Jump to content

Menu

Could it be ADHD?


Recommended Posts

I think my dd may have ADHD. I always just kind of said it was her personality, but I'm starting to really wonder if that's really it. The things that I've noticed/observed/know about her, I'll list them below. I would just like to know either way if she might have ADHD or not. Thanks for taking the time to read this and respond

 

 

 

  • she cannot sit still! during read alouds she will wiggle the chair or do some other movements. having her draw a picture while I read has helped.
  • she makes little careless mistakes on things that I know she knows because she does not pay attention to detail
  • she has great difficulty to just be quiet, playing quietly is very hard for her and she just talks all.the.time
  • she never seems to be tired. she's always on the go.
  • she will start doing something, like unloading the dishwasher, then walk away from it before she actually finished.
  • blurts out answer before I finished talking
  • it's very difficult for her to wait her turn. example, at breakfast time her younger brother will get the bread to put in the toaster and she will snatch it out of his hands
  • when she does school work she needs everyone to be super quiet, yet she's humming and singing on her own a lot while she does her work
  • she is always in my conversations

 

I'd really appreciate any input.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You have to understand how ADD/ADHD works. Caffeine stimulates the typical brain. An ADD/ADHD brain needs caffeine to calm it down.

 

My meds in a non - ADD person will ramp them up and give them incredible amounts of energy. For me, they slow me down and give me the ability to think.

 

ADD/ADHD is a chemical issue, not a behaviour one. Caffeine and meds counter - act the chemical imbalance and therapy helps us learn to cope with the disorder in a healthy way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

She sounds just like my dd.

 

There were some things that helped some for a while, which we tried because we didn't want to put her on meds either. Homeschooling is one--there were just too many distractions in the school classroom, and when her mind wanders away, the class keeps going so that when she "returns" to the task at hand she has no idea what they were talking about. She was convinced she was just "dumb" (which is SO not the case). At home we can reduce distractions, and when she gets too antsy we can just take a break and then pick up where we left off. She is generally better able to focus in the mornings, so I put all her high-focus work in the mornings, like reading and math, and saved history and science for afternoons, and included a lot of activities and coloring in those subjects because those are more kinetic, tactile things and she does them well. If she was having a hard time staying in her seat, we'd take a break and let her burn off some of the extra energy doing jumping jacks (which she LOVES), or running up and down the stairs a couple of times. Then she could focus better.

 

Although these things did help a lot, she still really struggled--especially with reading, since she couldn't seem to stay focused on a word long enough to sound out the whole thing. This past fall we finally decided to give the meds a try, and it was AMAZING. Like night and day. I really wish we had tried them sooner. She went from reading very basic books, like "Biscuit Goes To School" VERY laboriously and with many tears, to competently making it through whole chapters of Magic Treehouse books with barely any complaining, within literally about two weeks. She will sit at the table long enough to actually finish a meal, and she remembers she was supposed to be brushing her teeth long enough to actually accomplish the job without being reminded. Do I worry about the meds? A little. She is already small for her age, and some children's growth is a little stunted while on this particular medication. But I think in the long run it's probably better for her to be a couple of inches shorter and be able to function in life than to reach her full potential height and be an illiterate, disorganized, self-criticizing mess. The pediatrician says that most children with her symptoms are able to go off the meds before they reach junior high or high school and function normally, so for her it's probably a fairly short-term thing. But seeing the difference it has made for my daughter has really convinced me that for some people, meds for ADHD really are a lot like giving a diabetic some insulin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Could be ADHD--or could be typical behavior of a gifted kid. Or both. I would go to this site and read about characteristics of gifted kids, http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/characteristics.htm

and if that sounds at all like it could be your child, def. read this book ASAP:

http://www.amazon.com/Misdiagnosis-Diagnoses-Gifted-Children-Adults/dp/0910707642

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...