symptoms of add-adhd ?

[brainpain]

my 9yr old daughter has some problems i think she has add/adhd. she was seen by an add/adhd spealist last year. the doctor tinks she has it but wanted her teacher to fill out the forms. her teacher was complaining alot about her behavior.she has trouble listening-finishing tasks-wanting to lay in floor-alot of talking. but when i asked her teacher to help with the forms she tells me she doesent have those problems? i returned the  form to the doctor the doctor questioned me, i had read the form her teacher filled out and was concerned , so i took her school behavior logs with me. the log told a totaly different story than what her teacher filled out. doctor was very upset at her teacher, told me when a child had add-adhd the teacher had a lot more work to do. my daughters teacher told me to put her in special ed .  i refused to do that and told her teacher if she was no problem as she said on the forms why would i put her in special ed. now my daughter is starting to steal, she stoled the teachers lunch and dident know why she did it. she chews on everything,stairs off and dont hear or pay attention to anyone .her impulses is she does things before thinking and eats more than i do and will sneak up to eat. im going to take her for another testing , i just got to know is something wrong with her or is she just acting up. anyone with experiance on this please tell me whats going on. is this add-adhd or something else.

[Sally44]

Just been reading your posts about mainstream vs special ed.  I am in a similar situation with my son who is 7.5 years with autism.  He is smart but not learning at all in mainstream and special ed also seems to be low IQ, which he isn't.  What I am doing is going to an educational tribunal to ensure (a) my son gets all the supports he needs in school, and (b) I am trying to get the State to pay for a place in a private school for high functioning children on the spectrum.
So, in your case, I would also advise you get some educational law legal advice about what you and your child's rights are.  I know a number of other parents (all kids with ADHD and/or on the autistic spectrum) have gone down this route and have won.  In the UK, by law, the state has to put your child in an 'appropriate' educational setting therefore it is not you or your child's fault that the state has no provision for children like yours.  Afterall you are not unique!  Therefore if the State aren't providing a suitable educational setting you can get your own private reports, a solicitor and head to tribunal.  It's not cheap, but it can make the difference between your child not being able to access education at all and being drugged up to the eyeballs as opposed to being in an educational setting that meets their needs and also stimulates their intellectual level so that they actually achieve and get results.
Some families home teach, or do a combination of home teaching and private tuition.  This can be individual children or with families who have got together in small groups.  Sometimes you just have to think outside the box.  You don't have to be happy with what is being offered you.

[brainpain]

thanks to you all. i dont want to put her in special ed , because last year i looked into it at her school. the special ed here is for mental retardation and down syndrome kids, if you are in special ed you are in a seprate area and never around the other children. i know my daughter is a smart child . when her teacher talked to us about putting her in special ed she just cryed and begged me not to put her in special ed. her teacher was on her case all last year ,and just wanted her out of her class . i am hopefull this year she will get a good teacher that will help in the diagnose of add-adhd . thanks to you all.all advice is welcome,brainpain

[Sue438]

From what I have read, some people believe it does run in the family. The father of my oldest two has it and all of his kids (5) have it. Sandman2 is right about the punishment part, I found what works the best for my daughter in regards of punishment is to talk about what she did and what she was thinking at the time, explain why I am upset with what she did and how are we going to keep it from happening again. It works majority of the time for me, but every kid is different.
But I can't agree with the special ED part, sorry Sandman2. My daughter is an honor student, but at one time I agreed to put her in an special ed class, it was the worst mistake I made. She wasn't being challenged enough, so what does a bored child do...cause a ruckus. Once she was placed in an advanced class she was kept so busy with all the work, she became one of the best students. But again every child is different. Again good luck.

[brainpain]

thanks sue,  my daughter did steal candy from walmart , the scary thing is we dident see her take it. my husband did take her to the police station and the cops talked to her. we took her to walmart and made her give it back and tell them she was sorry.but she steals from the family , she crys and tells me she dident mean to.i wont put her in special ed.but im going to find a peds doctor that specializes in add/adhd. i think it would be less stressful if i knew she had a problem other than just acting out.she is a totalty different child than my other two kids .her cousin has adhd does it run in familys?thanks again for your advice,brainpain

[Sue438]

Sounds like your talking about my daughter, and she has ADHD. They started her off on Adderal XR, but she is now on Vyvance (sp). She did and does all the things you have listed, including the stealing and not knowing why. Your best bet is to try and find a peds doctor that specializes in ADD/ADHD. If she is found to have ADHD, so of the things she does might not go away, like the stealing. For me the last straw was when my daughter vandalized the neighbors boat, he wouldn't call the cops, so I did....she has stolen or vandalized a thing since. The only way I can describe my child with ADHD is like Pinocchio without the Jimmy Cricket (the little cricket telling him not to do bad things). Good luck I hope you are able to get to the bottom of this. Oh and by the way most ADHD kids are very bright, special ed is the last place they need to be in.