[DKIM]

We were told by a pediatric specialist in ADHD that the only true test to know if your child has ADHD is to put them on meds. If the behavior and impulse control issues improve then they have ADHD if they do not or they become worse, then they do NOT have ADHD. This doesn't sound appropriate to us, but thought I'd a get a second opinion.

I was also told that ADHD runs more in adopted children, and the reasoning is that ADHD is said to be a genetic condition and most bparents are very impulsive and pass those traits to their bio. children.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

DKIM
DS was adopted as an infant.
Dx ADHD getting a 2nd opinion
from a child psychologist

[Teresa K]

DKIM,

I totally agree with the second opinion on this diagnosis. I am not sure most birthparents are impulisive, yes at times many are but these days it almost seems like a simple diagnosis for any irrational behavior. I certainly share your opinion of medicating a child for ADD just to see seems sort of drastic. I will share that when I was diagnosed any med that I was given to calm me had the opposite effect. Ex: I was once given a med at the Drs office, he said DO NOT take it before I was home and ready for bed. So, I waited till bedtime to take the prescribed amount. I was up for two days, not only awake, I was not even coherant I was so "high". I can not take Tylenol PM to sleep, it will keep me awake all night. Any cold med that says it will not cause drozziness will more than likely have me sound asleep if I want to be or not within an hour. I see what he is doing, but it seems like there would be some other way. I know I had to take a test, but that was to complicated for a child but it would seem there would be a simpler one.

I did a grant proposal for a class on ADD, the best source of info I found was CHADD out of Canada. I still have the BOXES of info, if you want the website and can not find it please ask and I will get it out. Good Luck...Teresa

[Rennietmac]

4 Arial Blue There are several "symtoms" to ADD and ADHD. You can do a search on ADD and try to find a checklist. I wasn't diagnosed until I was a Junior in High school. ADD & ADHD are heriditary. But it can also be caused by a brain injury. Lack of oxegen at birth, blow to the head. It doesn't have to be a major brain injury. It is true though. That if you aren't ADD, the meds will wire you. It is like speed for normal people. It has the opposite effect for ADD and ADHD children. If you want a sample of what the med will do. Drink a Sugar Free Mountain Dew. The caffene is a stimulant similar to those in Ritalin and Concerta. If you are wired, then I would say that you are not ADHD. But on the other hand if you have trouble concentrating, loose train of though often, or forget things easily, it may be ADD. I hope this helps some.

[Peggy]

PTSD, sensory integration disorder, ODD and sometimes fas, or fae can have symptoms that mimic ADHD or ADD. That is also why so many adopted or foster children are diagnosed with ADHD. Since you adopted your son as an infant, some of these would not apply. Also I have heard or read that mild amounts of adhd medication will sometimes improve an average, non-adhd child child's ability to focus in class. NOT that anyone should give medicine to a child that does not need it.

[kttsizme]

I wanted to share my experience with adhd and diagnosing procedure's. This occured 10 years ago.

I have to agree that many physicians are so ready to push the drugs on kids that "seem" to show signs of ADHD or ADD(leave out the "H", hyper).

My daughter was a very over active toddler right around from when she was a year old on up.

It came time to have her screened for kindergarten. She was screened and it was decided that she be put in young 5"s when she was just 3-1/2 years old. I agreed. Anything to help her learn and thrive in school.
She continued on to Pre-k then on to Kindergarten.

Seeming to struggle all the way. I heard the word ADHD but ignored it. Thought, Na not my kid.

At the age of 6, Now in the first grade the teacher had concerns that my daughter was not "getting it". She was struggling at most of the work she was suppose to be doing on her own.

Half way through the 1st grade school year it was decided by her pediatrician at the time, her teacher and myself that she be tested to see if she did have ADHD.

We took a 6 hour one way car ride to a well known hospital clinic in Minnesota. Once there we spoke in length to this pediatrician who specialized in psychiatry.
After 5 hours at the clinic doing different assessments on my daughter, The specialists decided to do the "Placebo, Ritalin trial".

What this is was six weeks and (6) bottles of medication. Every single bottle of pills looked EXACTLY the same. These bottles were only marked with my daughters name and the bottles were numbered 1 through 6.

Each week she would take the corresponding bottle of pills on a daily basis.
Her school teacher and ourselves would then complete a form at the end of each of the 6 weeks. Each form marked with the pill bottle week number.

On these forms were questions concerning our daughter's behavior, attention etc....

At the end of the 6th week we patiently awaited the results of this somewhat new test.

The results were called in to us by the clinic pharmacist.
He was the ONLY person who knew which bottles of pills really carried the Ritalin, used to treat ADHD.

I suppose we were really not surprised when we found out that the weeks that she had the best reports were the weeks that she was actually taking the medication Ritalin.

I have to say I was impressed with this procedure and so glad that we took the time to really get to the bottom of her behavior and lack of attention and concentration in school and at home.

She did end up repeating the first grade.

It just may have attributed to her being a honor roll student today.

To this day I see way to many children being mis-diagnosed with having ADHD or ADD. When in fact there are many more contributing factor's to their lack of attention, behavior and concentration.

Everything possible shuld be done first to rule out anything else first!


Sorry for babbling on.

Again just my .02 cents from mine and our daughters own experience.

[Sharon]

"ADHD runs more in adopted children, and the reasoning is that ADHD is said to be a genetic condition and most bparents are very impulsive and pass those traits to their bio. children." ~ DKIM

Tee-hee... this statement is actually pretty funny when you think about it.


~Sharon

[DKIM]

We go in tomorrow for an ADD Eval. This doctor sounds really good, and specializes in ADD in children 6 and under. Hopefully things will go well, and he can help us find out for certain if our son is ADD or not and what we can do to better meet his needs either way.

[Dr. Art]

ADHD is usually assessed by taking a thorough history, a complete symptom profile, and the completion of various tests and questionnaires such as the Child Behavior Checklist (both parent and teacher versions) and/or the Conners (both parent and teacher versions). You'd want both teacher and parent input because if you ONLY see symptoms in on setting, then you may not have ADHD as it is often Misdiagnosed among adopted and foster children who may have sensory-integration difficulties, or be experiencing the subtle effects of prenatal exposure to noxious chemicals or situations.

Regards,

[DKIM]

Thanks. The psychologist we're seeing said it would take a few weeks to ge a diagnosis, and he did give me a scale to fill out and a connor's scale for his therapists. DS is seeing an OT and a PT for Sensory Intergration Issues. Mainly for Vestibular (movement) and the perioperc.(spatial and body awareness). The pysch. asked about his preschool situation and I told him we were bumped off the list. Of course I forgot to mention that we were bumped from the enrichment program not the tuition based program....not sure if that matters.

I have a question for you about Article 504. Is this article national? Does it mean the schools have to take our son into their enrichment classes or reg. tuition based program? The school pysch. said that he doesn't qualify for any special ed programs. Do the schools leave slots open for 504 students; is the 504 a state funded or a tuition based program? I planned to ask our psych or the school's psych. about all this again this week, but thought it couldn't hurt to possibly have a quicker answer or at least a corroborating(sp?) one. I'm getting better at covering my bases.

Thanks in advance!

[Dr. Art]

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Federal law) has nothing to do with $. What it states, briefly, is that a school has to make a PLAN to accomodate a child's disability (note that all they have to do is make a plan, not necessarily implement the plan) An IEP has the force of law behind it and a school is bound to delivery all in the IEP. However, if what your child needs is not too difficult to provide and the school is willing to accomodate you, getting a 504 plan is often just fine.

I hope this answers your qeustion...if not, ask some more and I'll respond,

Good luck

[DKIM]

Thanks! That helped quite a bit actually.