Need Help! Questions about ADD

[Butts]

Not sure if anyone can help or not but my wife and I are going to have a parent/teacher meeting about my 6yr. old son. This is the teachers second year of teaching and we had problems with this councilor when my other son was in first grade 9 yrs. ago. They tried to tell me back them that we needed to have him tested for ADD because of social skills and poor grades but we put a stop to that and now he is 15 and has a 4.2 grade average and was put on the school leadership team at his school so I don't think they were right then and I don't think they are right now.
Derek is 6 and very energetic as most 6yr. olds are but in my eyes he doesn't have a problem with paying attention or concentrating on his work as they say.When we do homework and reading at home he is fine and has no problem completing any of it in a decant amount of time.
My mother inlaw has been a school teacher for over 30 yrs. and doesn't think that he has a problem so I asked her what questions I should ask when I meet with the school and she wasn't much help so I thought I mite try here and see what kind of response I get.

Thanks in advance for anything anyone could offer.

Butts

 

[saint]

I would ask the obvious...what qualifies you to come to the conclusion that he might have add?

What's the worst that happens...you can take him to a dr to have tests done, it's very simple. Only downside is it's so over diagnosed you don't want your kid taking ritalin for no reason.

 

[buddy]

This is the teachers second year of teaching ...

Red Flag

Seems to me this teacher may be taking the path of least resistance. Sure is a lot easier to accuse a child than confront the real possibility of a teachers ineffective teaching methods.

I'd search the internet and gather any or all info I could find on Attention Deficit Disorder. Then I'd contact an Independent Learning Center (like Sylvan) and speak with one of their counselors and see what they have to say.

ADD as a medical condition? has been severly mis-diagnosed.

Ritalin has serious side effects.

Good luck.

 

[ocelot]

Don't let this teacher talk down to you as they frequently like to do though more so with mothers than fathers.

Certainly she is no doctor in any case. If there are behavioral problems then I am sure you know how to institute effective carrot and stick system for your son.

I would tell her of your experience with your older son. Had similar with our son when he was middle school but he is flourishing in high school with above a 4.0 gpa. Teacher is grade school told us we were headed for big trouble (like prison she implied) which was BS. We put him in a different school (public rather than repressive parochial) and he has had ZERO behavioral or grade problems.

 

[Butts]

Thanks Buddy...
the first question I was going to ask was about both of their qualifications to make this judgment in the first place. In mine and other parents opinions we think the councilor is a nut job and way over emphasizes everything in the first place so I don't think I can even listen to her without losing it.

 

[loungelizard]

My wife has taught LD/BD for twenty years, those are kids with learning disabilities and behavior disorders, I would applaud any teacher who has enough concern to even suggest this to a parent, I don't think it is taking the easy way out at all just some concern for your child,the easy way at this point in the school year is to send him on through and let it be someone Else's problem, a second year teacher hasn't had the shit beat out of them by the system yet, so maybe testing would not only put your mind at ease, but may help her come up with a better way to teach your child, just my two cents worth.

Good Luck,
ll

 

[SixFive]

I have had this discussion with my Aunt who has taught the Primary grades for many years. She thinks that ADD is a medical problem just like strep throat and they both need to be treated with medication. I've seen a lot of "ADD" kids who I thought were simply not disciplined and let run wild by their parents.

I think ADD is real, and I think that some kids do have it and benefit from Ritalin, Strattera, etc. HOWEVER, I think it is misdiagnosed and overtreated as well. Hopefully, LL is right, and the teacher is just trying to help.

 

[Master Capper]

If the child is diagnosed with Attention Defecit Disorder and you are told that he needs medication then in my opinion the best medication would be Concerta, as it does not have the same side effects as Ritalin and a few others. More than likely your son will follow in the path of your eldest son and will be fine, so I would try to keep him off medication if possible. I have seen many instances where a child is quickly judged to be ADD or ADHD because either a parent of a teacher just doesnt want to deal with the behavior and it becomes a convient method to medicate the child. The sad thing is that most of these kids have adverse reactions to the medications used for these conditions and thus they are medicated even further to counteract the side effects of the medication. Thus some of these kids are medicated so heavily that they need one medication in the mornings to awaken and need to take a medication at night to take the edge off to go to sleep.Many times children are wrongly diagnosed with these conditions when the real problem has to do more with their diet which can be easily modified. Personally, I would take other paths before allowing your child to be put on any medications for ADD/ADHD.

 

[ocelot]

Amen to the diet check. Hell, most kid and adolescents I am around go thru complete personality changes for the worse once they drink a soft drink.

If you aren't already aware of the pervasiveness of HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP in all kinds of food even those which you would assume are healthy foods you might want to look closely at ingredients. Elimination of that junk will help health and behavior.

 

[bear]

Well,
ADD,ADHD,OCD,Depression etc. are conditions that DO exist and are a source of REAL concern. Teachers are NOT the people to suggest these possible handicapping disabilities.......Teachers should, however, report behaviors that are not typical of the age a/o may be limiting academic progress. Parents, who know their children best,frequently KNOW already what the teacher is talking about....These behaviors do not usually occur in isolation while at school. In any event, some questions might include:
Do you have specific instances and specific behaviors that we can work together to improve.
Have you made any modifications to make the classroom situation better?...eg. seating change (close to front of the room).... separate from friends or stimuli that may be interfering. How are work habits different when working alone as opposed to group work? Any behavior modification interventions being tried at present?
(success oriented activities, stickers, compliments for positives etc.)
Now.....Diet...sugar(no no) Try to get as natural as you can....without food colors or lots of preservatives etc. and keep records...log foods and behaviors if possible. Gather as much info as possible..and make sure that you are doing your part. Give it lots of time and effort without drugs.
Seek professional help if things do not improve over the years..If that is eventually necessary seek a Doctor with a proven record of success and high recommendations.


bear

 

[usbbroker]

If I were you, I would take some time and do a good bit of research in your city in order to find a highly reputable adolescent psychiatrist/psychologist. Once you find one make an appt. and at least take your child and go and sit down and talk to the doctor. I have taken the ADD test twice and it is pretty time consuming. When your 8 or 9yrs. old, its about the last thing in the world you want to do. After testing, if the doctor recommends medication, request that he start you off with Straterra first. Straterra is a non=stimulant medication and really works for some people. If straterra doesnt work, I would recommend Concerta or Adderral XR. You just have to try each one out until you figure out which one helps you the most and has the least side effects.
If a person is sincerely ADD and takes the correct medication, it can make a huge difference in the persons life.

 

[dr. freeze]

I would go to a pediatric neurologist before anything

preferably one who is conservative with treatment options

 

[Box and one]

Butts,
Go to http://www.chadd.org/

A whole bunch of info is on that web page.Think that might help you.