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    Joined: Jun 2008
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    Have not been on this forum for a while, due to things going 'well', lol.
    DS14 was diagnosed with some depression around age 8, and after a concerted effort to work on a few things with him, things seemed great, and continue to seem pretty solid in the mood department. We have been homeschooling as school itself was getting to be a drag for all of us, I have commented on that in the long ago past, so won't rehash. (typical gifted/2e school issues).
    He is beginning to feel like his pool of friends is reduced too much, however. I think this is true, having fallen out of daily contact with a few buddies, so we are considering HS at the ps for him, but there is a major concern that he still has the organization prowess of a 8-10 year old and I think he might really sink -- so we are considering reassessment at least for add. Symptoms include generally getting only a modest amount of work done, and as far as self motivation, there is some regarding the arts which is nice, but I am not sure it will suit him for the long haul. He still spends quite a while every day running in circles in the basement. Reading a book can take a week or literally 6 months, which I find absurd. He seems to actually be memorizing some of these books.
    After reading most of this page (it is LONG and I have more to read) http://www.klis.com/chandler/pamphlet/adhd/What%20is%20ADHD.htm#_Toc151458823
    It sounds like he is spot on for this add stuff, and as unfortunate as it is, it might be really good to get a handle on this now before it derails his hopes for a semi-normal hs experience.
    The co-morbidity section really surprised me, and may explain why he still lags in coordination.
    Complicating factors include: he is on asthma meds which appear in some cases to make add more severe and he has complained about poor sleep in the couple months, and I know that also can mimic add issues.

    Dd8 has always been a handful. After homeschooling her for about a year, we expected to see some major improvement in attitude, however things are about the same as far as how much she says NO as loud as possible. I have pondered 'odd' as a possible issue for her, but now that I am also looking into add for our ds, the markers for her: interrupting, tantrums, severe reluctance to some kinds of work despite hg scores, talking ALL.the.time, etc. seem rather obvious.
    I have decided to have her evaluated as well, for add and odd as, again, they seem to be found a lot together.


    any of this sound familiar? If so, please let me know what is working and what is not working...could I be on the right track here? is there a thread on the forum already with good add sites/resources to check out?

    thanks in advance!




    Last edited by chris1234; 02/16/15 05:25 PM.
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    Taking into account I know nothing about your children apart from what I just read in your post take everything I say with the proverbial grain of salt!

    I would totally agree though that getting as firm a handle as possible on your children's underlying challenges will hopefully assist any transition between schooling types. I like having lots of information.

    We don't have these challenges, we have others but not these specific ones. I do have friends who have a son and daughter who are PG, have been homeschooled since sixth grade and are now transitioning back to year 10. Part of the reason is driven by the son desiring a wider group of friends. They have moved to a bigger city so their options for schooling have also improved.

    The benefits they have discovered of returning to school are that the children are of an age where they can now access lab based science classes at a more interesting level, there is a greater range and choice of subjects so they can appeal to the kids interests more, the other students are older and there is a greater tolerance among some for the quirks of my friends kids. This may be a function of the school chosen because not all teens are tolerant. So it can be done.

    I don't know if it will be true of your son but our daughter drastically improved her organisational skills once she hit high school as she had to but she was also able to model what the other kids were doing. sometimes increasing demand and expectation can result in growth. I don't know how your son would respond but maybe he hasn't improved in some areas because the pressure to do so isn't there while he is homeschooled.

    I can imagine the thought of the transition is very stressful for everyone. I think your plan to have your children assessed is wise. Information is useful. Looking at different schools and visiting them to get a feel with you children is also important. I hope you have a few options.

    I posted a resource about slow processing on another thread. It is often associated with ADD and similar problems so may help.
    http://www.mghclaycenter.org/parent...oping-slow-processing-speed-home-school/

    This blog is from an educational psychologist and might be interesting. I found the comments from other readers had a number of people with teens they were worried about. Apologies if the references aren't relevant.
    http://bitsofwisdomforall.com/2011/10/29/finding-the-right-help-to-build-processing-speed/

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    Getting an assessment is a good idea for several reasons. Heading back into public school (and into SAT/ACT/etc) you'll need the assessment if you want accommodations. If organization is identified as a challenge, then you should be able to get him help with his organization skills that will help ease the transition back into public hs.

    Also important (jmo) is that an assessment can help you understand the root cause of what's driving the issue with organization (or whatever). That understanding is not only going to help with school, but with life smile

    My only caveat here - I'd try not to make the diagnosis myself first, then seek out an assessment only looking for that. There are a lot of issues that can cause symptoms that *look* like ADHD but aren't. I would want to rule out other potential causes before assuming what you are dealing with is ADHD.

    Best wishes,

    polarbear

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    Originally Posted by polarbear
    My only caveat here - I'd try not to make the diagnosis myself first, then seek out an assessment only looking for that. There are a lot of issues that can cause symptoms that *look* like ADHD but aren't. I would want to rule out other potential causes before assuming what you are dealing with is ADHD.

    Excellent point.

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    We didn't know if DS has ADHD or not so the doc did a provisional diagnosis and prescribed meds to see if they make a difference. My only caution with this is that even "normal" people may feel more focused on meds...but the question is whether they really make a remarkable difference or not. With DD9 the difference between when she is medicated and not medicated is VERY obvious. If I sent her to school unmedicated I can guarantee that the teacher would ask her within an hour if she forgot to take her medication. Of course, if you wouldn't consider medication whether or not there is ADHD, none of this makes a difference. I think there are interventions you can try and skills you can teach even without meds (or an ADHD diagnosis), for instance organizational skills for executive functioning issues. You can follow the advice in ADHD books for these issues even if you don't know if it's really ADHD, or if you do get the diagnosis but don't want to use medication.

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    our pediatrician said something similar,
    if someone has add/adhd the meds are most likely to make a serious difference in how they can function, not just a 'sort of feels more focused'. Also he said the medications were pretty safe, which is nice to know.
    Not that it is black and white, but at least not too fuzzy a thing to figure out.
    thanks for all the feedback! still waiting on hearing back from doc., we have finally finished and sent back all the assessment instruments early last week.

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    Most docs would start the child on a really low dose and then increase, so it may not be obvious at first.

    I do think that the risk of the meds is more than what a lot of docs will let on, but in some kids the risk of NOT being medicated is even higher, in terms of the damage that ADHD does to their lives and functioning. I just read somewhere that men with unmedicated ADHD are much more likely to get into a car accident.

    DD wasn't sleeping or eating properly on stimulants, so we are trying non-stimulants now. With concerta (which is like slow-release ritalin) she went into a bizarre "manic" state from withdrawal for several days when we took her off, which was really kind of scary. It was like she had to de-tox. Her first day off, she left the classroom and went into the hall and ripped several pieces of paper into shreds for no apparent reason. The meds are a lot more powerful than people would like to think, in terms of how they affect the brain and what happens when they are stopped, at least with some people. The dose she was on was within the normal recommended limits for her age.


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