"Life with AD/HD" thread

Rough day. DS has had a hard time behaving at school. It's been really strange, too, because he'll be AWESOME for part of the day, then come completely derailed. Or he'll start out on his ear, then straighten up and fly right. On a couple occasions he's just been awful all day. Not just fidgety and distractible, either, but really defiant and disrespectful. He's always had flashes of this kind of thing, but the last 3 weeks has been almost daily. Bleah... Not looking for solutions, particularly. Just wanted to vent.
 
Vent away! DS has been pretty good lately but that can turn on a dime!

Yep, that's pretty much what happened. I talked to the school counselor and my teaching partner after school...we all agree that a trip to the doctor is in order. We also need to look at smoothing his school transitions (special ed room to regular room, recess to indoors, etc.), and catch him being good. Back to basics!
 
Hello. My 8 year old so. Has ADHD and sever learning difficulties and my 6 year old so. Has just been diagnosed with Aspergers and possible ADHD. I'm a single parent and find it really hard with the 2 of them at times. I've had to fight their school to put in place special lessons which they have finally done. I find that our pets help them both a lit, they find it laming when they pet them and like to be given jobs that involve feeding them and helping clean coops and rabbit hutches. I give them both an hour each after school where we do an activity that they enjoy like playing with the Lego, reading a book or playing on the computer with them when they have a good day at school and it works because they want that special time when it's just me and them.
 
Kerry-anne

Wow, you sure have a lot on your plate, but it sounds like you're doing everything right. We have the home incentive program going, too. Our boy knows that he has to make good choices at school to be allowed to make choices at home after school. Not that it makes every day kicks and giggles, but it helps, and it gives us a point of conversation.

Our car rides home have been a sticking point. I take the kids to school with me, which gives us 37 minutes in the car each way together. In the morning he's on meds, and every ride is pleasant. The ride home....well...the less said the better. I started a sticker chart for both kids, with 3 "checkpoints" on the ride. The first is simply the transition from the school to the car and the first mile. (Son has BIG issues with transitions!), the second checkpoint is the first half of the drive, and the third is the 2nd half. It's helped a lot, and it allows me to turn my attention from bad behavior to good.

The other thing we've done is to get him on an afternoon booster dose of meds. We've noticed that his meds have been wearing off earlier and earlier, and the doctor and I decided it was time. HUGE difference! We've only been doing it for a week, but we immediately saw a change in his afternoon school focus and on the ride home. Pity it wears off before Cub Scouts...that was ugly...but otherwise it's great!

Anyway, Kerry-anne, keep up the good work. As a teacher and as a mom, I'll say I know it's hard to jump through all the hoops to get your children the help they need, so don't back off! Even the most caring staff is bound by the fact that special education funds are constrained by federal purse strings, and the machine moves very slowly. Sometimes all you can do is be persistent.

Have a great week, and I hope everyone's kids do, too!

--Nikki
 
They offered us mess for my 8 year old but we refused for now (the only appointment his dad actually attended!) as the activities at home and the programmes the school put in place have calmed him quite a lot. The one thing that really affects him is change. I have to keep a routine at all times same with the school or hell breaks loose. Getting him to go to bed at a reasonable time is a nightmare, sometimes gone midnight on a bad night. All the upstairs windows have to be locked at all times as he attempts to climb out. He has no sense of fear or danger. Your doing great too, I may reconsider the mess if he relapses ;)
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They offered us mess for my 8 year old but we refused for now (the only appointment his dad actually attended!) as the activities at home and the programmes the school put in place have calmed him quite a lot. The one thing that really affects him is change. I have to keep a routine at all times same with the school or hell breaks loose. Getting him to go to bed at a reasonable time is a nightmare, sometimes gone midnight on a bad night. All the upstairs windows have to be locked at all times as he attempts to climb out. He has no sense of fear or danger. Your doing great too, I may reconsider the mess if he relapses
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"Mess" is a term I'm not familiar with. Is it a special program? I'm curious to know what other schools do.

Bedtime is a nightmare for most of us. Our doctor gave us 3 options: Melatonin (I've met lots of folks who swear by it, including my best friend. It may increase incidence of nightmares, though, and since my son is prone to them anyway, we passed on this one.) Benadryl (We did this one nightly for a couple of years. It worked okay for quite some time, but gradually lost effectiveness) or a prescription. DS is now on Clonadine, 10mg, a blood pressure med. It works GREAT, and lets us end each day on a positive note.

Today my own child had a great day, but my 6th grade class gave me fits! Sigh... They know there's only 3 weeks left, but since they take their state math test Wednesday, I'm a little uptight with their apathy!
 
Sorry was ment to be meds not mess lol, my phone likes to do the auto correct thing ;)
Kids break up this Friday for a week off school then go back for 6 weeks then have 7 weeks off before starting a new school year in September. Honestly, the kids have too many little school breaks here.
Have to be honest and say my boys have had a brilliant week so far at home and school. Since my ex partner split with his new partner (he cheated on me with her) a few weeks ago they seen so much happier in general. My new partner is really good with them and they listen to him more than me! I had a meeting at the school yesterday and they told me that my 8 year old (he's learning age is 5 and his way behind his peers) is doing brilliant especially in maths and English though he gets bored easily and loses concentration
 
Kerry-Anne, glad your boys are having a good week. It's like a breath of fresh air, isn't it? I think it's one of the blessings of having a special-needs child that you really come to appreciate the good moments.

My son gets special help for reading, writing, and math. He actually has caught up to his class in math, so does not go to the special ed room for extra help on that. Reading he's making great progress, but it's his writing that has me tickled right now. He's working on report writing, and his group has chosen to write about armadillos. In doing research, my DS chose to do his on the pink fairy armadillo. Google it! It's the smallest armadillo in the world, and it really is pink! DS could tell you everything you ever wanted to know and more about them. It totally cracks me up! You know how AD/HD kids are...if they're into an activity or topic, they can be consumed by it, and my son is being consumed by pink fairy armadillos!
 

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