Attention Deficit disorder?

[Littleblue]

The head at my 8 year old sons last school suggested getting my son assessed for add.
He has alot of challenging behaviours,ive read enough to know this is probably the cause.:-(

What i want to know is does anyone have any tips re treatment thats drug free,or coping /behavioural tricks that might help his knackered single mum,and 3 siblings...?

We are seeing GP next week.

[Umlellala]

Hello, good luck and hope you get the support you need. Am sure some more experienced people than me will be able to offer suggestions.

Things off the top of my head that have worked with (teenage) boys with ADD/ADHD I teach:

countdownsone instruction at a time
*opportunity to calm down and 'start again' without punishment (go out of room/go to quiet place)
*positive instructions (rather than 'stop banging your fork' - too complicated -try 'put the fork on the table' or 'can you pick up a pea with your fork')
*competition - 'who can get to the bathroom fastest, you or siblings?' 'who can get their toothbrush first?'
*enjoy their energy and try to channel it into something they should be doing (as above)

[Littleblue]

Oh,that sounds familiar!!! Thank you.....i have to set tasks like that,break down instructions,and i ask him to repeat what ive said so i know its gone in...and never 2 tasks at once,like get your school stuff and put your shoes and coat on,he rarely manages more than one instruction at a time..he prefers to stand on his head or cuddle the cat etc.

[magso]

Good advise from Umellala. Our children do have lots of enthusiasm and energy to direct!!
I can't give direct advise as my experience is different (ds is 9 with ASD/ADHD/LD and no other children to share my attention) but I found books by Russell Barkley (Australian)helpful. I use 'Take charge of ADHD'(Hinkley Books). I also used 'The Incredible Years' (3-8)by Webbster Stratton (I think there is a book for parents of older children now). Both these books are helpful and positive (library may have).
The things I have found helpful for DS besides behaviour modification methods (and medication) are good quality fish oils (eg eskimo kids), good breakfast including protein and complex carbohydrates, regular good food and drink (or he will crave sugar all the time!) and making sure I notice desirable behaviours at least twice as often as undesirable! Oh and don't forget your own needs (seriously - though I can almost hear you laughing!!)

[Littleblue]

Im almost laughing,we have just done well though,i channelled him into tidying the playroom by using positivity,and he wants to do the whole house,lol,we are discussing a mural too :-D

Hes,always hungry? cant fill him up...fish oils..omega 3 then?

[magso]

Well done! Mural sound ambitious!
I don't have the technical information on fish oils but extralongchain fatty acids are something to do with it. Its worth a try if you dont do already. Eskimo is available in good healthfood shops and via internet and happens to work well for ds. EyeQ is not as well thought of but available everywhere. Everylittle helps!
There is a book called 'Is that my child' - a very (IMHO) condescending book but the diet advice at the back (no additives, no processed foods, good wholsome home cooked food, cooked protein rich breakfast etc) is helpful. But Ds is still always hungry too!

[Littleblue]

Eskimo? Il have to google that,thanx

[Littleblue]

bump

[misscutandstick]

DS1 (16y) is adhd, and he is now quite a nice chappy to be with (apart from teenagedom!) His worst peak of ADHDness was around 8/9yrs it plateau'd for a few years and it isnt too bad now - still very impulsive, but 'better'.

Hmm as for tips... i think the '1 instruction' as you've noticed is a must. The things i read in your OP seemed to be about right, I think the only thing i can add is: be kind to yourself, and remember that his actions are NOT personal, hes not doing it to be difficult, its just that his brain is going far too fast for the rest of him. Quite honestly being ADHD must be exhausting! His brain has to send out at least double the messages to get the job done because of all the messages that go astray! Hmm what else? invest in some DVD's for his room to give everyone a break! handheld games machines are also brill because all the action is still going on, but they can do it 'in one place' ie going to the doc's or dentists, or a long car drive.

I found that plain sugar does give him a bit of a rush, but its the additives (avoid aspartame!) and colourants that do the damage - so some blackcurrant squash is worse than candyfloss!

Rollerblades are good, they take up a lot of energy when learning!!! trampolines (even the diddy ones) also have their uses.

DS1 is still quite 'young', only last week he was riding on the bottom of a shopping trolley, but it kept him amused so what the hoo! hide and seek in the clothes racks is also a fave game. We have a family friend who undoubtedly has it too, but he has a wife who loves him, and 2 children that he cares for (in his own way), he still has teenage obsesions for R/C cars at the age of 32y, so im not expecting DS1 to grow up anytime soon!

sorry to ramble - probably havent helped at all ...

[Littleblue]

Oh you have,im at my wits end this morning,feeling desperate,hes been screaming cos he broke something he loves and hitting himself cos he=is socks felt funny.Im not designed for a child with special needs im knackered and weepy

[magso]

((hug))! None of us are - and mornings can be flashpoints with all that rushing to get ready! (It was me feeling a total failure last week- chaos and tears everywhere)
Poor Ds - nothing more frustrating than breaking something precious by accident! Can it be fixed? Horrible for you to witness his distress.
Write a list of the points you want to make to the GP when you see him and include this.

[Littleblue]

It was one of his precious shells,he collects them.
Mornings are always hard,we are consistently late,whatever i do to change things,i feel i need gauntlets to wake him up,hes awful,so tetchy,its a horrible start to the day,i dread him waking up,and that makes me feel like shitits hard on his siblings too.
Thanks,x

[magso]

Oh - so can't be fixed!! Sounds like he isn't a morning person! Mornings are difficult in our house too.

[Littleblue]

hes so difficult to cope with

[dustystar]

Hi littleblue

My ds is 8 and has ADHD and AS. He takes Efelex fish oil tablets which help with concentration - you can get them from Boots.

I second what everyone else says about simple instructions. I have a treatment plan that ds paediatrician gave us when he first started having problems 4 years ago. Its hard work to implemement but we foound that when we did it properly it really helped. Email me on dustystarry1 at aol dot com if you'd like a copy.

Ds does take medication now but it was a last resort for us. We tried for 3 years with diet, supplements and behaviour management and all of these things helped to a certain extent. The meds have had a further positive impact on his behaviour but they are certainly not a magic bullet.

One thing I'd say is that you need to be flexible with your behaviour management strategies. With ds we'll find one strategy will work well for a while and then suddenly he'll stop responding to it and we need to change.

[dustystar]

Oh and as the others say - be kind to yourself. Its exhausting dealing with a child with SN and I have days where I feel like all I've done is shout or tell ds off. My mum says to catch him being good but some days thats bloody hard to do {{{hugs}}}

[mummyofboys]

My ds is 5 and takes EYEQ Omega 3&6 and is now on an additive/preservative etc etc free diet. It was really not that hard once I'd done a bit of research.

I have also read "Is that my child" By Dr Robin Pauc and the diet info is good.

My son does not have a dx, but teacher has commented on his energy level and lack of attention/concentration, so I thought I would start to help him.

The Hyper Active Child website is v. interesting. A charity thats been going for years with good articles and information.

Regarding drug free treatment, log onto the British Homeopathic Association website and search for an article about Hyper Active children (adhd).

A lady doctor, name escapes me, works out of the London Hospital of Homeopathy in Gt. Ormand St and works with add/adhd kids using alternative natural remedies - claims look great if true? If you ring them, they will send you a list of GPs practicing in your area in homeopathy (maybe yours does) - they can also send you a copy of the article if you cannot find it on-line.

Good luck!

[dustystar]

I also read the Dr Pauc book and whilst it made interesting reading I was concerned that there were very few references and therefore no way to check out the claims he made for the findings of his research.

[mummyofboys]

dustystar I agree about the Pauc book. The case studies given as examples never really explained what his dx of the children were - he just listed a string of their symptoms and what he did to 'cure' them. He is very controversial, making a controversial claim to be able to cure add/adhd.

But, maybe 'we' need people like this to rock the boat or begin to look at and treat these disorders differently rather than prescribing amphetamines because it's 'easy'.

I would like to see the NHS spend the money paid to pharmeacutical companies being spent on other forms of treatments for these children.

Mind you, thank god we live in Europe as I know in the US and Australia these disorders are treated with medication as a matter of course in the first instance.

[dustystar]

I think it would be great if we could retrain the underdevloped bits of our child's brains and 'cure' them. I was really interested in his work even though DS paed pulled a face when i asked if he had heard of him. I was concerned though about the quality of his reserach and the validity of his findings since he made rather big claims without giving any evidence to back them up. I think controversial is good for progress but if his theory and research is sound then why not give interested readers a way of checking out the results for themselves?

[mummyofboys]

I was disappointed to read an article about him on the Bad Science website. They claim he is a chiropractor ... not a neurological doctor . I don't know how credible/reliable this website is, however.

I also found the book a bit of a plug for his clinic ....

littleblue sorry to hijack your thread, but I hope all of this is of interest to your original posting.

[Littleblue]

This is all fascinating,and i hope will help a great deal!!Im reading !driven to distraction " atm,finding it all very familiar THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!xxxx

[mummyofboys]

Littleblue the name I was trying to remember was
Dr Marysia Kratimenos on the British Homeopathy Association website - try this link on her article:

www.trusthomeopathy.org/trust/tru_sp01.html

[Littleblue]

thank you,im having a bit of a crisis atm,il look into all of this when ive stopped reeling.x