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I can't speak to the ADHD question - although you certainly could have her evaluated for this - but your description made me wonder if something else is going on. Is she frustrated or stressed? Does she perhaps not want to perform in dance this year?

I have been told by a very well-repected pediatrician that ADHD is often diagnosed when in reality, there is a different issue causing the behavior in question. In school, this may be an LD. In other situations, there may be issues of perfectionism, or boredom, or...you get the idea. Maybe ask your DD what's going on - she may surprise you with some insight that may help.

DS7 has ADHD, it is sometimes difficult. We knew very early that he had it- he was like a superball when he was little. At one point, for about 6 months, we couldn't go into public. He's could focus on one thing but was bouncy.

As he has gotten older we have noticed a change to some degree, he will sometimes just zone out and not pay attention to what is going around him. This is not a good thing at tae kwondo during sparring practice. I thought that maybe he was having simple stair seizures, but he will respond if you call him.

He still gets over excited by things. He has come up some coping skills to deal with it. I have also taught him to some relaxation skills. They help, but he still has some issues dealing with a verbal list of instructions.

I hope this helps you.

You are discribing my dd (7) to a tee!!

I hope there are folks that chime in with other ideas! We have had dd to the Opthamologist, Audiologist and Pediatrician. All that came out of all this is that she needed glasses for reading and that she has a personality that is just better suited to nonconformity. In other words, until she learns that she has to do what the teacher asks when she asks and the way she asks, little bear won't do well in school. So we are empty handed as far as what other avenues to follow.

I am looking forward to reading the responses.

MON- Voila! I knew there had to be something else going on with your DD. Most of what I know about parenting I learned from DD and DS...

Mamabear - could you elaborate about your DD's situation? Are ther 2E issues? Is she bored, frustrated or just irascible? Have you had her evaluated professionally?

My son was diagnosed with ADHD and he's not shown any differences in behaviors than most kids. He goes to the same school where I teach, and his preschool behavior was normal. He had difficulties with writing, but that's all. He excelled in math and anything verbally presented to him was retained for what seemed like forever. :lol

Now that he's in 3rd grade, he needs to move a lot. He also has a table for his work that's away from other kids and traffic patterns. He's really able to focus there. Is that part of being gifted? I don't know. I do know that now that he's receiving some intervention for dysgraphia and possible dyxlexia, the behavior is diminishing. The psychologist's exact words were "He fits the criteria for adhd." When I asked if she thought he needed to be medicated, she said no.

"Mamabear - could you elaborate about your DD's situation? Are ther 2E issues? Is she bored, frustrated or just irascible? Have you had her evaluated professionally?"

I am sorry that it took so long to respond. We FINALLY got the school to respond to our requests. They are going to do a FULL evaluation as we try to figure things out.

I will say that the teacher and the school are being very accomodating. She reads above grade level but math is really horrible for her so they work at both where she is comfortable.

She is probably 2E. We are waiting for the testing to be done. I know there is a "proceedure" but the waiting is hard, knowing that she needs intervention.

Does anyone have a dc that is ADD (no hyperactivity)? We are in the midst of a variety of testing and I am seeing lots of subtle and not so subtle moves toward medications.

I am very leary of medications for a multitude of reasons.

So, I guess I am asking what other avenues we can follow. babybear is not a behavior problem other than she "tunes out" rather than acts out, so she misses instructions, etc.

Yes, but they come and go, he'll be able to do his form in Tae Kwon Do perfectly in one class and then in the next, it's like he is a novice. then the next class it's back to know the whole thing. It depends on how focused he is and how confident he is at the start of class. For him it is tied to his self confidence.

We find this with our son, he goes through fits and starts..... it seems to coincide with growth spurts, when he is going through a growth spurt, he eats like a hound and can't follow directions at all. Once he is through the spurt, he goes back to normal.

Our son has ADHD, and is gifted. I have looked over the check list and he has aspects of both really. He is clearly gifted. But there has never been a time that I thought he had anything else but ADHD. He's been bouncing off the walls from birth. But as he has gotten older he has gotten much better at focusing. His ablity at this point is inconsistant, but most of the time he can focus after one or two prompts.

I have a DH who has ADD. He got diagnosed and started on meds when he was about 30, but never had any problems academically. He has a PhD and teaches college. He had problems managing time, shifting gears, handling interuptions, and priotitizing things. His ADD did not become a problem until he had a job and family to juggle.

I guess the questions for you would be:
1) how bad are the problems?
2) What else have you done to address them?
3) Is she spacing out because she is not challenged enough?
4) If she is in a situation with a good education fit and is still having problems, would you be willing to do a short trial of meds?

We knew after 2 days of meds that they were helping DH immensely. For us, it was a no-brainer to keep him on them because they were so effective. If you try them and don't see a difference, then that helps make the decision.