Has anyone got a teen with ADD?

[Mistlewoeandwhine]

We’re in the process of getting DS12 a diagnosis of dyspraxia but I am starting to think he has ADD too. He is very bright, was reading basic books at 2.5, is in a home Ed class for GCSE maths but is doing the higher level stuff and getting 100% BUT he never finishes anything on time and I don’t mean slightly slow - I mean he can take two and a half hours to finish a thirty minute task. He’s always ‘ drifting’ off.

I don’t want to put him on Ritalin as he literally just came off epilepsy meds after having seizures since birth. I am in despair of him. There is no way he is going to pass his exams as he won’t get the majority of the questions done.
We home Ed him as we felt he would learn better in a tiny, quiet environment. I literally don’t know what else to do with him.

He will get extra time, but you need to help him break things down and to focus. Rewards for completing, staying on task etc. No rows about work, ever! (She's 22 now and doing well)!
We used egg timers, alarms, and rewards specific to her interests. We had 'fiddlys' to help her focus and different coloured paper and pens for tasks.
Good luck!

Thanks. He doesn’t seem motivated to do anything which doesn’t interest him.

DS1 is 20 next week. I'm not going to sugar coat it, he's got few qualifications, left college because the enforced maths and English resits were soul destroying and is now on universal credit. He has autism and ADD and had no real interest in anything but video games. He struggles to stay on task or see the bigger picture, its very much here and now for him. In exams he would obsess over one question and get that one or maybe two perfect then run out of time and get a low overall score due to lack of questions done. Or start thinking about a new game coming out and forget to answer the questions. It's not even a case of making him get a job now because he couldn't hold one down - I have to make him shower for example and get him to places as he can't use public transport. He's seeking more help for all this and starts counselling in February. ADD is far more disabling than people realise.

Dr Coconut, I’m sorry to hear that. My DS definitely has some of those traits. Did you ever go down the Ritalin route?

Have you had him checked for Absences?

Hi yes. They are definitely not absences as I deliberately check due to history with epilepsy.