Help! - I need to squash some myths | ADHD Information

I think the degree of symptoms are definately envionment-dependent, but I'm not sure they are completely gone. If the environment demands more of my ADHD son in an area of weakness, like demanding prolonged focus at school, all kinds of avoidance behaviors emerge that are symptomatic of ADHD. So the school sees far more problem behavior than I do. He can handle 30 minutes of homework, but not 4 hrs of class work. If he was only observed at home, I doubt that he would be diagnosed with ADHD, and if so, it would be borderline.

I have a son who I supsect several things are going on.  ADHD, ODD, anxiety and pssibly gifted or aspergers.  I work in the MRDD field so am fimailar with several diagnosis. 

My family sees what I see, but his father does not "have problems" with him. And according to him, never has. 

Please confirm that symptoms can change with enviornments. 

Of course..if little in the way of self control is required in a different environment, then the child will not have as many issues.

If no one is setting limits that the child is required to attain, then.."no problem"!

I have very little problem at home with my ADHD inattentive son , unless he has to do homework for school... his teachers however have a much bigger issue with him in that he does not stay on task, or turn in work or remember needed supplies unmedicated.

He does have moderate anger/agression issues that cause major problems at school and on the bus, but only minor problems here at home.

Hope this helps...

chasesmom7939070.3681712963

The symptoms can change with the environment.

My daughter is not hyperactive in school because that would draw unwanted attention to her, so she would sit in class totally unresponsive and shut down. This led to anxiety and depression with defiance happening at home. They can also act out more at home where they feel safer being themselves or expressing anger and frustration that they are afraid to show in less "safe" places.

Also, I did not see the hyperactivity im my daughter as an issue because I was hyper as a child and I saw this as "normal". What people see is colored by thier own experiences. If the father was hyperactive or had behavior issues as a kid, he may see this as pretty normal and "just being a boy".

My son's dad also says that he has no problems, but some Sunday nights
when he brings him home he is so frustrated with DS, then if I call him an
hour later to ask what had happened, he honestly cannot remember. He is
as ADHD as his son. Our 6 year old refuses to learn to brush his teeth, so
I do it twice a day. When I asked the ex if he brushes there, he said that
he does it himself. When I asked if he goes in the bathroom and watches
him, the look on his face was priceless as it occurred to him that he had
never ever followed up to make sure he was brushing. I would bet money
that if DS actually made it to the bathroom, he wet the toothbrush and
began scrubbing the grout, made faces in the mirror for 20 minutes, then
took his clothes off because that is what he does when he can't remember
why he is in a room (don't ask).

I think the symptoms can change to a degree, but often it is the
perspective of the observer. My folks think he is the perfect child, and his
spaceyness is cute. My dad says we all take our clothes off sometimes
when we don't mean to. That should make for an interesting Christmas!

[QUOTE=quixote] I would bet money
that if DS actually made it to the bathroom, he wet the toothbrush and
began scrubbing the grout, made faces in the mirror for 20 minutes, then
took his clothes off because that is what he does when he can't remember
why he is in a room (don't ask). 

My dad says we all take our clothes off sometimes
when we don't mean to. That should make for an interesting Christmas![/QUOTE]

 I really needed the laugh! Thanks!

Um yeah....don't think I have ever taken off my clothes when I didn't mean to.....but maybe I just don't remember....

But seriously, stories like these make me so thankful that my husband is on board with the dx, because I really do not know how I would handle that stress on top of all of the other things that go along with raising an ADHD child..

man, where to start.  lol 

ADHD is our issue so i'll give you a list of mine and my son's we both have it...

cannot sit still to save our life sleep - hahaha  what is that, we can run on about 4 hours NO problem VERY intelligent - but applying it is difficult.  (my ds has been tested and has a genius iq!!!) concentration is hard, concentrating on one thing for over 10 minutes at any age is a welcomed challenge. huperfocusing drumming my nails will drive even the most patient person nuts i can start to was dishes at 10 am and then by the time the laundry is done, the beds are made, and my son is picked up from school, i will have it finished. home work is a challenge if I don't go at it back-wards (i have a real easy way for home work, i've been at the adhd home work all my life, so I can say with some amount of certainty that I have a good method that works for us at this age! yeah!!!)  i've written it in the bog on adhdnews.com i have a list for every thing or i will do nothing lol i call some one and forget why every time, hence the lists... ds is up at the crack of dawn, right before me high energy level, but that does slow down when we hit our 30's.  holy cow, did i put that down??? "30's"