[DannieAS]

I'm a school staff person that doesn't believe in leading parents to go one way or another.

The only way I will comment on that will be if a parent makes the decision to medicate and then asks what changes (if any) has taken place and are they positive or negative.

I've seen the gamut of ADD/ADHD and some kids with a behavior plan can do quite well either in gen ed. class or spec. ed. class...

Then there are the few that I've seen a REAL change with them overall...academically and socially with the right medication....unfortunately I've seen two cases where parent doesn't follow the medication schedule and then you have a child that is feeling the effects of not taking medication regularly and having erratic behaviors.

So yes I think a child with ADD/ADHD can have enough support and consistency to make it without medication, and there are some that will need it in order to be on target academically and socially.

Just take it a day at a time. I think your gut will let you know what is working and what isn't.

Good luck!!!!!! At this point, I strongly suspect that the homeschooling is helping him and keeping him on track academically despite ADHD

[millie58]

Is he in school? Is it affecting his school work? I was in denial although I think with my DS it was more PTSD adn anxiety. But it was affecting his schoolwork so he's medicated up...

[mommytoEli]

he is homeschooled. when we pulled him out last year he was behind, and he has made significant gains since being home. he is at grade level in all subjects, with his only struggle being reversals of some letters and most numbers. i already know in the back of my head he needs to be tested for dyslexia, but have put that off until next year when the testing would be more accurate since in a year some if not all of the reversals would no longer be age appropriate. he is an amazing student other than that. we can accomplish in 1 hour what should take him 7. the faster i talk and the quicker we go, the happier he is. he retains what he learns, is amazing in comprehension, and ENJOYS schoolwork. i used to be a teacher before i became a sahm, and so i feel comfortable saying that right now, homeschool is a good modification for him. however, i acknowledge he can not live in a box forever, lol. and so....i question for the future.

his biggest struggles right now are just activity. he moves all the time, makes noise all the time, is very active. i can get him to settle down, i can get him to listen and pay attention. i just know i have a very small window of time to get my point across. lol.

[shy_bear]

I had heard before that giving ADHD kids caffine calms them; such as a mountain dew. Thought it was one of those goofy things people read on line. Have a friend who is a special ed teacher and one of her students has a mountain dew with lunch every day and she said the difference in him after lunch is amazing. Worth a try!

[BrandyHagz]

To second why Shy_Bear said - when J is having a really difficult day (it happens, even medicated) we'll make a cup of coffee for him (we generally have a pot going most of the time anyway) and it helps calm/relax him.

I don't advocate for this for all kids, of course, but you have to find what works for your kids.

As an aside - meds that typically make kids tired (Triaminic, Allergy meds etc) wire him up like he's on speed...we avoid them at ALL costs.

[mommytoEli]

thanks for the advice. that is good to know. maybe we'll try a mountain dew tomorrow before our lesson and see what happens. mental note to self- avoid sleepy meds.

[paigeturner]

MommytoEli,

I wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until I was almost 40; as a child and teenager I was diagnosed as being a “hyperactive brat”. I’ve never been medicated. While a traditional structured school environment was difficult for me to maintain good behavior and keep concentration, intense physical activities helped. Today a structured, routine environment would drive me and everyone around me crazy.

I thrive in a fast-paced environment where multi-tasking is the norm. I excel under pressure and without it tend to lose focus and procrastinate. I balance a career and lifestyle where many would burn out in a few years and I continue to thrive. Luckily, I found a career where each day brings a new challenge and where having the ability to work in chaos is a requirement.

Today, I am still unable to sit through a movie or tv show without reading email, cooking, balancing my accounts, completing an art project or something! Going to the movie theater or sitting through a lecture at a conference is torture. But I’ve learned to cope by finding something else to occupy the twitchy part of my brain; typically I multiply the minutes I need to sit into seconds and subtract backwards. Sound weird? I can do that and still get full retention of the information coming from the speaker or the movie screen.

I know everyone is different. I know there are different levels of functionality. I also know that not every child can cope without medication and that pharmaceuticals can work wonders. But, for myself, I am very grateful that I was allowed to develop my skills and personality without medication – not that any of it was or still is easy!

[paigeturner]

BTW – I am a caffeine junky…I recommend coffee or tea (hot or iced) instead of sugary drinks as the sugar triggers more twichy behavior from me. Preservatives in prepared foods also make the inability to focus worse for me. I can take none of the meds that Brandy discusses as I will not sleep for days.

[angelkisses0102]

Try DIET soda...the sugar in regular can offset any positives!! DD drinks Diet Dew or Diet Pepsi almost every night with dinner (she drinks milk at breakfast and lunch...don't worry !) Her vyvanse wears off at about dinner time and the soda gets us through to bed time.

On the DHA...make certain he is getting enough...I had to adjust DS's up quite a few times.

[arkansas parent]

Great one more excuse for DH to buy mountain dew. . ( the kids and I don't drink it much but DH is addicted to it)
Before I tell DH, I am going to conduct a mountain dew experiament . I am taking the kids to visit family today. This is something that gets T bouncing off the walls. Today I am going to give him mountain dew with his after school snack and see what happens.

Does choclate milk have enough caffeine to help?

[mommytoEli]

Originally Posted by angelkisses0102

On the DHA...make certain he is getting enough...I had to adjust DS's up quite a few times.

how much is enough? he is getting 350 mg in the supplement, and then i try make sure he is getting 1000 mg of omega 3's (mostly flaxseed, olive and canola oils, walnuts) total each day, including the supplement. he's 6 and 48 pounds. my doctor is useless in helping us here as his answer to everything is eat more meat. lol.

paigeturner- your post is quite encouraging. thanks for sharing. i didn't think about all the sugar in soda....off to make some tea.

[paigeturner]

I don’t know if this will help your son, but I’m a pacer, especially when I’m presenting information. For some reason my mind can intensely focus if I’m moving. My co-workers are accustomed to seeing me pacing up and down the halls with my headset on as I work a conference call. I stand in the back of the room during most conferences and practice balancing on my toes which helps me focus in on the speaker. If I’m trapped into sitting, I flex my calf muscles repeatedly. As part of my job I testify or give presentations in front of large groups. I never take more to the podium than one small note card, because if I have anything more than that I lose focus. I practice my presentations while climbing stairs or pacing around.

I know this wouldn’t work in a traditional classroom, but perhaps your son will find tricks that work for him. I imagine when many read the above they think, “What a head case!” but the interesting thing is that no one really seems to find my quirks that strange.

[marykath]

Angel kisses, does the caffeine effect her getting to sleep?

[mommytoEli]

Originally Posted by paigeturner

I don’t know if this will help your son, but I’m a pacer, especially when I’m presenting information. For some reason my mind can intensely focus if I’m moving. My co-workers are accustomed to seeing me pacing up and down the halls with my headset on as I work a conference call. I stand in the back of the room during most conferences and practice balancing on my toes which helps me focus in on the speaker. If I’m trapped into sitting, I flex my calf muscles repeatedly. As part of my job I testify or give presentations in front of large groups. I never take more to the podium than one small note card, because if I have anything more than that I lose focus. I practice my presentations while climbing stairs or pacing around.

I know this wouldn’t work in a traditional classroom, but perhaps your son will find tricks that work for him. I imagine when many read the above they think, “What a head case!” but the interesting thing is that no one really seems to find my quirks that strange.

that's good to know. he dances when he reads, or hangs upside down off the couch. lol. but he reads. he stands when he writes or eats and sways back and forth. he appreciates learning by doing- like sitting and moving all over the floor in a subtraction puzzle-type game, rather than a book and pencil. it is good to hear that some adults are still moving around like this at their job and they are fine.....maybe i will just work on getting him off the couch upside down and onto pacing....i assume that would be much more reasonable form of moving in the workforce. lol.

[mommytoEli]

huh. well, i gave my son a cup of tea before dinner. i didn't notice any difference after 2 hours. i figured maybe it didn't work. as he was getting ready for bed i asked him, "hey, what's wrong?" because he was just really slow. he said, "i'm tired." WHOA! this kid is never tired. lol. he reserves "i'm tired" for like days we spend 6 hours at disneyland or something, lol. so...maybe the caffeine did help. he is in bed now...and it is actually quiet up there. i hope it isn't just a coincidence.