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Posted By: mnmomtothree ADHD/GT - need resources - 01/24/13 08:08 PM
Hi,
I'm looking for information to help my 9 year old DD. She is in third grade in a wonderful elementary school. She is in the GT program and is accelerated for Math/Reading. We do not believe boredom is a factor. She has an IQ of +150, and alaso a dx of ADHD-combination type She takes Intuniv for ADHD, as well as Celexa (20mg) for OCD/anxiety. Her anxiety is very well managed. Our biggest issue is body movement/awareness. Her teachers describe her looking so uncomfortable that it's almost like she's trying to crawl out of her own skin. She is often upside down, leaning, all over the place,spends very little time actually sitting at her desk, and we don't know what to do about it. She is still learning, but we need to figure what is causing the activity increase (seems to be cyclical) as well as how to make her more aware of her body in space and how that is affecting both her and those around her. Any ideas?
Posted By: 75west Re: ADHD/GT - need resources - 01/25/13 01:48 AM
Yes, I'm very familiar with body in space (perhaps a little too much since it's been a bugbear of ours) and what your describing with your DD. DS7 was born with torticollis (head tilting) and he had 5 years of ot/pt to help with body in space since he couldn't keep his head/body aligned and had no concept of where his body was.

DS had 2.5 yrs of vision therapy too, which helped a bit with body in space. So you might want to see a behavioral optometrist. We didn't know DS was pg until he had vision therapy and started to fly through the reading and writing so the results can be dramatic with it.

In August, DS started neurofeedback and had 6 weeks of water therapy with Dr. Burdenko (he developed the Burdenko method). Dr. Burdenko saw DS for two minutes and said he had no body awareness or concept of his body in space. I wanted to scream - Noooooo.

In the end, Dr. Burdenko designed a set of water/land exercises for DS to address body in space - a lot of bilateral exercises using both sides of the body as well as balance beam exercises. Dr. Burdenko spent 6 weeks showing us the exercises for us then to do at home. We took a bit of hiatus and actually have to return to do them again, so this helping me to remind me! I know there are practitioners of the Burdenko method scattered around the US and parts of the world. So you might want to consider pursuing water therapy.

From what I understand, the lack of body in space/awareness can be a neurological, behavioral, and physical in scope - or at least that's what it's been in DS's case. And believe it or not, the anxiety and attention can be connected to it. Vision therapy, neurofeedback, and water therapy have really helped DS. Unfortunately, it's not a quick fix or cheap. One step and one day at a time, I say.
Posted By: epoh Re: ADHD/GT - need resources - 01/25/13 02:07 PM
I would definitely recommend some therapy or OT for her! Talk to your pediatrician and get some recommendations. There are things that can help her.

As for school - is the teacher requiring her to be in her seat? My son is also ADHD, and the biggest help has been the teacher allowing him to just stand at his desk whenever he needs to. Or go to the pencil sharpener or just generally move around as needed, so long as he's not bothering anyone. Since we started Tenex (it's the short-acting version of Intuiv) he's gotten better, but we are considering upping his dose again. Have you talked to her Dr about possibly upping her Intuiv?

Good luck! I'm glad to hear about the Celexa... I've been wanting to talk to my son's dr about the possibility of something for his anxiety.
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