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Our foster son, J, was diagnosed as ADHD (among other things), which we didn't find out until AFTER he was placed in our home. Nevertheless, now that his honeymoon AND testing period is over, & we're getting into a routine, I'm thinking that he is NOT ADHD or ADD. Luckily he's not medicated, but I'm concerned about what his future could hold -- being that "ADHD" is prominantly displayed on his SAFE report.
J tends to trip on his own words, repeat himself several times until he completes his thoughts, not make eye contact & figits endlessly while he's speaking. However, he does NOT do ANY of this when the spotlight is not on him. In a group setting, he is calm & attentive. He is the first child in our house to finish his homework everyday, & he completes his reading every night without complaint. His figity & stuttering-like behaviors only seem to manifest themselves when he is the focus or in the spotlight. I personally think it has more to do with a poor self-image & a foreign feeling about getting attention. When he does it, we say, "Wait, J. Calm down. Think about what you want to say." Etc. Then he kind of laughs nervously & finishes talking more plainly.
He's also ODD & has had problems with stealing, lying, & intimidating younger children, so I can't help but wonder if "professionals" in the past have just morely easily lumped him in the ADHD category without further evaluation or insight.
Anyway...I'm kind of just venting but also putting my feelers out for thoughts from others. Thanks in advance!
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RAD is often misdiagnosed as ADD or ADHD and poor eye contact, stealing, lying, poor speech patterns are all on the symptom list(see [url]www.radzebra.org[/url]). Also, energetic kids often get misdiagnosed as ADHD in foster care because that coupled with their trying to adapt to change and various environments leaves them distracted and confused often mimicking ADD.
Out of 7 children I have who were diagnosed ADHD only 2 actually are.
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ADHD is the diagnosis of the moment. What you describe from my experience as a psychiatric nurse and mother of a son with"ADHD" doesn't fit the picture. Psychiatric disorders in children are labels for symptoms and there might not have been a good picture of your foster son when he was diagnosed. It could really be something else, like anxiety. I suggest if he was diagnosed related to a school setting you might explore what the issues were in school and if they still exist. You would be amazed at the kinds of situations kids are expected to concentrate in. It may be beneficial to gain 501 modifications for him in the school environment and stay firm about not medicating him for ADHD. The label I don't think hurts if the interventions he gets fit the symptoms. Simple things like smaller groups when he needs to speak in class and planning ways to deal with his speaking in public when he stumbles. I don't see his age and that can be a factor on what to make of the symptoms.
Thanks for the feedback from both of you! J is almost 11 & in the 5th grade. So far this year, he has done very well in school. I tend to think that his misdiagnosis came from symptoms of anxiety, because from what I've seen, he is wonderful at focusing.
I spoke with his therapist about it yesterday, & he agreed with me. He said that it seems that 9 out of 10 foster kids are diagnosed with ADHD during their initial assessments, when those assessments come at a time of heightened anxiety.
I think that my biggest concern is that if J is moved from my home (to a kinship placement), the persons involved might use this diagnosis to have him medicated. The therapist just said that we should each write statements about what we've seen with regard to this & place it in J's file (to at least give future providers a doubt about the validity of the claim). If J continues to do well in school, we plan to have the teacher write a statement as well.
I'm just at a point that I think that medication could be detrimental to J's progress & coping skills, so I can't help but look into the future with this.
I know that we foster parents can drive ourselves nuts trying to of all of the what if's, but this is just one we feel so strongly about.
Anyway, thanks again!
Since so many children who have a history of chronic maltreatment are misdiagnosed with ODD, ADHD, etc, but actually have an attachment disorder, you really need to get an appropriate and thorough assessment by a licensed mental health professional who has the correct training and experience. You can find someone like that if you go to the list of registered clinicians at the website for [URL=http://www.attach.org]The Association for the Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children[/URL]
regards
Thanks for the site. I checked it out, but it doesn't look like there is anyone in our state. However, I've done tons of research on RAD (we once considered adopting a 5 y.o. w/ RAD), & J doesn't really match any of the criteria (both laymen's & APA standards).
I'm actually beginning to think that he doesn't have ODD, ADHD, RAD or otherwise. I think he's an angry little guy (& rightfully so), & I think that his behaviors are representative of his anger, his low self-esteem, & his lack of feeling "in control" of his life.
Thanks for everyone's kind words & input!
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