What do you know about ADD?

[sylvie]

I'd like to make a few points about possibly misdiagnosing ADD.

When I began art college, we were told by the professors that creative personalities tend towards lack of focus, easily distracted, easily bored, novelty seekers and sometimes lazy. We were told that we would need to overcome those natural tendencies and force ourselves to focus, finish, listen, etc. The entire freshmen class was warned about this. It was like they were mind readers with this incredible insight into our personalities!
We were not a class of ADD, although a methodical person might have thought so. Highly creative cream of the crop, but with all the bad aspects that come from that.

 

[Beekissed]

yep! Back in my day it wasn't called ADD, we just were who we were and adjusted ourselves to fit into society as best we were able.

I am a daydreamer, artistic, laid back, can be lazy, easily distracted from tasks I don't like and I fit the whole ADD thing to a T...but I don't consider it a bad thing and it has only inconvenienced my life when I procrastinate about important things or don't force myself to prioritize.

 

[Farmfresh]

ADHD was definitely THE thing to diagnose kids with for a while. A lot of bad kids were drugs instead of discipline.

ADD is even more difficult to diagnose. You need to be really, REALLY sure that is the problem and not depression or some other illness masquerading as ADD.

 

[Beekissed]

A lot of bad kids were drugs instead of discipline.

I used to call this DDD~Discipline Deficit Disorder!

 

[Farmfresh]

OOOh I like that one!

 

[TanksHill]

A lot of bad kids were drugs instead of discipline.

I used to call this DDD~Discipline Deficit Disorder!

I am pretty sure that's whats wrong with my son.

 

[Lady Henevere]

Hi, M&TG. I've been wanting to respond to your post for a while but I've been too busy, so here goes, finally. This falls under the category of what I know and what I think, but keep in mind that I'm not a doctor or psychologist, and I don't work with kids except my own (a 12-year-old daughter) and her friends over the years.

There is no question in my mind that ADD is real. I have an adult friend who has it. Here's a couple of hours in his life: Start the kettle for tea. Start the clothes washer, go to the bedroom to get the laundry to put in the washer. Notice the computer, remember that an e-mail needs to be answered. Get online, start surfing the net. Read about the status of the drought, remember that the plants need to be watered. Head outside, turn on the hose. Hear the phone ring, head back inside. Ten minutes later the water has all boiled out of the kettle on the stove, the washer has run a full cycle with no clothes in it, the e-mail still isn't answered, the hose is running in the backyard but the plants haven't been watered, and the backdoor is wide open but no one is home because the phone call was from someone reminding him of a lunch date.

To me, this is real ADD, not just being easily distractable when doing boring tasks, which applies to everyone on the planet, though some are better at controlling it than others. My ADD friend truly does not have the ability to finish tasks or to keep in mind that he's in the middle of something that needs to be completed. This is what I see as real ADD.

Being easily distractable or having trouble focusing on a boring task, on the other hand, is totally normal. Some people are very self-disciplined and are good at staying on task when they need to. Others, myself included, have epic internal battles when doing something boring (like school when I was little, and sometimes work now that I'm an adult), and sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail.

What you've described in your kids does not sound abnormal to me, although it sounds like they lack some self discipline (a skill that will come with time, if it's taught to them). In the scenario you described, for example, my 12-year-old daughter wouldn't have come back with the gallon of beans either -- and she's a model student, no behavior problems, on the honor roll with straight A's. I would have had to remind her at least once that the task at hand was bean-picking. It reminds me of one of my favorite poems:

I Meant To Do My Work Today
by Richard LeGallienne

I meant to do my work today,
But a brown bird sang in the apple tree,
And a butterfly flitted across the field,
And all the leaves were calling me.

And the wind went sighing over the land,
Tossing the grasses to and fro,
And a rainbow held out its shining hand,
So what could I do but laugh and go?

The point I'm trying to make is that everyone is distracted from work by what they would rather be doing. I don't think this is abnormal.

That being said, self-discipline is critical when it comes to success in school and life. Your son especially sounds like he may need some help in learning tips and tricks to make sure his work is done. Does he have a homework planner? If not, get him one. Have the teacher initial it each afternoon before he leaves school to ensure what he has on there is right, and you should initial each completed assignment in the planner (after ensuring it is actually complete, of course). This will help him get into the practice of writing down his assignments as they are assigned, keeping the planner with him at the end of the school day, checking off the list at home to make sure it's all done, etc. (My daughter's fourth grade class had to do something like this. I thought it was kind of annoying and too time consuming at first, but now that she's in 7th grade she's very good at using a homework planner and self-regulating due dates, etc. This is good because she's not one of those kids who easily keeps track of assignments and dates in her head.) Other tips and tricks may be needed to help him remember other things, like his gloves (what about the old string-across-the-back trick that keeps the gloves dangling outside the sleeves of the coat?). Or maybe a bedtime checklist on his wall (All the homework assignments in the backpack? Teeth brushed? Clothes out for the morning?) Maybe one week's completed checklist gets him a small reward, ten of them gets him something big. But remember that the key is to get him to remind himself of what needs to be done, not to rely on you to tell him to do it. The latter, in the long run, will not help.

Anyway, there's my two cents; I hope it helps. Your kids sound bright and sweet, I'm sure they will do well in life over the long term. Best of luck to your family. -LH

 

[TanksHill]

So I received a phone call on Friday from the special ed teacher at my sons school. We talked about the strategies applied and how some are helping and some are not.

She feels we should take the next step in helping him. Which includes a checklist full of questions based on how well he listens how long it takes him to respond and how many times he needs to be asked. She is filling one out and has asked me to do one at home as well. If I am understanding this correctly this is the step just before having him diagnosed by his Pediatrician.

What kills me is the generality of the questions. Your responses are on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 being not observed, 2 = one to several per month, 3= one to several per week, 4= one to several per day, and 5 = several times per hour.

lets see... # 7 Is disorganized with possessions, ie loses or does not find toys, clothes etc..

# 11 Changes from one activity to another without finishing the first, without putting things away, before moving on to the next activity.

Hello????? Do all kids clean up there toys when they decide to play something else? Is being messy now grounds for ADD?

I don't know. I will fill out the paper to my best ability and be sure to assist the teacher as best I can. But my husband and I both agree we will not medicate our child no matter what these people say.

Any suggestions????

 

[Beekissed]

When I can concentrate long enough to focus on my son's ADD issues..... ...I have found that, when giving him a task to do, he can only process one, maybe two in a row before he loses it. If I say, do the dishes and sweep the floors, then take out the trash....he only hears do the dishes. Then he goes to the bathroom and comes back and goes to his room for something and two hours later nothing is done.

So, I start at the beginning. Do the dishes and sweep the floor.

He will take about 2-4 hours to do the dishes(his official record is 11 hours!) and then come and ask me, "Now..what else did you say to do?"

Single tasks are tough, as they are easily distracted from them by just about anything and require a lot of redirecting to get it completed. Multiple tasks? Forget it!

 

[Farmfresh]

In children with severe ADD we find the use of a visual schedule really helps.

You simply make icons to represent different tasks and put velcro on the back of them. Then you can make a little strip or booklet that the person can carry with them.

When there are tasks to be done the booklet or strip is loaded up. As each task is completed the icon for that task is removed and placed in a container or pocket on the back of the booklet.

It makes getting those tasks easier - they actually get DONE with tasks for a change!
It also gives the sufferer more independence and success than they have ever had.

A win - win!