Not sure- Opinons? Advice? | ADHD Information
Last week at church it finally clicked with me that my 5.5 YO DD was just not able to sit down, so I started looking around and found the guidelines for ADHD. This is nothing new- we've cut out refined sugar and I've been watching her peers to try to get some grasp of what the "normal" range is.
She scored 9 out of 9 of the hyperactive/impulsiveness questions. She scores only 3-4 on the inattentiveness questions, and I would say that is most if not all of the time. This seems to be a little unusual (not to have more issues with attentiveness). Any input on that? She is very bright, but very easily frustrated. It seems to me that she wouldn't score quite that high if she were just "exuberant". She's also pretty sensitive/emotional (and always has been). Does that factor in? I'll talk to her dr about it at her 6YO checkup but don't really see any reason to go in before then.
I'd like to try diet modification and new discipline methods like the ones I've read about here. I think I can at least improve the situation and I'm hoping you all will have some good suggestions. I like the marble idea and am curious about the 123 Magic. Should I look for the regular book or is the ADD book completely different?
Thanks in Advance for any advice! I'm a little overwhelmed and confused right now!
Welcome Roos_mom,
It sounds like you are exploring the ADHD posibility early, before it has adversely affected your daughter (if it turns out to be ADHD-thas is). Many bright children with ADHD can use thier intelligence to compensate for the attention issues, at least for a while. The 3rd or 4th grade can be a turning point for these kids because school switches to more of the "sit down quietly for long periods of instruction" type of teaching.
Getting in place a positive reinforcement behavior plan and trying some of the things suggested on the alternatives board may be a good route while you and your daughter go through diagnosis. Omegas and magnesium have some scientific support and would be a good place to start (in my opinion). You can take the time to rule out other posibilities that can mimic ADHD and take the appropriate steps to help your daughter prior to severe effects on self esteem and peer rejection. Here are a few links to helpful information:
http://www.russellbarkley.org/
My son definitely has the hyperness with his ADHD. We have found the 1-2-3 Magic to work very well with him. I would highly recommend getting the video, and reading the book. We find that if he gets upset, he really tries to get us to get upset and come to his level - if we do the 1-2-3 the way it should be done, there is no escalation of our levels, and then he seems to calm down himself. Especially when he sees that what he is trying does not work!
The key is staying calm, having clear expecations and known consequences...and keeping your emotions out of it.
Good luck.
Thanks!
I'll get the book and the supplements and we'll see how it goes. We homeschool, so I'm able to adjust school to fit her needs. I think I mostly need to understand the best way to deal with her and help her learn to deal with herself (that and install a gym in the basement )
Thank you all so much for your input!
I have an 11 yo dd with ADD inattentive and a 7 yo ds with adhd (major h) . We did the Feingold diet for 2 years which helped both my ds with hyperness and my dd with attention. It did not help my ds with impulsiveness so here we are on Concerta. If you homeschool Feingold is pretty doable. The more you can control what your kids eat the better it works. It cuts out artifical colors, flavors, sugars, and salicylic acid fruit.
Just my $.02,
L.
Luvmykids0239302.8431365741We have been doing Feingold for years, and we are gluten/casein free. It is doable even if they go to public schools, they just bring their lunch instead of buying it. We are extremely happy with the results, even though the beginning was a bit rocky, it took out all of my kids fave foods because of the salycilates.
I'm actually nursing a baby with food allergies, so I'm top 8 free (except eggs). I know it will be rough to switch her, but at least I'm already halfway there in a way..
I oredered a Feingold and a 123 Magic book today. I'll get the Omegas and Magnesium. Hopefully that will at least reduce the problems. Of course, we'll still have to deal with the typical 5YO issues. We may have to drug me for that!!!
Thanks again for all the help!
[QUOTE=Roos_mom]She scored 9 out of 9 of the hyperactive/impulsiveness questions. She scores only 3-4 on the inattentiveness questions, and I would say that is most if not all of the time. This seems to be a little unusual (not to have more issues with attentiveness). Any input on that? She is very bright, but very easily frustrated.
[/QUOTE]
Our son is more hyperactive than inattentive. That was confusing for Patty and me. At first we thought there was only one kind of ADHD and all kids who have it act the same. But we learned that was not true. Like, when we mention to others that our Jacob is ADHD, people assume that he can't pay attention and probably gets bad grades. But he's just the opposite! He gets great grades. And, Jacob's problems with ADHD center around his hyperactive body and his hyperactive MIND. I like to help others by saying "It's not that Jacob has trouble paying attention, but that he canot STOP paying attention." Jacob cannot stop a project until it is completed, to his satisfaction. And, that becomes a major issue around bedtime, or when classtime is over. He used to get very upset when he was told to stop a game or put his class work away. It was like he was obsessed! But with 1 1/2 years so far of being treated for ADHD, he doing much, much better.
I agree with Vickie. My oldest daughter was first diagnosed at 5, but she was the opposite of your daughter. Scored all categories for inattentiveness and only about half for hyperactivity. this became a much bigger issue as she got older. We did end up deciding to use meds, but not until she was 9 and she just could not pay attention. She came home in tears saying during class her head just got "too spinny" to understand what they were saying.
Good for you for trying some things first. I suggest starting a journal from now until your doctors visit. It always helps to bring data. My youngest was having some behavioral issues both at home and at school last year. I documented a lot and tried a major discipline plan. At her 5 year check up her doctor felt we were "doing everything right" and should let things play out over the next year. Well the past 6 months have brought amazing change. She has really turned a corner. We still have moments and she still has some "issues" like delayed handwriting and some social conerns, but with a solid discipline plan and her little bit of maturity we are starting to see what is age realted and what may need to be addressed. The range of "normal behavior" is HUGE at this age.