Coincidentally, my local PBS ran reruns tonight of these earlier Frontline episodes on the topic. They may be of help for you. Here are the assocated web pages from the production.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/medicatedchild/parents/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/medicatedchild/faqs/
Boomer--
I'm speaking as the stepmother of two ADD kids.
Yes, there is frequent misdiagnosis, but after spending an entire year with a hyperactive kid spilling an eight ounce glass of milk at least once a day, putting that kid on Ritilan was a boon and a blessing. In most ways now he is a functioning adult.
The other stepson was diagnosed at 16 and refused treatement. He was already self-medicating with drugs and alcohol. He's 48 now, a common laborer, and still self-medicating with drugs and alcohol.
Listen to the experts--the ones with credentials who are dealing specifically with Mo.
Hold your dominion.
I agree with Noddy. Get several opinions if necessary. ADD is real. It doesn't mean that Mo has it, that's why you need a professional diagnosis. Given Mo's background, there could be other just as likely causes for his behavior. Have you gone back to the psychologist Mo saw a while back?
Re: I frikken give up! Is it ADD?
boomerang wrote:So I took Mo to the doctor today and the doctor says "No."
Which doctor? Can you find someone who specializes in food allergies?
I've calmed down a bit now after a semi-good night's sleep. Thank you all for your replies.
I don't think it's food allergies, I think it's seasonal allergies that aggrevate his behavior. I'm considering seeking out an allergist today though as this was just his regular doctor. Mo's latest wackiness started about the same time that we started rennovating the yard.
Mo saw a different therapist from the one a long time ago and we've been through some pretty intense stuff which really help in so many areas but some behavior problems persist. The last couple of weeks have been rough with Monday being a pinnacle of sorts. I started treating him with OTC allergy stuff Monday night and his teacher reported that he had "signifigant improvement" yesterday. That encouraged me to think I'd figured out what was going on but the doctor yesterday disagreed.
I believe in better living through chemistry (I know it's helped me), Noddy. What you're saying is very close to what the doctor said yesterday. Left untreated ADD kids will find ways to self medicate as they grow up.
Montana, it's your horror story that I always harken back to when ADD is mentioned. I mentioned to Mr. B this morning that my biggest fear is that once they make this evaluation there is no undoing it. (His reply: if we disagree with their recommendation we can always move so I told him your story and he said "Wow. OMFG. You're kidding.) We're going to look into having an evaluation done outside the school system.
They have so many labels for kids now that never existed when I was a kid and the easy way out is to drug them. For me it would have been Aspergers. In our over-achieving world, achievement of the regular kind get short shrift.
Mo loves baseball and he's really mad that we are making him take a little sabbatical from it (and his music lessons which he also loves) until things calm down. He needs to get control of himself before his world re-expands.
Sugar is everywhere! I really do my best to make sure sugarry stuff isn't around and to his credit Mo is not a big sweet eater. We don't eat a lot of prepared foods either so I know sugar isn't entering his diet through that. While I do believe that diet plays a big part in behavior I really think Mo's allergies are seasonal.
Mo just woke up so it's time for me to start the get to school hustle. Thanks again everyone (I hope I didn't miss anyone). I'll be checking out the links posted today.....
Thank you for those excellent links, butrflynet!
If he is found to have ADD by a specialist, see if the doctor has some suggestions on alternative ways to deal with ADD. I can completely understand that you wouldn't want to drug him to calm him down. One mom I know gives her child coffee. The doctor suggested it can help. He was the only first grader I knew that was allowed coffee at school. Some schools will support not putting a kid on drugs and will help with some sort of alternative.
Coffee? Really? I'm going to read up on that.
I'm having a hard time finding out where to go to get an evaluation. Do you see a psychiatrist? What?
Do you like your doctor? Would you trust his recommendation? Maybe the therapist he's seen most recently would have a good recommendation otherwise.
As a worker in the school system, I know that simply taking a child off ritalin wouldn't currently get the DDS called on you. Seems like that has changed for the better since Montana had her horror story.
The boy I work with was taken off the drugs. And, while the school and the family don't see eye-to-eye on the issue, we are all working together to figure out new ways to help him through his days, sans meds. No one called the DSS.
Boomer, getting Mo evaluated will give you knowledge and that knowledge will give you a fuller set of tools with which to aide your son. Once you know if there is a problem and what that problem is, you can take take more effective action.
You don't need to jump into medications. I can see that coffee might help. I also know that research shows kids with ADHD need more sugars because they burn more sugars. Finding which sugars and what combinations of sugars work for him might be my first step. I'd send him to school with a solid protein, a low-sugar juice and some whole grain crackers - some combo like that. Try a small drink of coffee one morning (on the weekend) and see how the day goes.....
And as someone who has to take allergy medication once in a while, they are not drugs without their own side-effects!
Boomer, my son was evaluated outside the school by a shrink that was suppose to be the best in Boston who specialized in ADD/ADHD. The school just felt compelled to involve themselves.
The people who call themselves professionals are the people who ruined my life.
The schools are not even allowed to talk to you about medication, but they do anyway.
I hate the word "professional", because it gives people power to hurt others who don't agree with them.
Be very very careful Boomer. All these so called disorders are simply a money racket controlled by Doctors and the drug companies. They could care less that countless of people are dying every day from prescription drugs as long as they get their $.
It's all about the $.
I was far from an easy child and as I said earlier, I would have been diagnosed full blast with ADHD (I'm still hyper as all hell and my brain is always racing), but I'm fine. As human beings, we are all cut differently and the fact that they are labelling perfectly healthy children with disorders simply because they don't fall into the majority class, is some scary stuff.
Ritalin and all other drugs used to treat ADD/ADHD is legal cocaine and is just as dangerous!
Do some research on the drugs they use to treat ADD/ADHD and you'll see that these drugs can cause major brain damage and even death. My son knew other kids who were ADD/ADHD and after a few years of taking Ritalin, they started chopping it up and snorting it, then eventually when that was enough, they move onto heavier drugs.
If you do decide to have him evaluated, don't tell the schools anything about it. If the schools know nothing about it (none of their business anyway) then I can't see where you would have any problems.
Best of luck to you Boomer.
It might be different in each state, but I think the evaluation can be done by a child psychologist, but if any drugs are to be prescribed, a doctor must do that. Boomer, I urge you to go to someone who know all of Mo's issues. This might be acting out or it might be ADD. Only a full evaluation with all of the pertinent info disclosed can have hope of uncovering the real diagnosis. Arm yourself with information, but don't try to diagnose him yourself.
I was looking around a bit for information about ADD diets, and I saw one place that suggested a coffee-protein shake for mornings...According to this place, 100 mg of coffee has similar effects to 5 mg of Ritalin. Here's the link:
http://www.oneaddplace.com/add-diet.php
(I don't know anything about the site--may or may not be reliable info--just thought it was interesting.)
I'm going to REALLY really recommend you look at the link I posted, Boomer.
It has the basics - but it also has a very solid reference section which should be helpful.
~~~
from the bottom third of the page (?)
Quote:You are your child's best advocate
You've got that part down pat.
With all due respect Littlek, my sons school called DSS on me once because my son went to school one day with messy hair. When DSS came to the house, I asked them what they thought about that and they said messy hair wasn't a DSS issue.
The school wanted my son on drugs and they tortured me with DSS in an attempt to get me to cooperate!
The school counsellor was so obsessed with my son that I had to go to the school and tell the principal I didn't want him having any further contact with my son because my son came home from school one day all upset saying I didn't care about him and it was because that idiot told him that I had given up on him because I refused to medicate him. Not long after that, I get a call from the school nurse telling me that the counsellor asked her to call to talk to me about putting my son back on Ritalin.
You don't raise your kids the way the schools want you too, they can be just as spiteful as anyone else. The only difference is that they have more power to do far more damage than anyone else!
"Professionals" don't like to be disagreed with. I know this from pure, unfiltered, experience. An experience I'll take with me to my grave!
The schools and the government have way too much control and god help you if you don't do as you're told!
With my own experiences along with countless of others I know who went through the same thing and my years of research on this issue, my eyes are wide open.
I woundn't wish my experiences with this on my worst enemy, which is why I'm in a panic state where Boomer's situation is concerned. You have to go through it to trully know the damage it can do to your life. I knew several people who went through the same thing and they are the only ones who I ever spoke with about this who understood.
We would share our stories and a box of tissue while we cried and If I was told now that I'd have to go through that again, I'd end my life!
EhBeth's link looks great.
Montana, I'm not trying to pick a fight with you. I see that things are very different now than the way you remember them being. I'm not saying your memories are wrong or trying to invalidate what happened to you. I'm just telling what I see now.
Maybe the DSS is now over-worked. Because they sure don't come out that easy anymore. In one case, we were calling them in on a family where there was clear neglect and abuse (no lunches packed and no lunch tickets, bruises, no one at home when the child got there, etc) and they took a long time coming. They finally came when the mother had duct-taped the child to a chair and gagged her.
Now, with like-wise respect to you and your ordeal...... Boomer needs facts right now. Maybe you can post some links to research you have seen to help her make better decisions. Calling ritalin cocaine and poison is not helping her make informed choices.
You know, Nimh is a nice guy and all . . . but i see no reason to consider him expert in such matters as this.
I agree with FreeDuck that you should find someone likely to give a conservative diagnosis. What you want is someone who will find out the problem and not go specifically looking for evidence of ADD.
(Oldest son suffers from seasonal allergies and started drinking coffee at an early age; it seemed to help. Youngest son labeled ADD by a teacher. Tested as a visual learner. Only an expert can give an expert opinion.)
