we had used other methods and it's not either or.

Helpful to think of it, more like fitting puzzle peices together, you fix diet, then add in coffee, reduce distractions, and then maybe meds.

but because the other stuff is taken care of, he or she needs less or no meds which is a good thing.

Just look at it, as a bunch of coordinated approaches, trying one and adding another in as needed.

Never think either or. Either diet or drugs.

it's like a puzzle. Every little bit helps to build the whole picture and give control of the life and learning back to the child.

[AmyBoz]

The schools don't/can't put a child on meds. It is 100% the decision of the family and the doctor.

If he's ADD, then if the diet program doesn't work, meds may be necessary. While I understand your aversion to the medications, at the same time, my feeling is, if my child were seriously ill, I would give her/him every single fighting chance to survive. Same with ADD. I'm an 8th grade teacher and have seen it make a world of difference. Kids who always thought they "couldn't" learn and just gave up, when put on medication, met with success because they could finally focus and process all of the information. They felt more normal and it made a world of difference. Also, if he is diagnosed with ADD, your state may have some sort of program like ours does. In NJ, a child who has been diagnosed with ADD can get something called a 504 plan, which is like an IEP for special education students, only without the actual learning disability. These plans allow for modifications to be made to help the child be more successful, ie: breaking down large assignments into chunks, extra time on tests, etc. You should check with your State Board of Ed.

If it turns out that he is LD, then he will be classified as a Special Education student and will immediately be able to recieve special education services in your district, like, but not limited to, resource room classes, in-class support teachers, spelling waivers (if it turns out he is dyslexic), etc. The modifications are endless and are highly personalized for each child.

However, the first step is the testing, so wait to find out what the results of that are. From there, you can decide how best to proceed.

[lilk]

I'm so glad everyone is giving me information and hope! We are doing the feingold diet right now, it does mention something about giving him coffee (we haven't tried that yet, I'll try that this weekend to see how it works first). Last weekend we played scrabble and he really liked it, and asked if we could play it again. My boys love to play board games. He is actually very good a chess. The Dr. said this will help him to learn to focus.
It will be some time before the testing, so we are just working on diet, and concentrating on reading. I did get some wonderful news today. He passed his achievement test on the first try .
I'm so happy.
Thanks again everyone for your support! I could just give you guys all a big hug.

[SHOPGIRL]

Great! Good luck! Don't be discouraged if it takes awhile to figure out what works!

[Scattymum]

Good luck with your son, its hard to know what to do for the best. we are dealing with ADHD here, not with meds though, although if they are needed in the future then so be it. All kids are different and different things can help. I would certainly look at the diet first - have you tried fish oils, since we started ciara on them her concentration has improved but they do take a while to kick in. We have been very lucky with our school, they have bent over backwards for Ciara, she has ADHD but also has the intelligance of a child 3 years older, sghe had a hard time focusing because she was bored. The school have alloted her extra lessons to teach higher level stuff and to improve her concentration/focussing, she gets to run around the yard or to bounce on the trampoline, she is being taught to knit at the moment!, the work she misses out on in class is either caught up in class or at home so she is not missing out on stuff.

we have learnt to deal with things from a different angle, breaking up tasks into simple things and praising for everytime she does something, even if it is to put her bag away or hang her coat up, homework we do in small segments with breaks in between, we try and use visual aids to help with the homework. Jigsaws and board games are a great way of concentration ( one of the tings she is obsessed with - she does 1000 piece jigsaws).

Like I said each child is different and problems need approaching differently, since she was diagnosed we have noticed a huge improvement.

I would certainly wait for a diagnosis before putting on meds - it may be something you can control before going down that route but of course if the meds are the best route then that is good too

Good luck! I hope everything works out well.

[canadian gardener]

I ditto the fish oils. I put ds on them in his last year at home, preparing for college, and it really did help. I used 1 gram of Salmon Oil and 5oo mg of Evening Primrose Oil (W3 andf W6 fatty acids) and Vit E was 400 IU of the natural or d alpha tocopherol NOT the d L alpha tocopherol.

I also wanted to add that the Rappaport book talks about reducing the video games.

Apparently Video games are really bad for reinforcing short attention spans.

So does TV. Limiting TV and eliminating video games may help.

Something else I did was allow him to fiddle with his hands with legos when he was listening to stuff.

Books on tape for example at bedtime and while he or she is playing with Legos, really help to build attention span, even if it looks like they aren't concentrating.

Reading aloud is another help. Just be sure they have something to fidget with, so they can concentrate on what you are saying.

I know that sounds weird, but it works. It's like a wiggle outlet, if they can fiddle with an eraser even or some play dough, or lego or doodle, they can concentrate.

I also ditto jigsaw puzzles and board games.

[geniebird]

I'm wondering why the doc wrote a script before the child had been diagnosed.

If he continues to have problems you might want to take a look at the school situation. Is he being challenged or is he bored? Is he in an over crowded classroom? Are there distractions in the classroom? What is your sons learning style? There are visual, auditory and tactile learners. Most schools try to educate everyone in the same way and it just doesn't work. Does your son's teacher have a negative attitude about him? You also might want to have his vision and hearing checked.

We had problems with my niece when she started to school. They wouldn't let her into kindergarten because she hadn't been to "pre-school." Then when she did start they were labeling that poor child to death. Finally in the second grade they took her out of public school and put her in a Lutheran School. There a sharp teacher noticed that she seemed to be having problems reading the blackboard. She did need glasses. They also found she was hard of hearing and she now has hearing aids. She does not have ADHD, nor is she "learning disabled" since the real problems have been addressed. Her grades were great all through the rest of grade school. Two years ago she had to go back to public school in the ninth grade because the private schools in their town don't go beyond grade 8 and she continues to do well. I find it really sad to think she could have wasted away in special ed. or been needlessly put on drugs.

Anyway, IMHO you need to look at this from all angles -- not just a biochemical one.

[zakity]

I have an ADHD child. We took out the dyes and the corn syrup and he is a totally different child. We are working on preservatives now.

I am ADHD also. The doing something while you read to them or whatever really does work well. I can't concentrate on what I am doing without the tv or a radio on.