ADHD

My son has just been diognosed with ADHD and they will be medicating him, he will be six in november. We have noticed problems with Josh since he was about nine months old.We are glad that after all the appointments and assesments we finally know what we are dealing with but I am afraid of the uphill struggle from now, getting DLA and him statmented for educational support, can anyone help us, tell us your story or give us advice if you have been through the same thing.I worry about how people will look at us as a family now, the media has such a bad view of ADHD especially children being medicated for it, are we doing the right thing,I am sure his teacher does not believe there is such a disorder we feel so small when talking to her.I just want to give Josh the best I can but I feel it simply isnt good enough sometimes and I am making alot of poor decisions where this is all involved. hope someone understands where we are coming from.xx kel

hi not sure i can help that much, my nephew his is 10 had ADHD plus lots of other thing, his teacher was the same as your son's which make it very hard to get statemented they keep saying he was fine but he has a reading age of 4 and he is 10 in the end my SIL has put him in a new school who are realy understanding and are realy pushing for a statement

don't ever give up keep on at the school if you have to move schools you know your little boy better than them don't let them fob you off

i hope he gets the help he needs soon

Carla xxx

my friends son has adhd and she joined adders , they have a really good site and forum -adders.org I think it is. It is based in kent but people from all over the uk post on the support forums.

personally i dont know that much about ADHD - but i take Ethan playgroup evey tuesday and there is a little girl there with it - she is 4 but has the mental age of someone around Ethans age. she is a lovely little girl, although now and then she screams (and i mean like shes being attacked) for no reason - i dont know if she knows shes doing it or its something ADHD sufferers do. she also likes to throw things - big hard things!! but she is a sweetheart. its just knowing how to deal with it. we live in a world of some very nasty and judgemental people - dont let what people think get to you - i suppose people acting they way they do around your child is there way of saying they dont understand - it doesnt take much for somebody to ask you about it.

at the end of the day hun you know what is best for josh - and so do the doctors - these drugs and whatnot wouldnt be available otherwise.no matter what your decision - im sure you choose the right one - dont let anyone but you decide what happens

Hi

The one thing I can add about statementing is that it is nothing to do with the school, and is instead the responsibility of the LEA or maybe even the health authority.
There was a possibility that my son would be statemented due to a visual impairment and somebody from outside of the school was involved and made that decision. The decision was reached by her viewing my son at school, some tests and talking to my sons teachers.
Try this site as it talks about what you need to do, and how to get help.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslear...lNeeds/DG_4000835

hopefully this will be helpful

my eldest son has adhd, he was not diagnosed until the age of 11..basically he survived junior sch as his intelligence carried him through, although we were constently battling with him, teachers and so on about numourous issues..they thought he was naughty, disruptive, had family problems..all sorts. we started seeking help when he was about 4, thinking it was food intolerence..

however he is now 14, we have to pay for his school as he could not cope at all in a state mainstream school , and the teachers just didn't understand..
but..every single penny is worth it..he is lovely, bright, funny, imaginative as well as being a total pain ( eg constantly walks in the room and farts, or walks in and says "mum to which i say "yes" and he replies.."smells" which has the little one in fits of giggles and can really be annoying..but overall we can really enjoy the wonderful personality that is thanks to adhd. and in no way at all dulled by medication...he still takes 54 mg a day and he is nearly 6 ft tall.

xxxxx

54mg of what. My nephew has medication issues due to other illnesses but he is trying out new medications. I was wondering which ones you have tried and which work in your opinion.

My heartgoes out to you. I know just what you are going through because I also have a son with ADHD.

The first thing you need to do is get rid of the guilt. ADD/ADHD is not anybody's fault, least of all yours. And yes, it does exist. ADD/ADHD is not an excuse for bad behavior or poor academic performance. It is a biologically based brain disorder that really exists.

Perhaps if it's possible you should get your child to switch schools so that he can be in a more supportive environment. Both the school and the home need to work together so that your child can make maximum progress.

Don't only medicate your child and leave it at that. There are so many small and simple changes that you can make that will make a remarkable improvements in your son.

Sign up for the free report offered in my sig. file for some useful strategies you can implement right away.

My 10 yr. was recently diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. It was a struggle because the school kept telling me he was failing since 2nd grade. Yet they would not give us the resources we needed for him. He had to be IEP/Special Education, which according to the school he did not qualify. What a nightmare! At the school's request we took him to our doctor (we needed to exhaust our insurance first). They tested him and diagnosed him. The school still highly recommended we did not label him IEP/Special Ed. OK, but what about the resources! The pediatrics/specialist sent a strong letter to the school letting them know they had no choice. They're testing him and I will be getting the results next month. It was hard for us (not our son) but we knew he was in trouble. He is about 2 years immature from his real age. So we had to do what was best for him. It isn't something that we should blame ourselves. we just accept and get the help needed.

The only thing I would say, as a teacher that has many students with ADHD is that all of those who are medicated are pretty much emotionless zombies, but the ones who just have behavioral treatments become better versions of themselves.

I know what you mean to a certain degree. Our son is 5 and has always had trouble with little things, like following what essentially is a simple instruction - but he is very intelligent. We have been to the doctors to try getting him referred for tests but have been passed to the school nurse who says it isn't them it's the doctor!! How frustrating. He seems to be progressively getting worse, now swearing at children and breaking all the rules of the playground. His teacher is also saying it won't be adhd. How did the diagnosis finally get given? is it the doctors area or schools?

I have been thinking about this a lot and I personnally - in response to your concerns - would try the less chemical ways first. Some scientists say that the diet can help a great deal but I think you have to do what you as a parent think is best for your childs welfare

Dawn

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all your comments on this thread, well a quick update, Josh is now seven, he is still having lots of difficulties at home and at school but we are taking each day as it comes. Alot of things have changed for us here so life is really not all that easy at times as i am now dealing with it all my own as my husband left the family last year.Josh has also been diognosed with sensory processing disorder aswell now and he is suffering this at a very high level so the world is a very mixed up place to him. The proffesionals are still working with him but it still takes a really long time to get anything done,but we are back on here now and ready to face our issues with our good friends on here. xx Kel

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all your comments on this thread, well a quick update, Josh is now seven, he is still having lots of difficulties at home and at school but we are taking each day as it comes. Alot of things have changed for us here so life is really not all that easy at times as i am now dealing with it all my own as my husband left the family last year.Josh has also been diognosed with sensory processing disorder aswell now and he is suffering this at a very high level so the world is a very mixed up place to him. The proffesionals are still working with him but it still takes a really long time to get anything done,but we are back on here now and ready to face our issues with our good friends on here. xx Kel

Oh yeah and forgot to say on my last comment, I have not had Josh medicated for the ADHD at the moment, mainly because the sensory processing is taking up alot of the time at the mo and also Im still not sure its the right path for Josh. xx

My heart goes out to you. You are right about the stigma surrounding ADD/ADHD and despite what many people have claimed the disorder is real.

I've been through the same experience with my son (who is now 11) and let me tell you that it was an uphill struggle. But there is a lot you can do to dramatically improve things and I have shared many of my experiences and the lessons I have learned along the way at my blog (second link in the signature at the bottom)

My daughter has ADD and I had to get a 504 plan written this year so that she can have modification to her education. She gets to go out of the class for an hour each day to help her get her work done with more one on one teaching and also so she has a quieter place to go without so many distractions. This has been a long process since she was diagnosed 3 years ago. After her diagnosis, I had a conference with her teacher and she just sort of blew it off. My daughter was also diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and moderate clinical depression. When I told her teacher about the depression, she acted as though she didn't believe it. The majority of people that I have told about her problems have acted as though they just couldn't believe that a child could be depressed. As a parent, it is hard to see your child suffer and not be able to protect them from this but I have learned that I am her biggest advocate. I try to explain her issues with anyone I talk to and they are very understanding. She doesn't feel singled out in school and does not get teased by the other kids because of her issues. I am grateful for that.

I have had a lot of discussions with other parents regarding ADHD, and there really seems to little consensus on what the best approach is. It seems like the crux of the issue seems to be whether or not to medicate, and I can say from experience that it is an important one because I have seen a lack of medication do some damage, but I am also sure that there are cases where the opposite is true as well.