I have no more patience for my ADD son

[lynn]

Before his takes his meds he's so loud. Makes annoying sounds and just won't....SHUT UP! I know once he takes his meds he'll settle down and focus but I am so tired of reminding him to take it down a notch. I've tried rewarding his efforts and I've tried giving him chores when he doesn't make an effort to calm it down. We have even tried taping him so he can see exactly what he is doing. He's 15 and I've been going through various ticks through the years. I do have patience for a time then yikes I just can't take it even though I know it will end. Thanks for letting me sound off:D

[stephanie]

Before his takes his meds he's so loud. Makes annoying sounds and just won't....SHUT UP! I know once he takes his meds he'll settle down and focus but I am so tired of reminding him to take it down a notch. I've tried rewarding his efforts and I've tried giving him chores when he doesn't make an effort to calm it down. We have even tried taping him so he can see exactly what he is doing. He's 15 and I've been going through various ticks through the years. I do have patience for a time then yikes I just can't take it even though I know it will end. Thanks for letting me sound off:D

 

I know exactly what you mean. My ds12 has ADHD,and his sounds can drive me bonkers. It is hard to be patient with it sometimes. I tell my ds over and over to please stop, and he says he doesnt' even know he's doing it. That blows me away since it's the same sound, repeatedly for minutes at a time. It does make me sad for him,however. When his noises get too much for me, then I have him get his ipod, or turn on music for him, or have him run laps in the cul-de-sac. It really seems to help him get rid of the energy. Then sometimes I just look at him and say, "Jordan, I love you sooooo much!" I know that sounds funny, but I think it refocuses him and puts his thoughts on something else. We, too have been through a bunch of different sounds in the past several months. It's good to hear we are not alone in this.

[Mom2GirlsTX]

sympathy completely! My youngest is like this, before she takes her meds she is angry and NOISY. I have to remind her constantly, "lower your volume"

until the medication kicks in. I used to be very anti medicine, and she has been on it about 3 months now, wow, what a difference. I was wrong to be so anti medicine, it has helped her so much! She evens tells me it helps her focus and be nice.

I feel your frustration and pain. I'm thankful that the meds are working for my daughter, the before medicine time is a pain, but at least their is a time now when she is pleasant and focused.

[Amy from WT]

Hi girls,

 

I just had to chime in, because two of my kids have this as well, and I have SO been in your shoes. I wanted to give you two words of encouragement:

 

First, they DO grow up and get better! My kids are 13 and 17 now, and they really have matured out of their irritating and lovable little tendencies. They are still there, definitely (just told my 13 yo for the third time to brush his teeth, in fact.....aaaargh with the following of directions), but waaay better than they were.

 

Second, I wanted to encourage you about two natural approaches that we have tried that have had great results with my kids. NOT because I am anti-meds, PLEASE don't think that! I have done meds with my kids, and the only reason we stopped was because we couldn't afford the double $50 co-pays every month anymore. The meds were a great tool to help my kids focus. We used Strattera, btw, because both kids have tic disorders, in addition to their ADD. You probably know that Strattera is the med that works best for kids that have tic disorders in addition to the ADD, because it is not a stimulant.

 

OK, so since we couldn't afford the meds anymore, we looked for what else we could try. Two things have worked amazingly well.

 

(1) Omega 3 therapy. I read "The LCP Solution" by Jacqueline Stordy, in which she talks about the amazing results they have had in treating kids with ADD by giving them therapeutic doses of Omega 3 fatty acids. More than 50% of the kids improved so dramatically they did not need medication anymore. Worked exactly that way in my family - it helped my son just that much, but did not help my daughter.

 

(2) Chiropractics, chiropractics, chiropractics! Did I mention chiropractics? WOW! I can NOT believe the difference in my kids. First of all, my daughter's tics completely disappeared. Her ADD dramatically improved. My son's tics have diminished to the point that he can hide them and others don't notice them anymore. And he can now compensate for his ADD - so even though it's still an issue, it is waaay better than it used to be. Not to mention the help for their anxiety issues (a topic for another thread!), my carpal tunnel syndrome, and whole family's immune systems.

 

Keep lovin' your kids - and just know that there are others of us who have been there and understand.

[lynn]

Did they just take the supplements was there a specific kind to use? THanks for the encouragement and new info to look into. I don't think my son would do the chiropracter he goes nuts with the unknown factor of anything medical, cold sweats, running off, screaming.... I'll run the idea by h im and let him research and see if he wants to try it though. But the omega 3 seems simple enough to try.

[Lady Katherine]

I SO understand. ADD can be so difficult. If you're the praying type, I can tell you it does help. (It doesn't do much of anything for the behavior, but it can really boost the mom's patience.) Just remember... he WILL grow up, and he WILL be okay!

[Lady Katherine]

I agree. Meds can be a Godsend.

[Amy from WT]

I'll see if I can find a specific web site on the kind of chiropractics we use and its effectiveness on ADD.

 

Our chiropractor practices the "Blair method", which is just adjusting the upper cervical vertebrae. It is an extremely gentle and effective method.

 

And yes, there are specific brands of supplements recommended and dosages to use; brands recommended are only because there is no control over the quality of fish oil used and so these are the ones they have found to be the best. The best news is that they have a website, making research extremely easy :D. Try http://www.lcpsolution.com.

[nancypants]

Yikes. You are making more sure that my second son does have ADD, he is constantly making loud repetitive strange sounds. (Usually not anywhere but at home.) But we don't (and won't) medicate as though it's trying our patience, we are managing... and when I compare him to my brother (who had ADHD and was medicated) he is much much more manageable and enjoyable as a person even than my brother was *on* meds. I can very much relate to being super annoyed with the sound/volume and speed at which he does *everything*!! (((hugs))) Hang in there!

[Amy from WT]

You know, I've just been wondering about something while reading this whole thread. Several posts have been about kids with ADD making loud, repetitive noises. It seems they can't help making these noises. Once, maybe twice, they've even been referred to as "tics."

 

My kids have ADD, and I've done lots and lots of research on ADD. My kids also have tic disorders. My son at one point developed a very loud annoying tic of coughing. Because of that, he was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome. So I did a lot of research on Tourette's Syndrome.

 

Ummmm....I am SO not an expert. PLEASE know that. And PLEASE know that I KNOW that I am not an expert. But I am just really wondering.....

 

I've never read about ADD kids making loud repetitive noises. Maybe they make lots of loud noises because they have lots of energy to burn off. But repetitive, no. But have you ever considered a tic disorder to be the cause of the repetitive noises that your child makes? Instead of the ADD?

 

I know that if you ask them to stop making the noises and they can, it's not a tic. If you ask them to stop, and they can't, or it even gets worse, it's generally thought to be a tic.

 

And...IF they have a tic disorder...and...IF they are on certain meds for ADD that are stimulants...it will make their tics much worse....

 

OK, I know I could be way off base, ignore me if I am! And I haven't figured out yet how to re-read the other posts on the thread while I am typing! So feel free to ignore this post if it is not helpful at all.

 

In the meantime, I have called my chiropractor to see if she knows if any websites on how helpful chiropractics are to ADD. I know she has printed material on it; we'll just see if she has a shortcut to web articles...

[nancypants]

You know, I've just been wondering about something while reading this whole thread. Several posts have been about kids with ADD making loud, repetitive noises. It seems they can't help making these noises. Once, maybe twice, they've even been referred to as "tics."

 

My kids have ADD, and I've done lots and lots of research on ADD. My kids also have tic disorders. My son at one point developed a very loud annoying tic of coughing. Because of that, he was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome. So I did a lot of research on Tourette's Syndrome.

 

Ummmm....I am SO not an expert. PLEASE know that. And PLEASE know that I KNOW that I am not an expert. But I am just really wondering.....

 

I've never read about ADD kids making loud repetitive noises. Maybe they make lots of loud noises because they have lots of energy to burn off. But repetitive, no. But have you ever considered a tic disorder to be the cause of the repetitive noises that your child makes? Instead of the ADD?

 

I know that if you ask them to stop making the noises and they can, it's not a tic. If you ask them to stop, and they can't, or it even gets worse, it's generally thought to be a tic.

 

And...IF they have a tic disorder...and...IF they are on certain meds for ADD that are stimulants...it will make their tics much worse....

 

OK, I know I could be way off base, ignore me if I am! And I haven't figured out yet how to re-read the other posts on the thread while I am typing! So feel free to ignore this post if it is not helpful at all.

 

In the meantime, I have called my chiropractor to see if she knows if any websites on how helpful chiropractics are to ADD. I know she has printed material on it; we'll just see if she has a shortcut to web articles...

 

 

Well, in our case, our little guy has never been diagnosed so I only have a hunch that he may have ADD. (I don't want to go off on this... but my gut is that it is way over-diagnosed... not that it's not real! I just think it's over-diagnosed these days.) In his case, he can stop the noises... he usually makes them if he's been sitting still for a long time and has pent up energy that needs to escape or if he is running across the house and up the stairs... (like Da da da da da da da da da [getting progressively louder as he goes] or ear piercing squeals or squawks) and in those instances he also uses that pent up energy to tease his brothers, jump out at them, jump on them, drive them to insanity... what have you!

 

Actually I had never heard of this (repetitive noise thing) being an ADD thing until I read this post this morning and since he's never been diagnosed I tend to just glean what I can from others whose children have been diagnosed.

 

Perhaps he doesn't have ADD... maybe he is just a super high energy child. Either way, I'm glad (as much as he drives me positively bonkers sometimes) that I am homeschooling him. He would likely get into a lot of trouble at school! :o

 

Thanks for your thoughts. :D

[Amy from WT]

Well, I certainly know that I am just super 'tuned-in' for these things, only because of my own background with my own kids, that's all! And there's certainly thousands of super-duper high energy kids out there driving parents bonkers with crazy noises, that's for sure! AND tic disorders are relatively uncommon, thank goodness.

 

I knew my son had ADHD from the time he was an infant - he was SO high energy from the get-go. Goodness, I never had a question about him. But my daughter didn't have that "H" component, so I didn't pick it up in her until she was in the 5th grade. But him? bouncing off the walls from Day 1. I remember pulling my hair out schooling him in Kindergarten....if I turned my attention away from him for even a second, he was just gone. Literally, gone - from the room - off on a wild adventure somewhere else and it took me 15 minutes to get him back. Oh my goodness, the frustration!

 

I forget about all that, it's so much easier now! Not perfect, but definitely EASIER!!!

 

The most encouraging thing I ever read about ADD kids was that they very very often have very high intelligences. Oh boy did I grab onto that as fact and never let go!

 

Have you ever read "How to Get Your Child Off of the Refrigerator and Onto Learning" by Carol Barnier? Wonderful book, with very practical teaching tips for those homeschooling ADD kids. And don'tcha just love the title?!