New here and looking for advice | ADHD Information

Hello everyone,

This is my first time posting on this board. My 7 year old DD is having a VERY hard time in school. She is in 2nd grade, and this has been going on since kindergarten. This year she seems to be having a hard time "focusing" and she is very talkitive, had problem keeping her "personal space" and also disruptive in class. I talked to the school psycologist, and we did the Parent/teacher scales. Her results came back as "significant". So I made an appointment with her Dr and he seems to think that there is no problem with my DD. He said that if she was learning, had not been sent to the princapal, and wasn't really falling behind in her work there was no issue. That I should put her in a after school program ( Swimming, dance) to help her with her social skills. This poor child is getting punished almost everyday after school, for either having a bad day at school ( They flip tickets from Green, blue, then red for behavior) or forgetting her homework. My Husband and I are really at a loss as to what to do, we don't want to punish her if this is something out of her control. I feel like a failure as a parent, since I am not getting any help from her Ped. I gave her teacher permission to talk to the Dr about whats going on, she has called and left 3 messages with him, and he has not yet returned any calls. Can someone, anyone  help me... I am making another appointment with another Dr for a second opinion. She really is a sweet gal, and I don't want her to have such a tough time everyday. Thanks so much for helping.

DeeSounds like you're on the right track and doing all the right things. When I went to the Dr. at first, I took a letter from the teacher describing the behaviors/challenges child was having, and took them to the Dr. I also took his behavioral check list book. Everything was there in black and white. You could also go to the nearest children's mental health clinic. Finding another Dr. that will listen would be helpful too. Good luck, its a process.

DeeCT have her evaluated by a neuropsychologist. Oh, and don't let school talk to them. Do this on your own, then once you know the results and what exactly the issue, if any, there is, then you can approach the school. Sorry, not trying to be cynical, just cautious.

You're not a failure as a parent. There are good behavior modification plans you can implement while going through this intial process. Ograms marble system on this board works well for many, or some variation of it. There are lots of parenting books with great behavior modification techniques. Try to get school to work with you on a posiitve reinforcement system for behavior. Like rewarding for so many "green tickets" and you can reinforce this at home.

imo even having her tested by a child psychologist would be ok. you need to see a  more impartial person look at your situation and test her properly. testing should last at least 6-8 hours and the teacher will get to fill out papers and you will fill out papers and they will test and observe your child, then we got a 10 page report and recommendations as well. this is worth every penny we spent. pediatritians are not equipped to deal with these issues, rarely. i wish you luck!

OH, this sounds familiar. I blame my ped for an extended period of suffering. The delays that he caused! Now I look back on various issues that I had to deal with, and I know that it would have been a lot easier if he wasn't in the picture. It's just a way of thinking. And it doesn't work. I would go to a specialist instead. If you need an eval, try a neuro-psychologist. If you want meds, try a child psychiatrist.

Don't let your treating doctors talk to the school staff. This can cause problems that you don't want to deal with. Keep them seperate.

Thanks for your help.. I think I am going to try the Child psychiatrist.. sounds like a better plan of action! It helps to know I am not the only one going through this. Very Frustrating to say the least. I feel so bad for her.. she is not as bad as some of the stories I have heard, but it is still a issue for her... thanks again!!

 

Dee