Inattentive ADHD is sometimes overlooked, but has a powerful negative effect on the person who has it. If it is available, I would get a neuropsych evaluation to sort out what issues your daughter has and suggest a treatment plan.
When we started this journey, I suspected dyslexia only so we went to an educational psychologist for 4 hours (0) of testing. This evaluation was used with the school's evaluation to get my daughter an IEP and accomodations in school. Throughout the testing, my daughter would not stay in place and had to be redirected constantly, so it was suggested that we have her evaluated for ADHD. After having the pediatician rule out other medical conditions that can mimic ADHD, we went to a child psychiatrist (with copies of all of the other evaluations) for final diagnosis. He is also managing my daughter's meds and we are very happy with the results. We also put a behavior plan in place (important part of treatment). My daughter now gets As and Bs and no longer demonstrates anxiety, depression and defiance. She is much happier and proud of her accomplishments.
Go to wrightslaw.com to get information about IEPs and educational rights of those with dyslexia and ADHD. There are also some good articles about girls/women with inattentive ADHD:
http://www.womens-health.com/boards/general/336-quiet-riot-g irls-adhd-sit-silence.html
vickie39028.4054861111My daughter is in the 5th grade. She is struggling with math and spelling. She is three grade levels below in math. She is very unorganized. She doesn't read or follow directions very well. I try and help/tutor her but she gets so frustrated that she gets short and "pushes" me away. Her teacher states she always tries to rush with her homework. She can be hyper sometimes but I do not believe it is a constant hyperness (merely being a 10-year old). So I am thinking to have her tested for inattentive ADHD. She has many friends though and is outgoing.
She is much too young to be struggling/failing like this in school. Her father had dyslexia, should I have her tested for that also? I am so concerned for her and her education.
HELP
Hi and welcome. I agree with Vickie. Get a complete eval done by a neuropsychologist to find out if there are any LDs. If dyslexia is in her family, she may also have it. Also, you can ask the school for an evaluation to see if she qualifies for services.
You can request that the school do a complete educational evaluation. They will have 60 days to complete it in from the time you request it. Ask in writing and state that they can consider that your authorization for them to do it which will save a bit of time.
Once you have the eval done, you will have a more clear understanding of what the issues are and where she is having the problems. Some schools will work with you in setting something up using their eval, but others will want you to take the eval results to a ped or psych for an official diagnosis before they do anything.
A school cannot diagnose, they can only tell you what the eval scores indicate. They also don't recognize dyslexia as an officail disability but there are ways that an IEP can be set up to deal with it anyway.
That is a good place to start but if your insurance will pay for a psych or neuropsych trained and experienced in children's neurological disabilities, thats the route to go. 'They can screen and diagnose so much more.
YES! Have her tested. Having taught school, most elementary aged children are not going to intentionally try to not do well in school, unless they have expereinced so much failure that they have given up. I think that an evaluation would help you a lot. It does sound like innattentive add to me (my daughter has very similar symptoms). She may be very frustrated and decided that anything she does to TRY is not going to help, so she rushes through work, etc.
I just had a conference with my daughter's teacher and she is having trouble focussing during an entire lesson. She is listening in the beginning, fading out in the middle, and when she gets back in on the tail end of a lesson, she is LOST. We have been on meds. before, but are not now. We are not against them, but she has just learned some coping skills that outweigh her moods when she is on meds. The teacher suggested that we wait a little while more and that she will try to use signs with her to "come back into the lesson". Then, if that fails and she is still not focussing for the entire lesson, we will try meds. again.
Again, I would really encourage you to have a complete evaluation completed. It will tell you a lot and you will know in which direction to go next. GOOD LUCK!!!