It has been suggested that my daughter has ADHD.

[Shesmysarah]

My daughter is 8 and in second grade. Beginning in kindergarten I have had numerous visits with either her teacher or the teacher, principal and a counselor as a group regarding my daughter. They suggested ADHD as a possible cause. The problem is that she doesn't always "hear" or even pay attention in class, and has in the past (last year) gotten up from her seat during the time in class when they were doing individual work, has said (sometimes) she doesn't remember what she did in class during the day, and even hit a girl (Needless to say, we had a long talk and an appropriate punishment for doing that). She's behind in her class since she barely passed 1st grade (I'm not sure that was a good idea). The inattention and speaking out in class when it wasn't appropriate continued, and we continue to have  talks about what behavior is allowed and what is not to this day. She's very proud of when she has a good day at school, as am I and I make a point of letting her know that. I took her to a doctor who ruled out any medical problems and also suggested ADHD. I've read alot about the subject and cringe when I see how many children are medicated to the point that they just go through life in a robotic state, or have even worse problems because of medication.
I love my daughters outgoing personality, love for life,and her absolute love of dance and music! She's done better this year, but still struggles with homework because she doesn't always understand what the teacher is trying to show her in class.


This discussion is related to 2 year old son with poor eye contact.

[monsters]

Hi, my daughter is going through the process of an ADHD assessment I'm also againt medications and have been told I can give her pure mareen fish oils... They will help calm her and concentrate in school... Not sure if this helps :) xXx
     I am also looking for advice on my son as he is 8yrs old soon to be 9yrs and will wipe phoo over the bathroom walls, he can be very aggressive, controling and can be very nasty 2his little brother and sister please could someone give me any advice... He doesn't seem to understand the things he does... Please help...

[specialmom]

Hi there.  One thing that happens is that when a child struggles, teachers often go straight to add/adhd when it could be other things.  While it could be add/adhd, it might not be.  If I were you, I'd look at what the symptoms are of add/adhd----  go online and see what you think.  Some of the symptoms are vague and everyone does something that is on that list from time to time.  People even joke "I'm having an add moment", right?  But if you read it and it goes ding ding ding, then it is something to look into further.  

Other things could be playing a role though.  My son has sensory integration disorder which can look a LOT like add/adhd.  I would highly encourage you to look at this as well because it is the lesser known, diagnosed of the two and many kids that are really sensory get put into the add/adhd arena and the two disorders are treated differently.  A good web site is sensory processing disorder (google that and it should pop up  under spd).  We've had a tremendous amount of luck turning things around for my boy and making things at school so much better for him (remember, a child that is struggling at school and getting in trouble internalizes that in negative ways----  they don't like it much either.)  For sensory, you do occupational therapy which is wonderful, kids love it.  

Your daughter could simply have auditory processing issues which is under the sensory umbrella.  

Other kids have trouble with the academics of school.  Learning the material is difficult and hence, they 'act up'.  Many a class clown is having trouble comprehending the work.  By trying to figure out what the difficulty is, then you can help her with that area.  Perhaps reading is troublesome and then reading recovery programs are instituted.  My own boy had trouble with fine motor skills  so handwriting was tedious for him (again, part of that sensory issue he has)---  so he'd avoid writing.  By first grade, you can't get by without writing.  So school would be very hard unless we addressed his core issue.  Does that make sense?  

Some kids really need  movement during their day----  it directly affects the nervous system.  Perhaps a chair pad (that the school should have) made for wiggle worms would help----  they are inflatable and sit on top of their chair and they can wiggle around a bit without getting up.  Stetches and movement during the day can make a big difference for some kids.

So, look up sensory and add/adhd and come back and see what you think.

By the way, my boy processes a bit slowly and that is particularly true in a busy, chaotic, exciting classroom.  He's very smart----  this has nothing to do with intelligence. My son reads at about 2.5 grade levels above his (he's 8 and in second grade) but during a test in which he is reading for time, it will depend on what is going on around him for how fast he reads.  They test for this----  words per minutes.  My son can do well over a 140 typically but if it is 'busy' around him, he can drop to the 60 to 80 range.  It is because he processes more slowly in a chaotic environment----  and reading the word, understanding it and then getting the signal to his oral motor muscles takes a lot of fast processing, his words per minute are slower then.  Does that make sense?  

Look into it and get back to us.  Lots of support here at med help for sensory, add/adhd and many other issues a child can have.  Lots of us have kids that have challenges.  good luck

[bebe1974]

I would take her to a behavioural paediatrician for a proper diagnosis. My understanding of ADHD is that the kids NEVER sit still and TEAR A ROOM APART. I thought my son had it, until I found clarification through his paediatrician and speech therapist. He has autism. He is a kid with his own agenda; why? because he has sensory issues, making it difficult to process sounds and sights and basically to take it all in. He knows how puzzles should be and can do them whe I help him and is happy, but when I am in the next room he tries to do them on his own and gets it wrong so he hides it under the table. At first they thought he was deaf because he would seldom respond to his name or words. He rarely sits down long enough to eat or do an activity, but I have recently won eye contact from him. I thank fish oil for this (as do many many parents I know) as well as removing gluten from his diet. Apparently the gluten sometimes only helps a little, but with our son he is now actually aware of his surroundings, he was so lost before. I also fing that occupational therapy helps. You can get alot of ideas from a therapist to work on with your child at home as well. Things like turn taking and waiting for others to finish speaking before you get up, and looking at a person in the eye when they talk. One thing that my husband found whe he was at school was that he did very well in the subject he received one on one tutoring. We suspect my husband demonstrated many traits that our son now exhibits when my husband was young. It is about social cues and processing information. Also, these kids have higher needs for certain vitamins (hence why the fish oil helps, also vitamin C). Try and avoid food colourings and preservatives too. You will see a big difference. It is a wholistic approach you need to take, not just one thing. I wish you all the best; she sounds like a good kid - they often have hearts of gold...

[Majikat]

even if she is ADHD i would try natural remedies.... i cringe at the thought of medicating also...

my friends son is supposedly ADHD and he is on so  much medication it is sickenin.... i am very against medicating and i would try everything possible before trying that.... there are a lot of vitamins that you could start giving her

does she go to sleep well at night... does she like to play with the other kids

for her school work if you have the time than you could sit down with her everyday or you could get a tutor

my oldest son sounds a bit like your daughter and his school phoned me saying they think adhd because all they want is for the child to be medicated they dont really care

i honestly dont even really believe in the disorder i think its more of a way to get people to zombie their kids out... i think its possibly aspenrgers