Need a little support - ADHD

[TulaneMama]

DS, 10, has recently been diagnosed. I have tried for years thinking that there was something I could do but I can't and thus he will be starting Concerta. I am praying that this will make our home like smoother and more peaceful. Yes? Just keeping him moving during the day with his schoolwork is a challenge and MY ideas of what HSing would be have greatly changed over the years.

 

I am not really sure what the point of my post is other than I suppose I am a little scare, sad, upser, a whole barrel of emmotions. It has been challenging schooling a child like him. Always changing, always trying something new. That in and of itself is difficult for me.

 

that is all. :)

[Ottakee]

We waited a bit on meds too but have seen just how helpful they can be. If Concerta doesn't work or has side effects, there are many other meds, forms, doses, etc. to try.

[MariannNOVA]

We waited a bit on meds too but have seen just how helpful they can be. If Concerta doesn't work or has side effects, there are many other meds, forms, doses, etc. to try.

 

 

:iagree:with what she said. The meds make it possible for us to get school work done during the window they are in effect. And, DH and I waited and observed for probably 3 or more years before I finally reached the end of my rope and located child psych. We now manage the meds through our pediatrician.

 

If one med doesn't work, then you try another -- as our child psych told us (and not very eloquently) - it's a crap shoot. We are having success with Adderall XR and prior to that, we used Vyvanse for a very, very long time.

 

Keep us all posted - and good luck!:001_smile:

[EKS]

We waited a bit on meds too but have seen just how helpful they can be. If Concerta doesn't work or has side effects, there are many other meds, forms, doses, etc. to try.

 

:iagree:

 

We waited until age 12 and I wish we had done it earlier. Just one little dose in the morning has completely changed our homeschooling experience.

[hsmom4]

We are going this Thursday for an evaluation and possibly a prescription of dh allows. Ds is 13 and definitely wants to try meds as his elder cousin has seen dramatic results since beginning them. As a homeschooler...what has changed for you since beginning meds?

[MariannNOVA]

As a homeschooler...what has changed for you since beginning meds?

 

I am able to be certain that DD9 and DS9 will have 6-7 hours of behavior that is conducive to academics and other activities that require attention to detail, i.e., chess, sewing, music lessons.

 

Prior to meds, I could spend hours with the twins on 2 pages of Math -- they would not be able to sit in the chair for a minute. They would not be able to do dictation, they would retain nothing that had been read to them so they were not able to narrate or re-tell in their own words. It was an incredibly draining and frustrating experience for them and me.

 

Additionally, but not incidentally, because they are able to sit and read and write and do their lessons, there is an enormous amount of positive feedback that they truly have earned which was not happening prior to the meds.

 

With the meds, we get in full school days and then some. We have joined LEGO groups, choir, handbells, basketball, and in the spring they will resume golf lessons.

[TulaneMama]

Prior to meds, I could spend hours with the twins on 2 pages of Math -- they would not be able to sit in the chair for a minute. They would not be able to do dictation, they would retain nothing that had been read to them so they were not able to narrate or re-tell in their own words. It was an incredibly draining and frustrating experience for them and me.

 

 

This sounds much like our DS.

 

I posted another thread that I am interested in hearing your thoughts on.

[EKS]

We are going this Thursday for an evaluation and possibly a prescription of dh allows. Ds is 13 and definitely wants to try meds as his elder cousin has seen dramatic results since beginning them. As a homeschooler...what has changed for you since beginning meds?

 

His math went from taking 5 hours for a problem set that should have taken no more than an hour to taking less than an hour. His math test scores jumped from around 90% to 98%+ because he had stopped making silly mistakes. He also seemed to retain the math concepts learned while on medication better than those learned without.

 

Before medication, he was unable to concentrate on his independent work while I was teaching his brother in the same room, so he would leave the room and then have issues with spacing out because he was in another room. Or if he stayed in the room he would keep telling us to be quiet. He also would make lots of extraneous noise while working that was distracting to his brother. On medication, he just cranks through his work quietly without complaining about the noise his brother and I are making.

 

His standardized test scores also reflect this pattern. In 6th grade he took the ITBS at the local public school under standard conditions and his scores did not reflect what I knew he knew. In 7th grade, he took the ITBS at the school again, but this time he was tested in a separate room and had extended time (accommodations documented on a 504 for his dyslexia and ADHD). He had also taken medication. His scores went *way* up, with many of the scores jumping by 50 percentile points. That is huge. I don't know how much of that was the medication, but having his ADHD and dyslexia appropriately addressed with a combination of medication and accommodations had a major effect on his performance.

 

Right now he is undermedicated, which he likes because it means that he is hungry for lunch and that he doesn't get as cranky during lessons. But his work is suffering--a 1 hour math assignment is taking up to two hours. I keep mentioning math because it is easy to compare his performance over time. But lots of things have improved with medication (and probably maturity as well).

[homeschoolally]

and trying to iron out medication as well. I wish I'd started this process earlier as we are heading into puberty and I'm concerned I will confuse typical pre-teen boy stuff with med side effects.

 

Don't give up if the first med doesn't work--hang in there! We're learning that it won't get any easier as they get older--wish we'd gotten this ball rolling a few years ago.

 

Don't have much to offer at this point but just wanted you to know you're not alone! :grouphug:

 

Keep us posted on your progress!

[MariannNOVA]

But lots of things have improved with medication (and probably maturity as well).

:iagree:I think there is alot to be said for maturity --and our twins are on meds, and we continue to make dietary changes, and I am reading up on GFCF and about to put those changes into place -- but as a former classroom teacher and now a homeschooling mom, maturity is HUGE! :001_smile:

[elizam]

:iagree:

 

We waited until age 12 and I wish we had done it earlier. Just one little dose in the morning has completely changed our homeschooling experience.

 

We waited even longer---14. After two disastrous years of having his self esteem hammered in PS. Dh thought it would be a good idea to put him in PS in 7th grade. He doesn't "believe in" ADHD. We didn't have a dx at the time. But I knew in my heart that something was wrong.

 

PS and not medicating made for an ugly situation that never got better.

 

Hugs to you....I think you are doing the right thing and I think you will see a positive change!

[jclinton]

I know EXACTLY how you feel! I've found some comfort in a website called sizzle bop. I saw Carol Barnier (the owner of the website) speak at a hs convention and her words are so supportive, so loving they help me to "see the gift" that I OFTEN loose in my child. She has written several books as well but her website is full of interesting and often humorous tales that help me cope with my ADHD (imphasis on the H here) daughter.

www.sizzlebop.com

HTH,

JoAnne