Brandon'sMom,
You should definitely have your daughter tested. ADHD is highly genetic. Females demonstrate inattention more often than hyperactivity, and there is a likelyhood of missing her diagnosis because the family (and even the family physician) is focusing attention on your son.
About your son being in Special Ed. There are pro's and con's. You have already identified the Con. He will be treated differently than "normal" kids. He will be "special" but not in a good way. The advantage could be an increased awareness of and attention to his special needs, and possibly create a more structured environment for him. Keep in mind that the most damaging aspect of ADHD is the impact it has on self esteem. ADHD folks spend their whole unmedicated lives just being themselves, and they don't understand why people beat up on them for it. The most valuable thing for an ADHD kid is to FEEL NORMAL, to be just like other kids. If he ends up hating himself and his world just because of who he is, would that be worth any benefit Special Education could provide?
Brendansmom,
Thank You for the input. My son has gone through the Conners testing and was diagnosed with ADHD, but not with learning disabilities. He did test low on the reading and language parts of the test, but his overall IQ was 118, which is close to the gifted level. He needs the extra focus. I will discuss with his doctor the different medications available, and see which may be the best for him, in his situation. I hate to see him drugged up, like Ritalin did to my cousin. Hopefully the newer drugs available don't have those same affects on children. Thanks for your help, if you have any more information for me, please feel free to email me at lmontgomery@ma.rr.com.
Louise
TitanFan,
Thanks for the info about the genetic connection with siblings. My daughter is a bit hyper, but mostly head strong (as most girls are) and in her own little world. She is in pre-school right now, and doing very well...she is where she should be as far as educational growth. I will talk to her doctor and let her know my concerns.
I also think I have decided not to put my son in Special Ed classes. There are too many negatives and not enough positives concerning Special Ed. I think, as you pointed out, that it would do more harm than good...because he may very well end up hating himself and his world because of who he is, and that is not worth the small benefit of Special Ed. He needs to feel good about himself and I think that would be a negative experience for him.
Thank You for the help!
Hi Brandon'smom,
I would like to offer some info I received from my son's Psychiatrist on the effects of Stratera.
First: It is a very new drug for children.
Second: They have found so far that it helps with the hyperactivity but not so much with the focus. Concerta or Adderall are so far the best for that.
In some cases depending on how bad the hyperactivity is they will use both Straterra and Concerta.
Now - Special ED - Well, my vote is NO but that's me. It was never suggested for my son. I have a Sister-IN-Law who is a Special Education Teacher and as far as I know even her students are on medication. It seems that the Special ED would be best suited if along with the ADHD problem, he actually had a learning disability. No, ADHD is not a learning disability. I see Special Ed more for children who, even at the best dosage seem to have problems/or maybe other problems added to the ADHD.
According to my Sister IN Law, she acutally has days where she gets kicked in the shins from some of the Special Ed Students. I'm not sure your son would actually benefit from a situation like that.
My son went from failing to A's on the first day of his meds. His Iowa State Scores are in the 99 percentile, but his actual class grade are probably from average to above average. This is simply because of the difference between taking a structured test and being in a class of 20 3rd graders. (Yipes). But he does fine with the regular class environment.
I liked TitanFan's post, she came up with some very good points on ADHD.
Good Luck
Hi, my name is Louise. I have a 9 year old son that was recently diagnosed with ADHD. The phychologist that diagnosed him suggested medication, but his pediatrition suggested waiting and trying the extra classes that the school has to offer, basically Special Education. I am torn between the two choices. I know how cruel some kids can be, so the Spec Ed classes worry me, he will be labled for the rest of his schooling. I don't want him to have to go through dealing with the name calling, and such, because he is already dealing with enough. He is struggling in school with reading and language skills. I am leaning towards medication, Strattera has been suggested to us as one of the medications with the least side effects and no drugged feeling along with it. I am thinking of a tutor to help him after school so he won't be taken out of his regular classes to attend Special Ed classes. This may make things easier for him to deal with. If anyone has insight that they would like to share with me, it would be greatly appreciated! I am overwhelmed with trying to find the right solution for my son. Also, does anyone know if there is more of a chance that my daughter (4) may be ADHD since her brother is? I have not found any statistics about sibling and ADHD. Thank You!