Introduction and Need Advice | ADHD Information

Thanks, epokey! I wonder if once you have a child with ADD
if you think that all your other kids have it, LOL. Our 5
year old was our calm, easy going kid who now bounces off
the walls. But he's NOTHING like his brother as far as
school, etc...

I think we will just get through this year and see how next
year starts. I am hoping maybe a change in teacher will
make a difference.

I'm brand new here, but am amazed to find this so mirroring my life!   My daughter is 8, with ADHD.  My just turned 5 yr old son is my focused, mellow one, until he started acting out in school and  home.    What we realized is that we were paying so much attention to helping our daughter, we took for granted that our son could play on his own so much.    He was seeking positive or negative attention.    I am finding that private time with him is taming his ADHD-seeming behavior around.       I am also afraid to even go there with the testing....I'll fall off balance beam!!

So glad to have found you all - you're making me feel like I'm not the only one :)

 

Hi, everyone! My name is Kristy and I am a mom of four
children. My daughter is 12 and I have three boys ages 9
1/2, 5 1/2 and almost 4. My 9 year old has been on
Concerta since the end of Kindergarten (6 1/2 years old).
We tried Straterra at first and it did nothing but make
him cry all day so switched to Concerta. He has done
great on Concerta for the most part compared to without
it.

But that's not what my question is about. I feel like we
are repeating the Kindergarten year we had with my older
son with my 5 1/2. He is over a year younger than his
brother was starting Kindergarten so I figured part of it
was just age. The teacher says that he can't finish his
work, talks when he shouldn't, can't be still and won't
pay attention. I really don't want to put him on
medications yet. She had my other son in Kindergarten
also and says my younger one is no where near as
inattentive as my older son. Both of the boys are
extremely smart. My oldest is in gifted and my younger
one scores very high on testing.

We haven't had my younger son tested yet and I really
don't want to do that yet. So can you give me some ideas
of what the teacher could try? We are trying rewarding
him right now. If he has a good day at school, he gets
to do something at home he wants (play his DS, etc...).
He had four good days in a row with this but today had a
horrible day and didn't care at all that he didn't earn a
privilege. I had a 1 1/2 hour conference with the
teacher last week. She has the kids up and moving every
15 minutes so it's not like they are sitting there all
day, etc... So what else can be done in the classroom
that would help?albrst40596.8113888889

albrst....I can relate.  Our oldest son is 8 and was dx at age 5 in kindegarten also and began meds at that time (Daytrana/Guanfacine) and has been on meds since.  He is doing very well now & is a totally different child when medicated.  Our youngest is soon to be 5 and in a pre-k class 3 days a week.  We haven't heard anything out of the ordinary from his teacher but we are experiencing our own kind of "hell" at home, similar to what we went thru with DS8 at the same age.  I'm hesitant to say it feels the same because w/DS8 it was very clear that he wasn't focused & didn't have a clear head and that something was wrong.  With DS4, it seems as though he is deliberately acting out, being defiant & pushing the limits to boiling points....frequently!  We are very reluctant to have him tested because we clearly do not see the "fog" and impulsivity that we have with DS8 but the yelling, time outs, swats and never ending battles of control are very present and we just aren't sure if it's more of an age thing or not.  We've been dealing w/it for about 6 mos now & it only seems to be getting worse.  We've tried everything, swats, time out, reward charts, soap in the mouth (he's very sassy & full of attitude) and nothing seems to help. 

It sounds like your teacher is very willing to try anything & is already doing some great things.  I think consistency is key & remember that he will still have some bad days.  The four good days he had is a great start, keep using the tools she's using for a while longer & see if it helps.