Thank you to everyone that has given us feedback. We do have an appt. to go talk to his Doc. and to see what would be best for my son. I just feel that the school os saying that it is not fast enough. They have their state test coming up and want him to do his best on it but it is only for the school. this test is not something that he needs to past the grade. I was talking to the teacher and it was brought to her that they might need to keep him in the 3rd grade one more year but he only make a, b, and c. So she said that right now she is not going to let them hold him back but if his grade fall any lower then she has no control. I don't know sometimes i want what is best for him but i feel like i am suck and don't know what to do. Thank again for all the feedback and help.
What my son's teacher she has said so many different thinkgs. She has told me that her son has ADHD but meds did not work for him and he is really smart. I want an IQ test done for him but they told me that it is best for him to get meds started before they do the test. They say that he does not get out of his sit but he messes with his hands. We are going to talk to his Doctor and see where we go from here. Thank you all for your great feedback!I think the proper way to approach it is ask the school to do an evaluation with the school psychologist. Then you can go from there based on what the results are. That is the proper procedure in a public school. If he is in a private school, you'll have to have to have him evaluated on your own. You should have him evaluated by a specialist such as a child psychiatrist, neuropsychologist, or a developmental pediatrician.IQ tests are part of the evaluation for ADHD and learning disorders. If you had the doctor do the testing and start treatment: then retest IQ, the IQ test may be higher. This is because if a child does not stay on task during the timed parts of an IQ test, those parts can be lower than they would be with meds.
I would start the private evaluation as part of the medical care for your son. At the same time, I would write a formal request for evaluation for and IEP (if he is in public school). I would have all of the school's evaluation tests done prior to starting any treatment. By doing this, they can set up an IEP that meets his needs at his worst. You do not know at this point what treatment you will pursue or how effective it might be, so you want to get your son all the help the school can offer.
Check out wrightslaw for information on the IEP process and your child's rights under IDEA:
My child is in the 3rd grade and the school is saying I need to get him on meds.. He has been in the same school since 1st grade. Can a child all of a sudden go from normal to needing ADHD meds.? He does not act out like you see alot in other ADHD kids. His main problem is he looses attention on doing task. It's like he day dreams and just can't stay focused. He does not act out like by hitting, screaming, or just being trouble. He is very polite to others and likes to help others. The school is so dead set on meds. and we are not sure if that's what he needs. Can anyone give us some ideas on what we should do.You need to do some research on ADHD (do a websearch).... "hitting, screaming or being in trouble" are not characteristic of ADHD children. Additionally, it is illegal for the school to push meds or even a diagnosis on you. Do some websearches on both teh disorder and check out the forum on this message board about schools.Like Meg said, the school cannot push a diagnosis and treatment on you and your child. The school can provide feedback on your son's behavior (this is helpful), but they should not be making suggestions on medical treatment. You can thank them for the feedback and remind them that you and the doctor will determing medical treatment.
It is not that a child goes from normal to ADHD. What happens is that they are bright enough to compensate for the problems that ADHD gives them, until the work gets hard enough to overwhelm the child's compensation skills. This usually happens in grade 3-4 when the learning moves from hands-on to sit and listen.
Here is a link to some info:
http://www.schwablearning.org/resources.aspx?g=1&s=4
It is important to rule out things that can look like ADHD and determine any co-morbid conditions that are complecating it. You can start with your pediatrician to have screening tests for organ function (basic chem panel), thyroid and hematologies. Then you can get a referal to a child psyciatrist, neuropsychologis or developmental pediatrician for additiona testing to detemine what issues are present. Once you have a solid diagnosis, you can discuss treatment options with the appropriate doc for the diagnosis. This is a long process but is worth taking the time. If you do not have the specialist docs available to you, the second choice would be to get a diagnosis from the pediatrician (we all have limits that we have to work within).
My daughter started having rages, defiance, etc after all due to anxiety and depression from undiagnosed ADHD. We had to sort out all of the problems she was having to get to a diagnosis and treatment. She was diagnosed with ADHD, ODD, anxiety, depression and a learning disorder (we had to rule out bipolar as well). Although the diagnosis process was slow, it was thourough and we are confident in the diagnosis and the treatment works wonderfully in my daughter's case. She has gone from Fs and Ds to As and Bs, is making great progress in the areas that her learning disorder is affecting her, and she is having more success making and keeping friends.
You will find info and support here, where ever this journey leads.
The school's job is that of education and a doctor's job is that of suggesting medication when warranted. Has the school done a thorough evaluation before they have the nerve to say that dd needs medicine? They are completely out of line.By doing research you will see there are three types of ADHD, inattentive, hyperactivity and a combination. My son is combination. He isn't a daydreamer per se but very hyper and can't focus very well with other children around or noise. Hope you find the answers and don't just listen to schools who want all children to sit still for 6 hours a day at school and another 1-2 at home for homework. Kids are kids.
He would need to be diagnosed by a Psychiatrist before the school can do anything, schools cannot make a medical diagnosis. Then you can begin the psychoeducational testing, and IEP/504 accomodations
There are more than three types of ADHD, there are at least 6 types that have been identified by SPECT scans. My DD has ADHD/ring of fire type, it is not in the category of ADHD/Innattentive, combined, or hyperactive types.
First, it doesn't sound like adHd. It sounds like ADD inattentive, which is just as much a problem as ADHD. If you can't afford to have an eval done privately, then ask the school to do one. If you possibly can afford it, do so. A private eval can be much more thorough than one done by the school. It's also done without the agenda a school can have: wanting a kid to be medicated so he'll be easier for the teacher to handle or not wanting to find a problem because they already have too many students with problems. If they're already telling you to medicate, then I'd say they have an agenda.