My son started Kindergarten this year and I wanted to ask all you teachers and parents out there about any experiences you've had with children with ADD. It seems Matt has alot of trouble focusing on instructions given by the teacher and doesn't seem capable of paying attention for very long. Two teachers have filled out paperwork from Matt's pediatrician and both seem to think he will be diagnosed with ADD. We have started him on some exercises and got him started with guitar lessons. He also wants to try swimming. What are your thoughts on drug therapies, are they effective, is one better than another? Any feedback would be appreciated. Matt is a very good little boy, and they do not believe he has the hyper component of the disorder, but he just can't concentrate without alot of reminders. I am just at a loss because I don't want him to loss his personality because of medication.
Friday, September 12, 2008
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11 comments:
in my experiance many many boys have trouble focusing and I would certainly try everythign else before drugs. especially just waiting a year or two to see if he outgrows it and matures a bit. keeping him busy is key but not too busy if you know what I mean.
tracy- my son has been a very active child and in the fourth grade his teacher tried to convince me to medicate him because he didn't have the "focus" she wanted. boys are just active and they need to be involved. i'm against meds to begin with and it has been my experience that by changing the diet and keeping them active (with discipline) really helps. i have some other remedies sort a speak if you would like more info...email me @ anessentialtouch@yahoo.com....
I wouldn't medicate him until you have exhausted all other options. I certainly wouldn't diagnose a four year old who is normally very active and is suddenly expected to sit in a classrom as having ADD. I find that, for some reason, people are very quick to label kids and it irks me, because then they go through their entire academic career with this label and teachers make judgements about them based on a diagnosis on a piece of paper, rather than by knowing the child. I would explore changing his diet, looking for foods that might trigger certain behaviors and I would also focus on finding ways to keep his mind active and interested. No one can focus on one thing for two long, and to expect a four year old to do it, well, I think it's like asking for a miracle. Does he go to school all day or half a day?
He goes for a full day. This is actually a repeat year for him. He had a speech delay diagnosed at age 2 and has been in speech therapy ever since. I put him in K last year so he could get more speech with the idea of having him repeat. He barely missed the cuttoff and was the youngest in his class last year, if it weren't for the speech thing I would probably have held him back till now anyway. He is well behaved but has to have everything repeated several times just to him, she can't tell the whole class and have him follow her, she has to go right up to him and repeat everything just for him. He is already on the diet, he is not a fussy eater so it was not hard to modify his foods, he already ate mostly vegis and protien - few sweets. I appreciate the input and suggestions, keep em coming.
Tracy,
As a teacher, I had many students who were supposedly ADD. But I often struggled to see why. In eleven years, I can honestly say I taught one boy who was truly ADD...not just on medication to control behavior that teachers or parents didn't like.
I also think it's a little early in the school year for the teacher to determine this. It takes children of all ages longer than a few weeks to adjust to a new classroom, teacher, and expectations.
Diet can play a huge part in dealing with ADD or similiar behaviors. I have a friend who has "controlled" her son's ADD simply through diet. It was amazing.
I agree with MJ, Andrea, and Vicki in saying to hold off on the medication. I've seen students on several different kinds. It often caused more problems that it solved. Although I do realize it can be beneficial for certain children.
I'd research as much as you can, which I'm sure you are. And don't let the teachers or even the pediatrician force you to make a decision you are not 100% comfortable with. Unfortunately, a lot of teachers I worked with pushed for an ADD diagnosis, simply to achieve order in their classrooms. Sad, but true.
Also, my husband would have been definitely diagnosed with ADD had it been the trend back when he was in elementary school. He simply could not function in a classroom as teachers expected him to. And yet he survived and succeeded.
Good luck!
Jamie, you said everything I wanted to say but so much more completely and eloquently.
i agree with everyone else...even just after reading your post and not reading their comments, i would not be quick to medicate...i dont even like giving my kids tylenol if it isnt absolutely necessary...all these new drugs these days are just crazy...why was there none of this when we were younger...not just ADD but everything else too...there is a drug for everything & sometimes its just the easy way out
this teacher has known matthew for a little over a year and a half, and tutored him over the summer. She is actually the one who told me to be careful because she did not want Matt to lose his cute little personality, and she insists he is not a disruption in class, just falling behind because he needs things repeated several times. (I think it is hereditary because I have to do the same thing with his father) She says she doesn't mind working with him as is and it is my choice about the medication, me and the pediatrician of course. The pediatrician is also not pushy about the medication. She has a special needs child of her own and believes medication is the last resort. I just don't want Matt to fall behind. He is very bright, already reading well and doing 1st grade math, just not quite there with social skills and comprehension.
Tracy,
I wouldn't worry too much about Matt falling behind at this point. I mean, I understand your concerns! But if he is bright, already reading(wow!), and doing first grade math, it sounds to me like he is already succeeding!
I've found boys are often slower with social skills. And comprehension will come...he is still so young! And heck...he is READING! I'm impressed!
Santa brought him "hooked on phonics" and it worked great. Now he can read cat in the hat books pretty well and a few other beginner books. He learned the math with a leapfrog math learning desk. I was knitting in the living room and he was at a table behind me and started answering the machines questions. I was shocked that he got them all right, and I asked him how he learned all that. He said "is it hard?" Brilliant and he doesn't know it because people treat him like he is slow because of the speech thing.
lots of times kids who don't pay attention are really smart what happens is they are actually bored so they misbehave, talk to much, or do something that appears naughty.
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