adhd

Originally Posted By AnnI agree, it has been medically indicated with the children I have who have been exposed to drugs and the seem to take the edge off for a short time. The children act normal and respond calmly instead of in an up-roahhh.

Originally Posted By Kalenthankyou for your agreement, I expected to get slammed by those who think love will be enough, I have seen so many kids that are ashamed because they need it and yet would probably not be having a reasonable life without it, and it isn't their fault, it is genetic or damage in utero

Originally Posted By LisaI agree!! Whatever way it can be controlled.. do itI have a 17 y.o. son with ADHD (biological) and looking at adopting a daughter with ADHD. They are special people who need love and understanding too.

Originally Posted By ANGELMY SON WAS DIAGNOSED AT AGE 4. THAT IS A YOUNG AGE AND I WAS DETERMINED HE WOULD NOT BE MEDICATED. HE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED IN ONE VISIT. IT TOOK SEVERAL VISITS OVER A 3 WEEK PERIOD WITH SEVERAL TYPES OF OBSERVATION TYPE OF SETTINGS. FINALLY I WAS CONVICED MEDICINE WOULD HELP. RITTALIN DID NOT WORK FOR MY SON AT ALL SO WE TRIED DEXADRINE? IT HAD BAD SIDE EFFECTS FOR MY SON. FINALLY WE TRIED ADDERALL AND IT WORKED LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE. THE LITTLE BOY THAT LIVED INSIDE MY SON WHO JUST WANTED TO PLAY AND HAVE FUN WAS FINALLY ABLE TO COME OUT. TODAY HE IS IN 2ND GRADE AND ON HIGH HONOR ROLL AT HIS SCHOOL. HE WAS EXTREMELY VIOLENT, MOODY AND HAD NIGHT TERRORS BEFORE THE MEDICATION. HE WAS MY FIRST CHILD AND I WAS ONLY 23 SO I THOUGHT ALL KIDS WERE LIKE THAT OR HE WAS GOING THROUGH A STAGE. WITH THE RIGHT TYPE OF LOVE AND CARING AS WELL AS MEDICATION THESE CHILDREN CAN HAVE A CHANCE AT THINGS THEY OTHERWISE WOULD NOT.

Originally Posted By LyneI too have a child with ADHD, and while the Ritalin helps, I have found the eliminating certain foods from his diet, namely sweets, additives, wheat, he is so much calmer that I am hopeful we will soon be able to live without the Ritalin

Originally Posted By DianeI agree with you. We take pain killers and give children asthma medication why not proper medication for ADHD. If something builds self esteem and gives your child a better grade there has to be something good about it.

Originally Posted By dianeI think that there is a lot more to do with food sensitivities than doctors will let us believe. We took our son off of as much sugar as possible and it made a great difference. I wish doctors and other health care workers would work together. We went to a homeopath and took her suggestions. Upon visiting our doctor we were told that we were wasting out money. The doctors only suggestion was ritalin and it wasn't making near the difference that the homeopathy did. She wasn't interested in what was suggested only handing out medication. I am all for medication but only after some of the more obvious things have been done.

Originally Posted By Riana3@yahoo.comif you have a child with adhd and worried that they are not doing too well in school it could be because of the medication! i heard that ritalin is god for children who have adhd! try home schooling them thats if their behavoir is rude, weird!

hi! i have a 5 year old son that i thought has had adhd since he was 2 years old...i have taken him to a doctor who also thinks he has it but he started going to a therapist in order to get propelry diagnosed with this and the therapist say he just has a discipline problem, my son kicks,screams,bites, tears p everything in his path when he is angry and has even went far enough as to hurt animals...the doctor and i agree with the adhd theory but the therapist says no...should i get a second opinion? he has been doing this for over 3 years now and it doesnt get any better! but he does have his good days! he is also in pre-k and his teachers are getting very frstrated with the way he acts also we are just all so lost as what we should be doing and we are all working together to try and correct his actions but no matter what we do it doesnt get any better! does this sound like adhd to anyone else? or just a plain behavior problem?

No, this does not sound like ADHD. If your child is hurting animals and normal consequences do not work, you need to look at RAD, ODD, or behavioral disorders. Check the symptom list on [url]www.radzebra.org[/url] and see if your sons symptoms look more like that. Have a therapist familiar with adoption issues evaluate your son. My ADHD kids do not behave the way you describe your son, but my RAD kids did.

This sounds somewhat like my daughter, who is the same age. We thought she was ADHD since she was about 2 also. This past September we brought her in for counseling with an adoption specialist since she was having such aggressive behavior at school (just starting kindergarten). Within a month I was fully convinced that she had attachment disorder and in fact this is true. I've read so many books now and it's the first thing that fits all the symptoms and feels in my gut that is the right diagnosis. Sounds to me like lucyjoy gave great advice, find a good therapist who knows and can treat attachment disorder (RAD) and get it checked out! By the way, the encouraging thing for me (even though life is hellish right now) is that attachment problems can heal, unlike many cases of ADHD! Jane

I see MANY children misdiagnosed with ADHD when they have Reactive Attachment Disorder (children with RAD also meet the criteria for Oppositional Defiant Disorder and/or conduct Disorder, but the RAD is the proper diagnosis then, not ODD or CD), Bipolar Disorder I, and Sensory-Integration Disorders...to name just a few. You definately need an evaluation by a therapist who has training and experience evaluating and treating adopted and foster children with attachment issues. You can find someone like that in your area at [url]www.attach.org[/url] The advice you've gotten on this thread is good. Many therapists, while good and competant, are not trainined in attachment and have little or no real experience helping families with children who've been adopted or are in foster care. You need someone with such a background to understand your child. Diagnoses are often based just on symptoms (a BIG mistake, as it is etiology that is crucial in making a good differential diagnosis). Regards