DeeDee brings up important points - there are aspects within her profile that may interfere with writing beyond the ADHD - and these issues should be addressed too. Could it be that the meds actually did help with concentration, but that the other underlying issues that were not addressed are causing the havoc?
Based on what I have seen, the concentration issues were resolved entirely by the better educational fit. There is definitely something to do with writing that wasn't addressed with the ADD meds, but I am at a loss for how to address it - she thinks now that it may be just psychological?
She said all of her early attempts at writing were judged harshly due to her awful penmanship so she just stopped trying and never really learned how to develop an essay. By the time she had keyboarding available, her anxiety over not really knowing how to produce what was expected had her making excuses rather than trying and by then she had figured out she could pass classes without writing the longer papers anyway. Sounds sort of plausible to me.
Nik - my first thought is "Has her body changed significantly since starting school?"
She started getting a lot more exercise and eating much healthier, she lost 12 pounds...Hmmm, maybe she fixed the root causes of the specific issues that were actually being helped by the the meds so they became moot and thus seemed to stop working????
Will she accept a writing/organizational skills tutor? Nowadays coaching can be done over the Internet or in person. Was she at all impressed that the school almost didn't let her return?
No and, no! She seemed very calm about it, said she believed she would be fine...I think that may be due to the Aspie in her. (I am the one getting panic-inducing correspondence from the school). Her roommate didn't fair so well so hopefully DD realizes now that they clearly mean business there.
I love the book 'Transforming the Difficult Child Workbook' by Lisa Bravo to help parent these tough to motivate kids. Just this week as DS was returning to school and his airplain reservation was dissapointing, he started up (in public) his 'Mom You Don't Even Care what I Go Through" Whining, and without even thinking about it a turned my body away very slightly and broke eye contact (as is suggested) and he twitched, took a breath, and said: 'Opps, sorry' and then went back to his normal mature behavior. What was so amazing is that I didn't even have any mental thoughts about my behavior of turning away - I just no longer tolerate being disrespected by him and it was natural to shift my body without any thought in the matter. It was only after he responded that I even knew what I had done. That's after about 6 months without 'practice.'
Love it! Good for you! I am not sure if my DD would pick up on those subtle gestures though...I may have to
bring that book back out for the summer.
I don't share their view on ADHD medications. I'm sure that in 20 years all the current medications will look 'barbaric' but for now they are making a very strong and positive difference at our family.
I think its a very individual quality of life thing, I was so against meds at first but I heard lots of very compelling testimony from people who swore it had made their lives much better.
RE Accommodations: The College is structured in the most accommodating way that I can imagine - very small discussion based classes, writing labs and tutors are available at no charge (but she has to ask for the help, and there is still the anxiety). I really wouldn't know what else to ask for. I am hopeful that she might have less anxiety about asking for and accepting help now that she has gotten to know her tutors (teachers) and fellow students over the last semester (they will all be the same for next semester). They showed her mercy in accepting her short papers and she had one teacher email to compliment the quality of writing in what she did turn in, so she seems to be gaining some confidence -YAY.
Although the writing issues remain a mystery, I think I have resolved my question about the ADHD meds. Thanks for helping me think this through!
