Losing stuff | ADHD Information
I should add, my dd is not medicated. She was dx with ADHD at the age of 8. We tried most of the stimulants with very little success and Stratera--which I believe pushed her into a depression at the ripe old age of 9. We started Lexapro and saw tremendous improvement overall--including some of her ADHD symptoms. She was on Lexapro for 2 years and went off without any problems. Age alone, has seemed to help dd with coping and many of the ADHD symptoms she experienced as a younger child are no longer a problem ( she can sit in a desk unmedicated )I have talked to her about trying stimulants again but she does not want to go there. She is an excellent student that has been grade accelerated. Her social life is improving and she has friends ( she had not ever been invited to a birthday party up until 5th grade ) She just can't leave the house without leaving something behind when she returns. Once, twice, three times ok--I could live with that but it is every time! How can you forget a coat--it's winter! I do understand this is all about executive function and she just can't get it all together--but it's driving me over the edge! I can't be her frontal lobe forever!jacksgirl39424.8480555556My 13 year old add son would always forget his coat at school in grade school. As he got older he remembered it and still does. Now, he is going through what his school calls middleschool alzheimers and forgets other stuff. I think he started remembering his coat when we moved and I was no longer able to make it to his school in time to get it and had to have his grandmother get it. I usually had a second coat for him.
My ex always lost his keys and wallet, always said someone broke in and stole them. I usually found them in his pants pocket. Go figure.
That's a riot-why steal the keys if you;re already in the house???!! my 13 year old ALWAYS left her coats, sweatshirts, lunchboxes at school. She also is getting MUCH better about this as she gets older. Oh, and the fact her middle school does mandatory locker clean outs
. Most stuff was buried in there somewhere. We've lost many, many sweathsirts though............My 12 yr old ( ADHD ) dd loses something everytimes she leaves the house. She has lost 2 coats in the last month. She has lost her cell phone, ipod, pillows ( at sleepovers )you name it. I have told her she needs to take a deep breath when she is ready to leave a place and think about what she needs to take with her. I am thinking about making a check list for her. It's getting a bit expensive ( 2 coats!!!! ) and I'm frustrated. Anyone have any suggestions?Well for startersFanny packs with key attachments. Wallets can be attached right to the fanny pack as well as keys so they don't get lost.
Another is pnemonic memory. The 4 "c"s
CoatKeysCashCar tickets [bus fare]
Oh I can Relate to that one!
You know what throws me, is that hubby is in such denial!!
But he sees how awesome our son is doing on meds.
My husband would be so much more successful if he would just try a stimulant, but he won't.
I am not sure if I should cry or be angry.
So I am his mother often, I tell people he is my oldest!!
I tell my 46 year old husband about losing his head if it wasn't attached
And car keys and his wallet, forget about it.
what really makes me mad is when it is MY keys that he loses!
I wish I could teach my husband the way I am teaching our son!!
My 14 year old loses things all the time - usually in the black holes that swirl around his locker and room.
He lost his trumpet mouth piece but he found it - it was in the bottom of the case. He has lost clothes and pillows during summer camp.
Oh - I found in his coat pocket today a notice that I never received = FROM LAST YEAR.
Seriously - set up some kind of system. For his keys, cell phone and bus pass we make him put it on the ledge near the door. This is working perfectly this year.
The school allows him extra time to clean his locker which helps him find things.
A checklist would be great too as long as he didn't lose it.
Have you tried buying her a really ugly thrift store coat and telling her if she keeps track of it for a certain period of time you'll consider buying a nicer one?
I don't know what I'd do if it weren't for hand- me downs from my friends two boys. We have a total of 3 winter coats for him (only 1 I bought), but he prefers one of them to the others and has actually been better at keeping track of it so he doesn't have to wear one he doesn't like.
She's old enough to learn that if she loses something it's not just going to get replaced. Make her pay for the replacement with her own money. It makes the lesson stick a little better.
My son hasn't left his umbrella at school since the day I made him wait at the bus stop in the rain without one. He arrived at school slightly damp, but he said he put the umbrella in his backpack before he even went to class. 
There's nothing quite like natural consequences, as long as we don't worry too much about what other parents think.
My son has never owned a new coat bought by me, and probably neverwill as long as there are grandparents and thrift shops. It is not worth the
stress. I am having a slightly different problem- too much stuff coming
home in his backpack. He just turned 7 and is in second grade, and
comes home with markers and scissors and unique pens that I know are
not his. Every night I have to interogate him, and sometimes he looks
guilty, but most nights he is as surprised as I am at what we find in the
backpack. I think when they call clean-up in study hall or from playing,
he just sweeps whatever is on the table in front of him into the pack,
instead of making an effort to put things where they belong. I can't tell
from day to day whether it is stealing or disorganization, so I need to
impose yet again on the study hall teachers to monitor his clean-up. My
teacher Christmas shopping list is getting longer than my family's, but
then again, they are helping me more!
gbfe
ommas39765.5271064815My daughter loses stuff too.Luckily, she is going to a small charter school this year and they do not have lockers. The students carry all materials in their backpacks at all times. It's heavy, but it's also a lifesaver. Otherwise I'm sure she would be constantly leaving homework, needed materials, and other stuff in her locker.
We're also fortunate to live in a warm climate so she's not losing expensive winter coats, just sweatshirts.
She went through a phase where she would lose all the pencils I sent with her every day, but she hasn't been losing as many the past week or two. I guess I can live with replacing pencils.
My husband is always losing his keys and cellphone, too, but somehow he manages running a business!
While my ds's grade's have inmproved since starting his meds, the organizational problems have not gone away. I have no clue how he functions in such clutter. We go through several hats, gloves, back packs and lunch boxes. Ironicly he will always find the things important to him (ipod, shoes, video games). I started cutting back privilages. so when he forgets his lunch box on the bus he loses his video game time for the evening. Sure enough he is a little less forgetful. If mom keeps replacing lost items, the lesson is never learned. They have to learn to be organized and responsible.
as for my husband, he's a total lost cause! I'm his mother and personal assistant too!
Replace whatever she loses by shopping at the Goodwill. If they don't sell it, she has to wait until B-day or the holidays. This really helped my son keep an eye on his coats.
Oh my goodness, that is my 13 yr old big time. He cannot follow directions at all. You tell him 3 things and he forgets 2. He has lost coats, shoes, you name it. He scares me. He still forgets to look both ways before he crosses a road or parking lot!!!! How can I ever let him drive? HELP!!!! Stay off the roads in Ohio. LOLOMG! I have to respond to this one. My husband made keys to our house and we kept a bucket full on the counter and would give her a new one when she lost the one she had before. This was during her 8th grade year of school. She finally got over that and we changed our locks! She has also lost an Ipod, MP3 player, gameboy, etc. It seems like anything expensive does not matter to her?? A rubberband she can keep track of, but a 0 item, she looses? I don't understand it. It's as if she does not care.
[QUOTE=Pinkphone]OMG! I have to respond to this one. My husband made keys to our house and we kept a bucket full on the counter and would give her a new one when she lost the one she had before. This was during her 8th grade year of school. She finally got over that and we changed our locks! She has also lost an Ipod, MP3 player, gameboy, etc. It seems like anything expensive does not matter to her?? A rubberband she can keep track of, but a 0 item, she looses? I don't understand it. It's as if she does not care.[/QUOTE]
I know what you mean! My son loses everything. Everyday it's a new item we are on the search for. Unfortunately, they have so much stuff that I really don't think they can appreciate it, and I'll admit to having replaced items in the past...Now, he thinks if anything is lost or broken - big deal - someone will buy me a knew one. I realized the other day that I had to stop this behaviour from myself and him.
He brought his Gameboy to me the other day, the screen was shattered. I said what the heck happened here and he said and I quote, "Aidan stepped on it!" He was furious. I asked him why it was lying on the floor to begin with. And his answer was, "Oh well, you'll just buy me a knew one." And off he walked. Let's just say I was not a happy camper.
I like the idea of a thrift store coat. I imagine it's hard to know what to do in the situation of lost school supplies or coats, things they need in which you must replace. I'm thankful that most of the items that my son has lost have been recovered...My biggest thing is the breaking of stuff. Nothing just seems to have any value to my kids. I think it must be a side effect of living in such a disposable society...not to mention the fact that I have been an enabler myself. I'm turning a new leaf though. Next year things are going to change in a major way.
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