[bulrusmama]

Well, my son was diagnosed last year with ADHD and we were thrilled with his medication. Now my daughter is in the process of being tested and the pschologist says she isn't finished testing her, but she really thinks she does have it. I'm so sad............ I don't know why I feel different for my daughter's situation than my sons but I do. I love her personality and her energy. Last year in 1st grade her teacher said she was energetic but she always allowed her to stand while doing her work, or have her pass out papers to move her around, but this year the teacher is a prude. She expects them to sit still constantly all day. The only recess they get is playing board games in their rooms. They don't go outside or to the gym. They do have gym class 3x/week, but that's it. With my son it affected his grades so the medicine really helped that because he got so distracted all the time. With my daughter she is on the honor roll every grading period but her conduct grade is always a C or C-. The psychologist said even though she is moving and fidgeting constantly she is retaining everything being said unlike my son. With my son you have to tell him to do things one step at a time. My daughter on the other hand you can tell her 4 or 5 steps at a time and she gets it. I don't understand the difference if they both have ADHD. My son btw will be 7 next month and my daughter will be 8 in a couple of weeks.
bulrusmama

[mrsred]

adhd does not always present itself the same way. In fact there is a website that breaks adhd down into categories byt Winnie the Pooh Characters. I find this to be pretty acurate. My best friend has a Winnie the Pooh (think, think, think) He is very mellow, laid back. In school he had a hard time remembering to do his work, then to turn his work in if he did get it done. There has never ben anything hyper about this kid.
My oldest is a Tigger. He is so happy and full of energy. smart as a whip.... if he doesn't bounce off to someplace else before he finishes what he has started. (boing, boing, boing).
Then there is my older daughter, who is a definate Rabbit... bossy, angry, talking over the top of everyone. There is a real impulse control issue here, as she thinks she is always in the right and in charge.
Our 8 year old is a Piglet. He worries over everything. He has a hard time getting things done becasue he is so afraid he will not do it right.
All these kids are adhd. They are all completely different children yet their adhd can be managed with the same medicine.
By the way, our newest is most likely adhd too... and so far seems to be a mixture of rabbit and tigger.

[qs mom]

I love the Pooh definitions. I have a Tigger/Rabbit on my hands. My son is mostly Tigger, but can really be a Rabbit.

[bulrusmama]

UPDATE: Well, today I took my daughter back for the second half of her testing for ADHD. When I picked her up, my friend who works there told me that the psychologist who did the test will explain all of the results with my husband and I next month at our appointment but she said that my daughter scored in the 99th percentile for brain processing. What is brain processing? She is wondering if my daughter is bored in school. Where can I research this brain processing thing and what the test means?
bulrusmama