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January 09, 2007
The Polls About ADHD
I took several polls on the http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=19&PN=1 looking for answers on how many hours parents are spending with their children doing home work after school and how much home work impacts their ADHD children. The results were interesting. I thought sharing them with you all would be a nice change from the normal things I blog about. Feel free to comment about any of the topics I have polled and discussed. The polls are closed, but the threads are still open to discussion. Join the message boards and chat away! Enjoy the results.
Homework
In the poll taken for elementary school age children, I posed a question about how long parents spend with their children working on home work daily. Eighteen people responded to the poll. 6% of the parents stated that she spends over 3 hours a night on home work with their children. Home work for children now is an every day, common thing. 67% voted are only spending an hour or less, while 27% of the voters are spending between 1 to 2 hours a day on home work.
One parent said that before she started her child on medications the home work time was longer. The medications have helped her child accomplish his home work goals significantly!
For Jr. High, 75% of the parents say they spend about 1 hour or less on home work and 25% on 2 to 3 hours. For High School, 100% of the parents say they spend about 1 hour on home work each night.
So, with looking at the results, it would be a fair statement to say that the home work must get easier as the ADHD child gets older. Studies do show that many children do learn to manage their ADHD symptoms as they mature. In conclusion of this study, we can have hope that our children will learn to manage and succeed as they grow up and mature into young adults.
DIET, DOES IT HELP?
In a poll I took last month, I posed a question about how much diet really helps with adhd symptoms. 14% said yes, a lot. 26% said, yes some what. 14% said a little bit, and the most shocking of all was 46% said no, not at all. I was surprised by the results of the amount of people saying the diet doesn’t help at all.
Stopping Medications?
I asked what age, if at all, do people plan on stopping ADHD medications. The results were shocking to say the least. 0% said at the age of 15 or at the age of 19 or at after their child graduates from High School. 93% say they will wait and let their child decided when he or she is and adult. While only 7% say they don’t think about it. Personally, my son will be on ADHD medications while I pay for any form of education. Even if he is off at a college, he will have to take his medications. One parent even said that if her son moves out, that is fine, he can stop taking medications, but if he comes to visit, he will have to take his medications while he his there visiting. That’s positive parenting and I love that!
What Kind of College Was That, Again?
In this poll I posed the question about what kind of college do you prefer your child going off to? Strangely 0% said no to a technical school or the military. But, 78% said go off to a 4 year university, and 22% said a 2 year Jr. college.
Many parents are not sure what their children will be prepared for. These polls were created to get every one thinking about long range goals for our special ADHD children. That long range goal is … College. I think building up from home work in elementary school to when to stop meds, then to this, what kind of college to attend, will get our minds on track to what kind of 3, 5, or 10 year goals we should have. Making a plan, writing it down, as our children grow up and discussing it with our children, then working every day, diligently, to look towards it as a family unit together, we all can reach that goal. If we stray off the path we have written out, then there is no problem in sitting down and writing out a new one that has the same end result. Sit down; jot down a 12 step goal. One step for each year. If that is too hard. Then write a 2 step goal for each year. Make it a 2 step year, 24 step goal. And make it realistic and totally doable. Give the power to your child. Let them be a part of the decisions, after all it is their life we are planning. ADHD children have very little control of what they do. Impulsivity, blurting out answers, moving around too much, nurvesness, jittery, emotional, hard to find friends, and being different from the other children are just a few of the things they face every day. Let them plan their future with you. Give them that control back and they will succeed further in life than you will ever expect! Print it out. Give them a copy to put in their locker, in their room, in the bathroom, in their back pack, any where they will see it. Let them make changes if they want to. The biggest gift you will give your children is their future. The best way to give it to them, is to help them earn it. Remind them the path is right there; don’t push them on it that will just make them fall. ADHD children are their own worse critics. Be supportive, be loving, and don’t be negative. Don’t show the wrongs they do, focus on the positives. If they make a mistake, and they will, open that door to the positive side of it. Punishment of a mistake is not as important and the positive reinforcement you give him or her in the process. Again, they punish them selves much harder than a parent ever can. I should know, I am severe ADHD, and I still remember my mistakes every day and still wish I could undo the wrongs I have done. I hope that this has helped you all and if you would like to comment, please feel free to do so.
By: Margo Richter. Join the message boards at http://www.adhdnews.com/forum/default.asp
Posted by margo at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)
January 05, 2007
ADHD Adults Are Being Misdiagnosed
15 to 65% of children diagnosed with ADHD grow into adulthood with these symptoms. Adults that suffer from ADHD are misdiagnosed and treated for many other conditions such as depression or OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) instead of ADHD. The British Journal of Psychiatry editorial called for many adults suffering from ADHD as well as other disorders to be properly identified and treated.
By: Margo Richter
Source: British Journal of Psychiatry
Posted by margo at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)