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Post by patentpope on Feb 11, 2014 21:19:31 GMT -5
After several years of dealing with my own ADHD, it's starting to seem like I'm not the only one in the family. My 9 year-old daughter has been showing classic signs of ADHD. We've heard this from her therapist (she has generalized anxiety disorder, just like her old man), my mother (who taught kids with learning disabilities for years), and our family psychiatrist. Right now we're in the process of getting an official diagnosis, mostly so that we can show it to our daughter's school and let them know that she's not a screw-up, but has some definite issues to deal with. Her teacher has generally been pretty good about things. But in my heart, I just don't think that she understands ADHD. I could be wrong, but for now I want to be safe and look out for my daughter's best interests.
So, as we move forward in the process (terribly delayed because of a variety of reasons), it has me wondering, what kind of a difference the diagnosis (and consequent treatment) of ADHD for a child will make. And I was wondering if anyone else had any experiences they could share to let me know what I have to look forward to.
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Post by Amtram on Feb 12, 2014 8:56:22 GMT -5
Well, I think that one of the best things about the diagnosis is it stops you from the sysiphean task of trying to "fix" something that can't be fixed, and instead learn to accept it. With a realistic understanding of your abilities and limitations, you can make your goals more reasonable and learn ways to cope and compensate that are actually do-able. This is something that the meds alone can't fix, but sometimes you can't put them into action without the meds.
I had play therapy in the first and second grade, and I was able to rejoin the class and not be such a "problem child" in third. But I wish I had had the meds. The therapy made it easier for me to know what to do when something was expected of me, but I was still fighting against the symptoms. To this day (and I'm off my meds until I get my depression under control because I don't like polypharmacy) some of the symptoms are bad enough that when I try to "just try harder" or "just do it and get it over with," I feel not only anxiety, but an almost physical pain. Children feel this, too, plus the emotional pain of being a disappointment, they just aren't mature enough to express it.
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Post by tigger on Feb 13, 2014 1:07:21 GMT -5
I'm a dinosaur.
I was diagnosed at age four with what was called Minimal Brain Dysfunction in 1967. Today we call it ADHD.
I was medicated at around the time I began school. At the time, the best medication was Ritalin. I was successful with Ritalin but it was a time of advancement and change. As a result, I was tested on virtually EVERY new drug that showed up on the scene. Not good.
At the time, conventional wisdom told us that ADHD would magically go away in puberty. Not so much. What DID end was any recognition that I was still impaired. It would be 2005 before I was able to get treatment again.
In my large family, I was always acutely aware of being a failure by the reality of my birth. That scar is still present.
This is one place where the hope of better understanding and better management gives me hope. The 60s allowed the diagnosis but not a clear understanding of what ADHD is. If we are able to provide appropriate treatment and support to children diagnosed with ADHD, I believe that the lives of those children would be improved.
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Post by patentpope on Feb 18, 2014 11:54:25 GMT -5
I wonder if it was my lack of the hyperactivity element that caused me to not be diagnosed until very late in life.
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Post by Amtram on Feb 18, 2014 12:23:40 GMT -5
A lot of people say that. If I hadn't been so hyperactive (and female) I might have slipped under the radar, too. A missed early diagnosis makes treating problems in later life a lot harder.
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Post by patentpope on Feb 18, 2014 12:51:30 GMT -5
It also makes you look back to see lost opportunities, and wonder how things might have been different if you'd been diagnosed earlier. That's one reason I'm glad that we've diagnosed my daughter early.
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Post by tigger on Feb 19, 2014 22:31:15 GMT -5
I think that early diagnosis today can make a difference. Early diagnosis 40-odd years ago was not only not helpful, it was problematic.
I feel hopeful that a new generation of ADHDers might actually be helped as we learn and grow.
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Post by chikkaccino on May 6, 2014 10:04:40 GMT -5
So, as we move forward in the process (terribly delayed because of a variety of reasons), it has me wondering, what kind of a difference the diagnosis (and consequent treatment) of ADHD for a child will make. And I was wondering if anyone else had any experiences they could share to let me know what I have to look forward to. Plain and simple: IEP. Individualized Education Program. He just lost his Developmental Delay label at school, but ADHD kids qualify from a doctor's letter. It's in my son's IEP that he needs to be reminded of not jumping ahead on his work, and he needs to be sitting in the front of the class where the teacher can observe him better to keep him on track. They are also working on helping him with being able to change his attention from one subject to another and stay on topic when needed. The medication has done wonders for him, however, we all know that it's not a magical fix. Kids need to learn solutions and how to implement them to interact with others and be able to do their work so they don't fall behind. In just one quarter of being on his medication he's brought 95% of his grade levels up from 2's to 3's and from 3's to 4's. (4 being the highest number.) My only regret is that they didn't recognize this 30 years ago when I was his age and struggling profusely. Knowing what I do today (and some others being more accepting of the condition) helps me guide him through it -- with the help that he so desperately needs to succeed where I failed on my own.
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