Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[hallerlake]

Quote: ADHD does run in families. The fact that your husband has it means it is more likely that your kids will have it. Be observant.

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

That doesn't mean anything that she can sit for hours doing something she enjoys. It's called hyperfocus and many people with ADD have it. I can sit for hours reading, too, but I rarely sit all the way through a movie. People with ADHD are often labeled "lazy." That raises a red flag for me.

when you sit with her and help her with any thing she's struggling with on homework she can sit the whole time not losing focus. And reading isn't something she really enjoys. It's something she has to do for homework. I just don't stop her to tell her that her half hour is up. I let her finish the book she's reading.
also her mom went to 3 doctors before finding one that would just give the medication. because the first 2 said they wanted to do testing to find out if she actually had ADD or ADHD. Her mom refused to get her tested. The ONLY thing that says she has ADHD is her teacher from last year. But that teacher also had over half her class put on medication because half her class had ADHD. Notice an issue? The teacher took any child that was difficult or needed help and had them put on medication.

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

ADHD doesn't mean a person can't focus. It means they can't control their focus. Their focus is where it is whether that is where the focus should be or not. People with ADHD can hyperfocus. Hyperfocus can be a good thing. My younger son has found something that it pays very well to hyperfocus on. It can be a bad thing. When I am hyperfocused, husbands have difficulty getting my attention (they don't like that very much). If I'm hyperfocused, I can't stop what I'm doing even if I it is causing me pain or exhaustion. Someone trying to drag my attention away from what I'm focused on is mentally painful. If I were a kid I'd probably that that person was mean. If medication has loosened her hyperfocus enough to do other things like take walks, I'd say it was doing a very good job. The teacher suggested your neice had ADHD, and her parents took her to a doctor for a diagnosis. What's the problem?

You helped your neice do her homework by keeping her focus on her homework. That's wonderful of you. I mean it. I really do. Your niece was really lucky to have you, but that kind of personal attention is not a long term solution.

I didn't help her by keeping her focus on it. I helped her when she had issues working out a problem. She's a child, you can't put a first grader at a table and walk away expecting them to do their work.
I've been around people with ADD and ADHD. She shows no symptoms of it. She's a kid. Kids act up. They need help on homework, Hell the homework all says to have parents help.
And people seem to miss the ONLY person thinking she has an issue was ONE teacher her current teacher doesn't believe she has any issues. Her medication didn't help her focus on anything just gives her more energy. I wont lie I took one of her pills and got same effect she gets. It's like taking speed. Suddenly ya have energy where ya didn't have it before.
She also does her work more in school because she's scared if she doesn't her mom will make her take more pills. She tells her teachers that, she tells all the family members that as well. She only behaves now out of fear of being over medicated.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: No question, testing would have been the appropriate thing to do. The teacher is either very unlucky or jumping to conclusions. Still, not having been tested for ADHD doesn't mean your niece doesn't have it.

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

I have no issue with a child getting medication if they were actually diagnosed with something but a medication shouldn't be a punishment for not behaving in school, or for lack of help on homework when it's needed.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: Poor kid. That sucks.

 

[hallerlake]

I have no issue with a child getting medication if they were actually diagnosed with something but a medication shouldn't be a punishment for not behaving in school, or for lack of help on homework when it's needed.

Agreed.

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

No question, testing would have been the appropriate thing to do. The teacher is either very unlucky or jumping to conclusions. Still, not having been tested for ADHD doesn't mean your niece doesn't have it.

Doesn't mean she doesn't have it. But she shows no real signs of it either. I mean she can sit and do homework for an hour. Yes her teacher that year was giving 60 minutes of home work a night. The work was always things they never worked on in class as well.
her mom thinks she has it because she'd sit at the table and cry when she couldn't get her mom to help her on work when she didn't understand what to do.
her teacher based it on my niece getting upset when she couldn't get help in class either and the teacher calling her up to the front of the class to have all the kids laugh at her for not doing her homework. after the teacher did that my niece shut down and refused to do any work in class either. If anything I would guess she was suffering from depression from having the teacher bully her.
She's at a different school now, and her mom forgot to give her the medication for the first month of school. She did great in school. She started the medication again and my niece is in trouble all the time for not sitting still.
I don't think she has ADD or ADHD. I think she has a mom that wants her to have something wrong with her and fails to protect her when it's needed. She could have something wrong with her. But honestly I think she needs to be tested before having medications thrown at her.
Oh and last weekend i had my niece 4 days and they "forgot" to send her ADD medication. But "it's no big deal we forget all the time"

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

I need to start taping the conversations and give a copy to her doctor and a copy to CPS. Because her medication is being used as a punishment not a treatment.

 

[mikeyb]

Quote: I wasn't being condensending at all. I was relating an actual case involving my #2 son. This was mid 70's where a disruptive child was immediately diagnosed erroneously and given ritalin.
You obviously have a problem of ADD. My son didn't and ritalin was used indiscriminately in the 70's
edited by staff