ADHD at home | ADHD Information
Hi, Reccaliddle. We actually love our local universaty and the classes and programs it offers.
thanks for your reply, it so interesting to learn about how hard it is for people with ADHD, especially growing up! im glad i have chosen to do this project because i had a chance to learn about something that i may never had understood and i can now be empathise with people who have ADHD. Your info was very helpful thanks!! After reading Logan's post, I remembered something. My parents have it on home movies. I was about 4 or 5 and there's my two sisters, a neighbor and we're just being kids in front of the camera. My mom takes my younger sister and bounces her on her feet (thumb firmly planted in mouth) a couple of times. I see this and being the hyper-natured kid that I was, I start jumping all over. This jumping continues for several minutes. I'm just happily jumping up and down all over the room. My older sister has a book in her hand and she starts waving it around and finally gives into embarrassment and joins me in the jumping. The neighbor girl just looks at us like we've totally lost it and giggles.
Jumping was a release of energy for me. This was obviously pre-medication days. I also engaged in things like laying in the street, looking at the clouds, wandering away from home at a young age because I obviously couldn't stay focused on any activity for very long and had no concept of dangerous situations. I just did what felt natural (impulsive).
I remember when I was an older child, maybe 10 or so, I had a major temper tantrum because my mom put red sauce on my noodles. It ended up with me kicking a small hole in the wall and that was the end of the tantrum.
Road trips to gramma's were awful. Try spending 8 hours in a car with 6 kids (one who is diagnosed with hyperactivity). I can't tell you how many times my dad was going to "pull the car over." I was made to sit in between my parents in church because i couldn't sit still. And the whole LOUD thing? OMG! I was always loud. I don't really think there was one reason but I know when I became excited, the volume went up. It still does but I've gotten better about it. It's just something I simply can not control very well. I have always been super-sensitive to comments about the volume of my voice - particularly because I can't help it and other people just don't understand that. There's no easy way to tell me I'm being loud; no gentle way. I take it very personally. And that won't ever change.
Sorry I got off on a mini-tangent there but I just needed to add these comments.
My son is almost 5 and is medicated so the difference between then and now is tremendous! But before he was on medication this is how it went:
Trying to get him to sit at the table for dinner was a lost cause. We could fight and drive ourselves crazy or just let him eat in his room. He bounced off of the walls hyper ALL the time! He would just run up to me in the house and start running in place as fast as he could then take off to another part of the house-he never stopped. He didn't focus on many things for longer than a few seconds but if he did he hyper focused and you couldn't break him away without a COMPLETE meltdown. My husband and I were exhausted all the time and my son was never tired.
No discipline worked...EVER! He wasn't in control of his actions so asking him to control them was a lost cause! He was impulsive all the time. He would dart out in to traffic and not understand why it was a problem. He acted like a one year old but he was 3 or 4! I couldn't let him walk down the street or in a store without holding his hand because he would run off ALL the time. And he didn't like anyone holding his hand and would throw a fit...the end result...we didn't go anywhere!
I could go on and on...but the bottom line is he needs his medication SOOOOOOOOO desperately! It has made him an almost normal kid! He can listen and function now. He's happy and I would never take it away from him!
Welcome Reesesmom! If my post is exactly like your son then believe me I feel for you! 
I know what you're going through. Hang in there, help is on the way! 
First, get him evaluated right away! Don't wait! The right diagnosis is essential! Unfortunately I live in Florida so I can't help recommending a doctor in your area but I know a lot of people contact the Children's Hospital in their area to get and idea of where to start. The main thing is to find someone who is experienced or even specializes in ADHD. You can always start with your pediatrician but I've found that if you decide to go with medication a specialist (psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist) is much better when it comes to getting the meds right.
Many people believe that doctors won't treat kids under 6 with medication but many will. If your doctor won't discuss it just because he's so young change doctors! You should be allowed to get a handle on this before his self esteem starts to suffer (or suffers any worse than it is) and I have a feeling that will not wait until he's 6!
The best advice I can give is educate yourself as much as possible. This message board is truly a gift in that area! Many of us here have lived ADHD and have a very different perspective than the doctors have. One of the reasons it's so important to educate yourself is to advocate for your son. When I started this, I figured the docs would "know it all" and have all the answers but they don't! YOU know your child better than they ever will and you should trust that! I could go on and on but this post is getting really long. Please ask any questions you want and remember we are all here for each other! I wish you the best of luck!
I agree 100% with Logan's mom. And we are all here for you!Logan'smom! I was reading this board to find out some info on ADHD and I just had to sign up to reply to your post!!I have been researching ADHD for a while and your post describes my son exactly. I started crying while reading it because it sounds so much like him and I don't know what to do. I've been told that I should wait a few more months and have him tested before kindergarten. Do you (or anyone else here)have any suggestions? Do you happen to live in the Detroit area and have a doctor to recommend?
I just wanted to let you know that reading your post showed me that there is hope.
Thank you! Thanks for the great info! I had him checked out last year because his preschool teacher suggested it, but I pretty much heard that he was too young for a diagnosis.
This board does seem to have tons of info, so I will be trying to read it often. I can't wait to see what can happen with the right help!
I'm wondering if this is a temporary intrest you have in ADHD.
Another twist in the ADHD genre is what homelife is like for those whom are undiagnosed. Another is what the consenus of doctors sayes about ADHD , and why they use stimulant amphetamines to give to children.
unrelated to adhd but very relavant at the present time.
"Such as in the case of Cal who was a five year old boy, whose mother had to watch him spiral downward for three years until his death just after his fifth birthday. After the death of Cal, Heather searched for answers to what mysterious disease caused the death of her son. After discussions with others the thought of a database to collect and share undiagnosed cases was prevalent in her mind. She set out to see how to get such a database to become a reality, in the name of her son Cal an act was brought to the US government. The Charles August 'CAL' Long Undiagnosed Diseases Registry Act of 2009 was introduced to the US House of Representatives, and is waiting to reach the floor for a vote."
[QUOTE=rebeccaliddle]hi all, ive been studying my neighbour and her daughter who has ADHD for a university project, its very interesting to see just how much ADHD affects both their lives. Even little things like sitting at the table for a meal because she cant sit down and keep still or car journeys where she gets very irritable and frustrated. its much harder than most people think and a day to day struggle. im wondering what other parents come across at home that they find difficult? id like to know more about this. theres lots of info about ADHD children in school but no-one really understands what happens at home.[/QUOTE]
Home life for us with a child with ADHD - We all walk on eggshells around her. Nobody wants to do the wrong thing so that she doesn't become upset or angry and we all have to listen to her rant for an hour. We wake up thinking "Will today be a good day?" There are periods of time when we dread picking her up from school because we know the teachers will be there waiting to talk to us about her 'moments' she had that day. On a daily basis you have to live with knowing that a large amount of the population totally disagrees with you medicating your child. Even though you swear on your life it has helped her in ways nothing else ever has. We live with watching my DD get laughed at in school because she has those 'moments' that single her out. Having her come home and tell me her friends told her they won't play with her anymore because she is always getting in trouble at school (and saddened so much because 90% of it she cannot control) Living with the fact that any day the medication may not work so well anymore and we will have to go through the dreaded medication change and have to watch her suffer though it until we get it right.
We also live everyday with a bright, creative child with a great sense of humour who unfortunately got the shaft with ADHD. But you know what, things could be worse and I think the man above everday it is not. If I feel sorry for myself I am reminded that there are parents right up the road at the Sick Kids hopsital with children that probably won't see Christmas and I move on. This is ADHD and no matter how ugly things get, no matter how bad you sometimes just want to run away, she is mine and I will do whatever I possibly can to help her.
RCmommy40149.3416550926The one thing I find is I was never able to enjoy my son when he was young. I spent so much of the time crying and worrying over him. I couldn't sleep throught the night due to all my worrying.
I finally went back to work. This helped me with having something else to do instead of just worrying over my son. TOo much time on my hand as a stay at home. I also can worry and talk about it at work.
Work and retail therapy has helped me and age has helped my son. He will never outgrow it, but he is able to self manage it along with his meds.
I still wish I could go back and enjoy him when he was little. 
I don't believe that much has changed as far as some of these behaviors are concerned between me and other kids today. But since there was little known about this complex condition in those days, people (my family) just didn't really know how to cope. I know that today, parents struggle but there are many more resources for support (websites anyone?) and there's been more research - more is known.
Maybe other parents can offer more insights to mine? HOpe this helps.