Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional ADHD and Ritalin (mood swing question)

How frustrating! I know with my DD that her meds are pretty much worn off by late afternoon. Homework is a huge struggle. I am very concerned that we are going to find DD in the same situation when she starts her Orton-Gillingham tutoring. It has been in the back of my mind that her ADHD is going to be a challenge. That being said, what is the rapport like between your son and the tutor? Is the tutor patient with him? Does he have experience with kids with ADHD (one would hope, given the incidence of dyslexic children with ADHD)?

With my DD, the moods swings are mostly dose dependant. Unfortunately, the lower doses do very little for her ADHD. She is currently trialing a higher dose, but I am starting to get concerned that her moods are suffering.

Please keep us posted (or PM me) about how things go!

kathleen's mum- The tutor has a child who is dyslexic...a high schooler that attends a boarding school for dyslexic students. She also works with a local private school that is specifically for children with dyslexia. She definitely understands that ADHD is a very common problem for kids with dyslexia. With that said, she is very type "A" and the excessive movement is an issue for her. While she understands why he does it, she still wants us to find a solution for it. (Where as his school teacher is not type A at all and has no problem with him fidgeting all the time).

I will keep you posted on how things go!

Grinity- Yes it is a very long day for him, but the tutor is not available before school or the weekends. I feel like we're just going to have to tough it out. I definitely think he'll need a break after awhile.

Kathleen's mum - when you say your DD did not tolerate short acting ritalin could you describe how? My DD has been unable to keep it down.

perplexed - does your DS move more when learning more? Both of my children were like little perpetual movement machines when learning to read, it was absolutely awful and maddening to be near and felt really disrespectful and like they were trying to squirm away from working. But I think there was actually some direct connection between movement and learning something that was hard for them. DD1 I think has major dyslexia, DD2 is HG but just got glasses for behavioural optometry issues, she found it much easier to learn to read than her older sister but I suspect it was a pretty huge effort to make sense of what she was seeing.

My point being - maybe he moves more for the tutor and it is more intolerable not just because of her personality but because the work is actually hard for him?

MumofThree - she had depressive symptoms and went into rages at the drop of a hat. She also stopped eating almost completely. She was able to physically keep the med down, though.

I also agree with your last point.... when things are hard, my DD moves around WAY more. She describes it as a physical discomfort to have to concentrate on something that is 'boring', 'hard' or 'dumb'. She curls her toes up in her shoes and screams on the inside while she writhes around in her seat and bounces up and down. It is very hard to be near her when she is having trouble concentrating, I feel for anyone who works with her.

perplexed - do you think it might be worth looking for a new tutor? There is only so much you can do about a wiggly child who doesn't tolerate meds. They are going to move around and wiggle!

Mum of Three- DS definitely moves more when his brain is engaged. It is actually quite interesting, if he is doing something challenging but appropriate, he stands to do it...if he is doing something that is frustratingly hard, he moves all over the place. That is definitely something to consider with the tutoring.

kathleen's mum- I'm afraid that another tutor isn't an option. We live in a small town and it was miraculous that one of the OG tutors from a neighboring city moved here and is taking the year off from her regular job of teaching at the school for kids with dyslexia.

I wonder if you can grab him at lunch time once a week for his tutoring....it's not like he'll be missing much, right?

I would propose it as a short term idea. Right now the tutoring is more important than the rest of it, so why not give him a clean shot at making the most of it. If he were a Olympic track athlete he'd miss school to travel to coach with that special coach, right?

I think many parents in certain work fields tend to 'just assume' that folks (including their children) will just keep going because they have to - no matter how un-natural it is to their normal rhythms. I did anyway.

Smiles,
Grinity