Possible ADD

[ABlankPage]

My sister, that I take care is displaying attention problems at school and at home. She recieves notes from school that will say "not paying attention" or "not listening" or "not following directions. At home I have to repeat myself in order for her to listen to me several times. My dad calls it "selective hearing", but I think it could be worse then that. I've read up on the home situation before and supposedly less tv and more interactive activities with her parents (which I do instead) will help her listen the first time. It's been helping a little but I think she needs more of a boost. I had ADD problems aswell as 2 other of my siblings, the sister I look out for is only a half sister, but she could have picked it up from my dad anyway.
I talked to my dad about getting her ADD medication and he fears it will make her worse. 15 years ago my brother took ADD medication that had some weird side effects and my dad doesn't want my sister to go through the same thing.
My sister is also just a kindergartener so my dad doesn't think it's important to have medication for the first year of school. I however think kindergarten is extremely important and I don't want my sister falling behind because of a condition that can be helped by medication.

I was wondering if any of you have a child on ADD medication if they still have the same side effects they did 15 years ago? Or any other information would be great.

[specialmom]

Usually, a child isn't diagnosed with ADD until age 6 at the earliest.  Kids can show behaviors like ADD/ADHD up until that point.  And many things can be behind the focas problem besides just ADD.  She may be immature, she may have a different delay, she may be emotionally distraught with the loss of a parent (it sounds like since you care for her), etc.  Anyway, for medication to come into play-----  she would have to go through a formal diagnosis which is very important because if she doesn't really have ADD she will still have the behavior but also with all the side effects.  Her school system can help with the evaluation and I would wait until they suggest it.

I think it is very admirable for you to look out for your little sister.  That is truly a gift to have someone who cares.  Try to listen to her teacher and school couselor as they will be good resources for what direction to take.

Also, someone who posts here has some good natural remedies that they may be able to recommend for you to try too.  I'm just learning about that so I'll let them help you if you are interested. Good luck----  you are doing a great job.

[ABlankPage]

Thanks for the feedback. I've been keeping in contact with her teacher and she's letting me know how she's doing in school with her attention problems. I think alot has to do with what she has picked up on. Yes, her mother passed away when she was a baby and my dad is pretty busy with his life. My sister is used to watching tv all day and playing computer games, since I moved in I'm trying to make sure she finds other things to do by playing games with her and going over lessons the teacher has asked me to do with her.
I'm hoping being more interactive with her will be a small part of a natural remedy for her attention problems, it sure has helped alot of other different aspects involving her behavior.

It could take time, so if she's the same way in a couple more years I'm going to have a doctor see if they can diagnose if she has ADD or not.

Thanks for your input :)