Farmfresh
City Biddy
Glad you are back no matter what the cause.
What do you know about ADD?
- Thread starter me&thegals
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #143
me&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
An update 
1. Had 1 appointment with child/family therapist. He seemed to be asking a lot of "leading" questions about school. Some of them my son answered inaccurately, like about reading comprehension, which would have led more towards a diagnosis of ADD. The therapist definitely was already in the mindframe of ADD based on my conversations with him and a school questionnaire.
At the end of the visit, I told him I thought there was not NEARLY enough background, detailed, intensive information from my son and others for him to be so certain about ADD. He hadn't even asked for questionnaires from the school. In fact, if anybody has ADD, it would be this therapist, a conclusion both DH and I came to after spending hours with him in different circumstances.
2. Appt. scheduled for allergy testing.
3. Pending appt with child psychiatrist.
EVERYBODY is willing to say ADD and put him on meds EXCEPT those often accused of doing so too readily: Parents and teachers.
It's driving me nutty. I HAVE to be the one asking the tough questions and posing other possibilities, since nobody else is. I knew going into this that the system is weighted towards diagnoses and meds, but I am shocked at how much so.
I just feel there are SO many things that could be causing lack of focus and inattentiveness. And, I also understand that the therapist is assessing everything in our visit with him: Body language, our way of interacting with our son, whether our son is compliant with the therapist during the course of the visit, how our son behaves, speaks, interacts, how our son spends his time in a room with nothing to do (he took a paperclip and piece of paper from the floor and created a little creature), etc. But still.
1. Had 1 appointment with child/family therapist. He seemed to be asking a lot of "leading" questions about school. Some of them my son answered inaccurately, like about reading comprehension, which would have led more towards a diagnosis of ADD. The therapist definitely was already in the mindframe of ADD based on my conversations with him and a school questionnaire.
At the end of the visit, I told him I thought there was not NEARLY enough background, detailed, intensive information from my son and others for him to be so certain about ADD. He hadn't even asked for questionnaires from the school. In fact, if anybody has ADD, it would be this therapist, a conclusion both DH and I came to after spending hours with him in different circumstances.
2. Appt. scheduled for allergy testing.
3. Pending appt with child psychiatrist.
EVERYBODY is willing to say ADD and put him on meds EXCEPT those often accused of doing so too readily: Parents and teachers.
It's driving me nutty. I HAVE to be the one asking the tough questions and posing other possibilities, since nobody else is. I knew going into this that the system is weighted towards diagnoses and meds, but I am shocked at how much so.
I just feel there are SO many things that could be causing lack of focus and inattentiveness. And, I also understand that the therapist is assessing everything in our visit with him: Body language, our way of interacting with our son, whether our son is compliant with the therapist during the course of the visit, how our son behaves, speaks, interacts, how our son spends his time in a room with nothing to do (he took a paperclip and piece of paper from the floor and created a little creature
), etc. But still.
TanksHill
Super Self-Sufficient
Thanks for the update. I was wondering how things are going for you and your son.
I know you read my journal post so you heard about the info I learned this morning. The whole thing just makes me bonkers. I am glad I have my sil around to do the bullying then I just jump on her coat tales. I don't think the average parent has any idea what services are available to them. The schools want to do as little as they need to get by. Their patronizing attitude makes me sick every time I meet with them. The almost had me convinced all was well.
Until my sil brought me back to reality today. I need to put my foot down. And insist they do their job.
Ugggg... Ont thing I waned to tell yo is my sil refused to go to a therapist. All of her diagnoses if I am not mistaken have been based on medical facts. She did not want to be doped up and sent home. She wanted answers to the root of the problem.
And that is what she is doing.
I am so thankful for her help.
I will let you know how it goes.
gina
I know you read my journal post so you heard about the info I learned this morning. The whole thing just makes me bonkers. I am glad I have my sil around to do the bullying then I just jump on her coat tales. I don't think the average parent has any idea what services are available to them. The schools want to do as little as they need to get by. Their patronizing attitude makes me sick every time I meet with them. The almost had me convinced all was well.
Until my sil brought me back to reality today. I need to put my foot down. And insist they do their job.
Ugggg... Ont thing I waned to tell yo is my sil refused to go to a therapist. All of her diagnoses if I am not mistaken have been based on medical facts. She did not want to be doped up and sent home. She wanted answers to the root of the problem.
And that is what she is doing.
I am so thankful for her help.
I will let you know how it goes.
gina
UnsophisticatedFarmGirl
Power Conserver
I am interested in this whole journey you are on as well... I was very hyper active as a child and even as an adult I cant sit still I constantly have to be doing something to both physically and mentally exhaust me. A year ago I was diagnosed with having OCD with a tendancy to be Impulsive... its true, but some of the things I learned about myself was my Nutrition habits(or lack there of).. If I dont eat healthy and am feeding myself crap... crap is what is going to be coming out.. and I see my "hyper" activity go through the roof and I feel all out of sorts with no balance. I have seen this in my son as well... Folks would tell me I was letting him suffer because he had to be ADHD ect ect... But when I did a test to see how he reacted with what he was eating(I was feeding him)... it was like night and day... When I made sure he was eating fresh veggies, equal amount of protein to high yield carbs he was a totally different kid.
Alot of this ADD/ADHD stuff is only recent as of the last century... If we looked into the past and saw how our great great great grandparents lived you will find no one being labled with things such as this... Plus they ate better and were more physically active...
Now a days kids are subjected to sugar in all things consumable, and TV and Video games are more the norm than Football on Thanksgiving Day...
I do hope that with everything going on with your son and you as the mom end with a answer to all your questions... I feel for you guys its tough not having an answer to help you move forward in this.
JEANNIE
Alot of this ADD/ADHD stuff is only recent as of the last century... If we looked into the past and saw how our great great great grandparents lived you will find no one being labled with things such as this... Plus they ate better and were more physically active...
Now a days kids are subjected to sugar in all things consumable, and TV and Video games are more the norm than Football on Thanksgiving Day...
I do hope that with everything going on with your son and you as the mom end with a answer to all your questions... I feel for you guys its tough not having an answer to help you move forward in this.
JEANNIE
- Thread starter
- #146
me&thegals
A Major Squash & Pumpkin Lover
Welcome, UFG! It's great to see all the new folks here these days
What is frustrating for me with my son is that he doesn't fit the stereotypes at all. I keep waffling back and forth on whether he just is not interested in school or actually has a "problem."
He has no food dye, preservatives (except salt), junk food. We have corn chips and tortilla chips--plain old corn, oil and salt--and that's as junky as it gets in this house, about once a month for the kids. No soda. Only 100% fruit juice occasionally. High-fiber grains only, mostly organic food. I could definitely get more protein into their diets, especially at lunchtime, but other than that I'm not coming up with ways to improve their diets.
No TV at home, Nintendo DS only on weekends when nothing else is going on, and a decent amount of exercise and fresh air every day. Aaarrrrgggh!
My daughter, on the other hand, definitely seems to completely spaz out after eating junky, especially sugar, at someone else's house.
What is frustrating for me with my son is that he doesn't fit the stereotypes at all. I keep waffling back and forth on whether he just is not interested in school or actually has a "problem."
He has no food dye, preservatives (except salt), junk food. We have corn chips and tortilla chips--plain old corn, oil and salt--and that's as junky as it gets in this house, about once a month for the kids. No soda. Only 100% fruit juice occasionally. High-fiber grains only, mostly organic food. I could definitely get more protein into their diets, especially at lunchtime, but other than that I'm not coming up with ways to improve their diets.
No TV at home, Nintendo DS only on weekends when nothing else is going on, and a decent amount of exercise and fresh air every day. Aaarrrrgggh!
My daughter, on the other hand, definitely seems to completely spaz out after eating junky, especially sugar, at someone else's house.
