ADHD

Does anyone on here have a child diagnosed with ADHD? We are concerned about Ian. At home, we see an impulsive, constantly talking, fidgety, hard to focus child. So they did middle of the year testing and Ian's reading level severely dropped. I noticed at home that he is beginning to have trouble with phonics that I know he has mastered. Learning disabilities run rampant on both sides of our family, so I am hyper-vigilant and always watching. I don't want my children to experience the teasing and low self-esteem I suffered because of LD. Anyway, I talked to guidance and asked her what she thought. She tells me that she was glad that I came to talk to her, because she was not sure how to talk to me. (I am a teacher at same school) I was surprised by that because I chat with her all the time. Anyway, she told me that she has noticed some behaviors in Ian that concern her. She noticed some of the same things I noted above. So we agreed to do a Connors test at home and at school. His teacher did not score him as high as my husband and I did. But, I know from his special area teachers, he is a bit hyper.

Should I just take him to the doctor to get evaluated? I just don't know. Anyone with any advice?

 

I don't have any personal experience with it, but my nephew was severely ADHD. You could spot it in a crowd 20 miles away. Once her was put on meds (I know, that sounds horrible) he was much more controllable and able to concentrate. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have him tested. Good luck Laura!

 

Absolutely take him to get tested. And it should be more than just his pediatrician who does the testing (the pedi can probably tell you who to call, though). You might learn he has ADHD and then you will be able to get some support for him, or you'll learn he's just a hyper kid - and you might get suggestions on diet (like eliminating all food dyes) even if he isn't diagnosed with ADHD. The earlier you learn how his brain works, the earlier he can start therapy, medicine, get accomodations in school, etc. And all that will lead to him feeling better about himself, which is always good!

 

My son has severe ADHD. He was testing in the 1 percentile of most every content area. He was kicked out of one school a couple of years ago and had severe behavioral issues. I strongly suggest seeing a child psychiatrist. His meds and behavior was not under good control until we started seeing one. For about a year we saw both a counselor and a child psychiatrist every other week. He is 14 now and had caught back up to his peers and making A's and B's in school. He now has no behavioral issues, but it was years of pure hell until we started seeing the child psychiatrist. Of course my son is an extreme case, but his issues began in daycare, we just didn't understand what was happening. If you have any concerns, find a good child psychiatrist, don't leave it up to a pediatrician. They just don't have the necessary training to treat and diagnose, especially if it might be a severe case.

 

We recently, like last month had Jonathan evaluated. I too had a teacher say she was glad I started the eval, in that she was just about to talk to me. I went in "knowing" that he would get an AD/HD diagnosis, and would be put on meds. I was wrong. It turns out he has CAPD, an auditory processing disorder--a true LD. His behaviors "look" like ADD, but his intelligence combined with the LD, show that it was something totally off my radar.

My point is to go for the eval--with a neurodevelopmentalist if possible.

 

We are pursuing a CAPD diagnosis for one of my DDs. She will be tested next year ( we were told by several sources that it can not be accurately diagnosed until age 7--- before that it may be developmental in nature). She has symptoms of inattentiveness but not hyperactivity, also seems to have a listening problem/hearing issues without actually having them (hearing has been tested!). CAPD has been tossed around since she was 3/4 by various professionals that have worked with her.

I have already been in touch with her teacher and the local clinic that does CAPD testing (in our case the hospital developmental Speech/Language clinic). Our school can not and does not evaluate for CAPD.


Curious: Sharon-- do you have an IEP or 504 in place for your DS? Did the school do academic testing and is he doing academically gradewise ( my DDs school will not do an assessment since she is at or beyond grade level, but both the teacher and I are really not sure what to do about it since she struggling to 'function' in the classroom so it is frustrating)

OP: Have you explored hearing, CAPD, or other avenues?

 

KC, we are having the consent to eval. meeting next week. Academically, he is at the top of his class, but his teachers have reported him getting things wrong which they know he knows. Also, he has told me on a number of occasions when missing a question, that "he wasn't there when they taught that", even though we know he was at least physically present.

The Dr. didn't actually do the full CAPD testing, because he felt it wasn't worth the time, since his responses were so classic, and he knows the school will test him anyway. My big fight is going to be for speech. Fortunately, he is already in an inclusion classroom, so placement doesn't need to change. It is a trick to keep him challenged though, since one recommendation was for him to have an academically gifted IEP--that will be tough here, since they really don't do much for gifted, but I will have to see what I can do.

 

Also got his vision tested, we just learned that Isabel has vision tracking problems, while having 20/20 vision. She just completed a Vision Training session, and I'm meeting withthe doctor tomorrow to see what our next steps are to "re-train" her eyes.

 

Hi LauraM

We recently went thru this with B. I had her tested by a behavioral specialist ( I think that's what she was called). Testing came back that she was not ADHD, but I was told to make sure she ate a high protien breakfast. This has been ahuge help in B's focus issues.