I frikken give up! Is it ADD?

You are the perfect parent for it, should it go there, Boom.

Patience and understanding.

ADD is always the easy answer. What do You think?

RH

I'm no expert (hah, my cousin is, somewhat, but we don't talk about her work that often) and don't have well developed opinions for or against any kind of approach to it. I post to say I saw an article in some place reputable not all that long ago about a tendency for a.d.d. to resolve itself. I'll see if I can dig that up. Not that even if true that would be of any immediate help.

Go ahead and have him evaluated. Then go from there.

Well, I'll try to stay off my soapbox, but I think ADD is WAY over-diagnosed, particularly in young children. That doesn't mean that it doesn't exist and it doesn't mean I have any kind of opinion on whether Mo should or shouldn't be evaluated, but isn't he in first grade?

Anyhow... I used to play an attention game with K. I'd give her a list of two or three things to do (like a scavenger hunt) and she had to do them in order. If she was successful she went on to the next level and I gave her more things to do. It went something like...

Pet the cat (or anything that could be done in the room we were in)
go upstairs and jump three times
find a pair of shoes from my closet
bring the shoes to your bedroom and leave them there.
bring back a toy to play with here.

She loved it. Raced around all over the house doing the tasks and returning with a toy. A kid with ADD won't get past step two or three without getting distracted and sticking with one of the results (playing dressup at the closet, for instance, or staying in their room). The whole thing can't take more than a minute or two. It's certainly not a definitive assessment, but it's fun and will give you an idea on whether he can attend to things that are fun.

Her first grade teacher was the first one to mention the possibility of ADD to me. I read through the criteria and depending on who is doing the assessing (it's subjective), she may have met enough of the criteria to be 'diagnosed'. She has a number of emotional issues, mainly anxiety coupled with occasional depression. She isn't ADD but could have easily been evaluated as such.

I guess I would say to proceed carefully (not that you wouldn't anyway) and to continue to advocate for Mo as you always have.

I've always suffered from SUBTRACT.

What do I think?

I think I don't want to drug my kid into "normal".

I've worked really really hard to avoid the ADD tag for him. But like the doctor said -- if that is what it is that I'm doing a diservice to Mo by denying it.

I too think it is way overdiagnosed and I told the doctor that I thought so (and I told him a few other choice bits of my mind on the topic).

Mr. B last night said the thought Mo was depressed. Today the doctor said kids that are untreated often get depressed.

The other day one of the kids in Mo's class told me he was glad he wasn't on Mo's baseball team because Mo couldn't pay attention and today the doctor said kids will avoid ADD kids because they cause problems.

I've been on that same soapbox forever JPB but I do have to start wondering if I'm the one that's wrong.

I've been on that soapbox too, but I'll just say the truth, I don't know.

Just my opinion but I believe that all children suffer from one learning disability or another, it's most often called "childhood" the incidence of actual somatic learning disabilites is rare.

Boom, thank God ADD was pre me.

I woulda been the posterchild. I have a soft spot for kids like Mo, as you know, and have my own opinions. (I did get into baseball)

If he does not stay with Baseball, work down, find something that makes him stay involved.

I made it without drugs, and drugging kids to make it easier for the adults just hits a bad spot in me...

RH

It's all good to have views, opinions, and theories, but at the end of the day your approach has to work. If it does not work then you need to do something else, which may mean that some of your views, opinions or theories might need to be changed.

Avoiding having the medical folks test Mo for ADD was not working, so now you are doing something else. You are doing what needs to be done.

I would ask around for a really good specialist to evaluate him -- someone who maybe has a reputation for conservative diagnosis and treatment. If it is ADD, there are other things besides drugs to treat it (I think). I guess I think it would be good to know for sure, and then you can proceed from there -- carefully as JPB said.

I have the same soapbox as everyone else. But maybe a really good specialist can tell the difference between ADD and whatever else it could be, and maybe that could help Mo.

ADD or ADHD (with hyperactivity)? I haven't really read up on this thread. I'd say if your doctor is talking about it, you should look into it (as you are). Oh.... I am a little drunk and a lot tired. I will post more later.

Here's some of what I know about ADD/ADHD. It's sometimes fused with other issues of social and academic importance. And is hard to nail down. Many cases are not diagnosed and many kids are diagnosed in error. While a diagnosis can be stigmatizing, the assistance he will receive would benefit any child, learning disabled or not, in school. Other accompanying issues include autism (huge range of manifestations), executive function disorder (organization problems), volatile emotional problems. Manifestations include jumpiness (especially in avoidance of work/thinking), confusion after receiving a set of directions, difficulty in organizing thoughts for 'output' (writing or discussion on a subject), and disorganized workspace. Also, there is sometimes a level of impulsivity that goes with it.

More later, Boomer. If he has ADD, you and he can handle it. The path may not always be clear, but you'll find people to support you when you chose the path.

Yeah, isn't there some thinking that certain dietary stuff can help a lot? I don't quite remember what...I have vague memories of avoiding preservatives, maybe? Dyes? Prolly just artificial stuff in general...

I mean, that sort of sounds like what you were saying in the beginning, Boomerang, about allergies being linked to behavioral stuff-- even though it's apparently not allergies there still might be some dietary stuff that could help...

My godchild was diagnosed with ADD when he was around six or seven
years old. The teachers were the main proponents for having him on medication. Through a therapist he was prescribed Ritalin for quite some time, however, the side effects were too severe to have him continue the drug.

He lost his appetite and wouldn't eat, seemed quite withdrawn, and had
difficulties sleeping. His parents stopped with Ritalin, changed therapists
and worked on alternative treatment forms, mainly changing his diet
(no sugar at all), and today he's 14 years old and a perfectly normal
teenager.

I personally think, he had no ADD, he might have had food allergies
and ate way to much sugar in food and beverages - one of these little juice
pouches has up to 28 gram of sugar alone.

I would start making diet changes and monitor closely how the kid reacts
to certain foods.

My thoughts exactly!

<Hey there sweetie ;-) >

Me too!

boomerang, I have very bad ADD or now what they call ADHD. I and my condition was neglected and I turned out fine. I am a hard worker, concietious and smart and I think I have a good personality I just can't spell.

The only bad thing that happened was that I am a bit of an under acheiver but that is only because the people around me when I was a kid did not have a mom like you or teachers that cared. Just make sure Mo is not ignored by "professinals" collecting a paycheck for nothing. AND DON'T PUT MO ON DRUGS.

ADD means nothing really in fact I think it can be a gift if it is directed and handeld by a loving parent. Alot of famous artist and millionairs have ADD. In alot of ways people with ADD blow other people out of the water. It is when you look at ADD as somthing wrong with somebody instead of them just being different that it becomes a problem.

The problem I see with having him evatuated, Boomer, is that you could open a huge can of worms (as I did with my son) that can make your life a living hell.
After my son was tested positive for ADHD, Ritalin was recommend, which I refused to do because of all the negative information I read about Ritalin.
After I refused, the school got involved and pressured me to drug my son. After refusing, DSS was call and because it was recommended by a shrink, they said if I refused to medicate him, necessary action would be taken (meaning they threatened to take my son).
I had no choice but to give him the Ritalin and he had the same sever side effects that Jane mentioned and more!
Ritalin and all the other meds prescribed to treat ADD/ADHD fall into the same category of drug as cocaine. No joke!
Anyway, I slowly stopped giving my son the Ritalin, but didn't say a word to anyone in fear of losing my son. I filled the prescriptions and flushed them when I got home.
This worked for about 6 months until one day my son mentioned to the school counsellor that he wasn't on the Ritalin anymore and not long after that, DSS calls and wants a meeting, where they handed me a paper accusing me of medical neglect and if I didn't put my son back on the poison, they would take him.

Boomer, I had to leave the country to protect my son and the nightmare began instantly after I had him evaluated and it lasted 8 long devistating years before I finally took my son across the Canadian border.

If you knew just a fraction of what both my son and I went through, you would run like the wind from having Mo evaluated.

My son was far from an easy child, but he was 100 easier that what the system put me through all those years.

Hang in there girl.

I totally agree. If ADD/ADHD existed in my youth, I would have been diagnosed full blast.

The schools telling my son that he had a disability simply gave my son an excuse for not doing things. It would be "but mom, I have ADHD and the schools tell me that my disorder is why I can't do some things". Then I would say "funny, you were able to do these things before they told you that you had ADHD". He says "well then, it must be getting worse".

By telling my son he had a disorder, they handicapped him and then I really had my hands full because he had an excuse for not doing things he did before. He even stopped doing his homework and they wanted to know why I couldn't make him do it.
I suppose he would have done it if I held a gun to his head or tortured him in some way, but I kinda love my boy, so I was out of options.

Einstein was ADHD.