Don't be too worried about the meeting at the school. Since the teacher will most likely have the most input, and she has already demonstrated that she is caring....and the school has already gone that extra mile by giving your son many accommodations to help him, you are already far ahead of the game! Most schools won't lift a finger to help an ADHD child until they have a diagnosis, and then some STILL won't give accommodations without a fight!
Go in to the meeting with an open mind, knowing that if they do suggest that you seek a diagnosis, they have truly already tried everything else first, and are not just looking for a quick medicinal fix to the problem. Having them on your side from the beginning will definitely make the process less stressful for all involved when med trials begin, if that is what you choose to do.
Hi. I am also new to this and with my son, we have been through the same thing. Ryan has had a recurring theme of not able to focus during independent work,fidgeting, and talking a lot for the last three years. He is now in grade three and all year long, his sweet, supportive teacher had tried really hard to help him.Ryan's math grade has gone from an A to a B, and last nine weeks to a 79.4 C. He has problems with the longer math problems and makes careless mistakes (long division, and longer addition problems). I have been mad for several weeks now and also sad, trying to figure this all out. We are waiting on an appointment on a full evaluation which will test IQ, and behavior this summer. We have also started taking straterra to see if that makes a difference. I don't know what the right answer is for our boys, but we just keep praying and searching. Hang in there and don't be afraid. A friend of mine told me the other day, that it is harder for us mom's to see our children the way others do but that we need to be open to listen.
Hi everyone,
I haven't posted in a long time, although I still do come here on occasion to read. So for those who don't remember me, I'll give you a quick background.
I joined this forum last year when my 7 year old son was having trouble in school, with concentrating, focusing, etc. He had a very troublesome year with his teacher last year - she was very accusing and very negative toward my son and myself, so I decided to wait things out for a little, do some research, and see how things went this year.
This year, my son has an AMAZING teacher, who focuses on his strengths, works closely with him, really cares about her students. She, however, noticed the same things that were brought to my attention last year -i.e. he wouldn't sit still in his seat, he was always fidgeting with something, he couldn't concentrate to get his work done, he was interrupting the class by picking at his classmates, trying to get their attention, etc. She thought we should try some things in the class and in the school before starting any formal medical tests/evaluations, which I agreed to. After evaluating him through the school, she and the support teacher decided to give him some daily one-on-one support to complete assignments etc, and to give him a break when things got "too busy" for him in the class. This seemed to really work for him, as he is able to focus much more easily when there aren't other distractions around him. She also lets him use a stress ball during carpet time, so he can put his energy into squeezing instead of moving around on the floor, and he uses a "focus folder" to help him focus on his work during work time.
With that said, it has been a very challenging and stressful month..and things seem to be getting worse now and not better. While his initiative and motivation to learn has gone WAY up (this teacher is AMAZING and REALLY makes it fun for the kids), he is still only excelling in the subjects he finds interesting. If he finds the work too hard, or too boring, he is tuning out, and then acting up in class and not listening. He was sent to the principal's office last week, because he was being very disobedient and disrespectful to his music teacher. When we talked about it, he told me that the class was boring and he couldn't help it. We have a meeting to discuss report cards on Thursday (most of his grades went DOWN this term, in spite of all the extra efforts in school to improve them), and the principal wants to be a part of this meeting. I'm not sure what to expect out of that. It has my stomach in knots just thinking about it.
My son is a good, sweet boy with a heart of gold, and he wants to be good in school. That's the part that breaks my heart the most. Is that he tries to be good. I'm still trying to accept that he may be ADHD, (I don't have a problem with stigma or anything like that.. but nobody likes to see their child struggle) and I now have to start the medical procedures/tests etc to find out for sure. The more I read, the more I feel he just may be. I have to do anything I can to make things better for him. I know this is a great group of people from my first time around here. It helps so much to have others going through the same things. Thank you for letting me vent tonight.. and I will keep you informed with what happens.
Thank you for listening.. sorry for the long post..
It is so awesome that he has such a caring teacher this year. It's really the way they should all be! Because that's not always going to be the case though, it's best to find out now and put a plan of action in place. As he advances in school, he will most likely struggle more without appropriate accomodations, behavior plans, etc.
Wishing you the best and sending hugs of support!
There are natural things to try, but most of those, if they help, take weeks to begin... and when I had my son on fishoil (omega) he developed horrible acid reflux (gastrointestinal upset is a possible side effect of the fish oil regime) which in children, often presents as frequent unexplained vomiting. Unfortunately, it took this dim mom over a month to make the connection....he threw up on average of 4 times a week for 6 weeks before I finally figured it out. The last day he took the fish oil was the last day he vomited, and it has now been 5 or 6 weeks.....
I guess I am just putting out there that using the "natural' methods unsupervised by a doctor well versed in their usage (as I was) is not always a good plan. Some of them can have just as scary side effects if not supervised as the stimulant meds can.
We just started the straterra on Sunday. I made the mistake of giving it to him (18mg) after breakfast and by 11:00 during church service he was so sleepy. He enjoyed a nice long nap during preaching. The rest of the day was horrible also, and so I decided I would try nightime instead. This is so far working for us. He gets it when he eats supper around 6:00 or 6:30, and by bedtime at 8-8:30 he is still o.k. When he wakes up in the morning he has been fine. We will be moving on up to 25 mg on Thursday night so it will be interesting to see how he is Friday morning. I finally just figured that I had to try something. I know it is the last nine weeks of school and if the straterra changes him in ways that I don't like then we are coming off of it. I really can't wait to have him fully evaluated and get a true picture from psychologists and psychometrists to see what they think. Hang in there.
Thank you SO much.. It's so comforting to know I'm not alone in this. MamaBear, you are right, I want to start the process now while I have a supportive teacher working so closely with us.. chances are, he won't have this every year. Chasesmom, you eased my mind so much - thank you. I really am lucky that his teacher feels the same way as I do when it comes to trying different things first. Mom2ryan, good luck to you too. We're all very fortunate to have others in the same boat. How long ago did you start the straterra? I'm assuming your son hasn't been officially diagnosed yet? Sorry.. this is all very new for me.. I'm wondering if there are things I can try while waiting for evaluations - i.e. omega/magnesium.
Anyway thank you again for your help. I feel a little better going into the meeting tomorrow. I'll let you all know what happens.. thanks!