posted on June 19, 2002 07:15:02 PM new
Just wondering. I have a 7 year old some with ADHD. Off his medication he is just like a squirrel that has accidently gotten into your house- all over and into everything and fast!
posted on June 19, 2002 07:27:58 PM new
yupper you will find in time that they are the same off medication as on medication some times.
my son has ADHD and is on medsat first he was taking meds over the whole day only to discover that they made it so he wouldn't sleep nights due to the meds.
and was a ajusted so he only has meds in the morning and after noon not in the evening or weekend un spent energy can and does cause sleep disfuntions and leads to other problems.
as well over the summer while out of school they cut off the medication completely as they can be addicting and side effects can be worse then the disorder its self.
posted on June 19, 2002 07:28:58 PM new
I've seen a lot of them. If he is truly ADHD I would keep him on the stimulants prescribed.
They tend to not live up to their potential in school otherwise, which in turn makes them feel academically and socially inferior, which is a painful situation to be in if you think about it. (Untreated teenagers often *treat themselves" with substance abuse.)
That's my two cents.
Again there are tons of support groups on the net.
posted on June 19, 2002 07:48:33 PM new
I will start by saying I don't have any kids of my own - but I have seen a couple of kids that were ADHD and I have what I consider pretty good memory of my younger years and I really never saw anyone in my school mates growing up that exibited the same behavior. I was graduated from High School in '66. So of course I wonder about the root cause very much. Any opinions on that?
posted on June 20, 2002 08:03:48 PM new
ADD and Hyperactivity are two separate conditions which may coexist in one person. They are quite common in young children, affecting 5-10% of schoolagers, and approximately 10X more common in boys. They can't concentrate on one task for long and then often run around the room. Whereas psychostimulants are often prescribed for ADD, they are almost always at conflict with Hyperactivity as they would make it worse. The causes appear to be abnormal brain function, particularly in neurotransmitters. Some outgrow it, and others may need medication into adulthood.
posted on June 21, 2002 12:26:19 AM new"I will start by saying I don't have any kids of my own - but I have seen a couple of kids that were ADHD and I have what I consider pretty good memory of my younger years and I really never saw anyone in my school mates growing up that exibited the same behavior. I was graduated from High School in '66. So of course I wonder about the root cause very much. Any opinions on that?"
I noticed that too. My sister has had three kids: two boys and a girl. The boys both were diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, whatever. They take lifelong meds in order to focus. The younger kid is just sickening when he doesn't take his meds. He whines and misbehaves as his mind is going many times faster than he can focus with. The meds Ritalin, no less, slow his brain functions down so that he can grasp Real Time and focus on what's at hand. He intentionally refuses to take his meds to drive his mom crazy. I think that he will like prison life when he grows up into an adult.
I, too, cannot recall any kids acting like this when I was growing up or going to school. Fot those of you who love a good paranoid theory, it's an oldie that states that there is a direct link between kids taking Ritalin and sketsophrenia [sp?] later on in life; that the disease has exploded in population right alongside with Ritalin usage. The drug company that makes the drug has actually had to come out and deny these links. Funny, huh?
posted on June 21, 2002 10:44:49 AM new
I just called the Dr and got another months worth of concerta for my son. For all the non believers out there of the ADD and the ADHD ask your doctor about it the next time you have a Dr appointment what is all about. I have read several books and talked to several specialists about what my son has and this is something a child is born with like autism or mental retardation. Many of the ADHD chilren have some of the same symptoms of those children who have autism. In one of the books I read a woman who was putting her child on "time out" in the corner had to turn her child around and send him back to the corner 42 times before he stayed there for three minutes. These children have no realization for the consequenses of their actions. The only babysitters you can ever seam to get is family. Many of these children are so aggressive that they usually take out their frustrations on their brothers and sisters. Medication and consuling is the only things that help our son.
[ edited by nharmon on Jun 21, 2002 11:20 AM ]
posted on July 5, 2002 03:22:27 PM new
There is a new patch delivery system for this condition. It seems to distribute medication more evenly than a pill. Still in early testing but apparently very promising.
posted on July 5, 2002 08:20:06 PM new
Would you believe refined sugar may be the culpert?
A young relative has been on Ritalin(sp?)
for many years,Because she bounced off the walls like a rubber ball! Very early on ,the mother tryed to cut her sugar intake,Because
The young relative was very hyper after a bowl of cereal,And or juice,soda,etc. The Ritalin of course made her somewhat a zombie. Now shes older,And can channel her bursts of unlimited energy into different activitys.When the sugar is cut back,There is an indicator that usually goes off,Bad headachs.
posted on July 5, 2002 09:31:51 PM new
A teacher's perspective: Whatever the cause of ADHD, it is very real. Kids with it can be utterly out of control. Unable to focus, sit still, write a cogent sentence. I have sat in horrified wonder watching a 6th grade boy wild-eyed,panting like a dog, while he methodically destroyed a whole box full of mechanical pencils, maniacally breaking each one into tiny bits...One of these poor kids unmedicated can literally use up so much of a teacher's time and energy that the whole class suffers deeply, and it is not uncommon to find classes these days with several of them. I have had as many as 6 in a class of 25 students. What is really sad is to see their parents, many of whom understandably don't want their kids medicated, work their way thru the lists of nutritional evils, usually starting with the perennial favorite boogey-food, white sugar and then when that doesn't magically cure their kid they move on to goofy supplements, herbs, untested diets and who knows what else. All the while, the medications are there to help their kids. I have seen the effects of these meds, when properly monitored and adjusted, they don't create zombies but rather kids who are calm and who can begin to have success in school. I thank god my 4th grade son is not afflicted. But if he was, and I had to keep him in a regular public classroom, I'd get him on and keep him on whatever medicines would work. Anything short of that would be denying him his opportunity to learn and grow. To get a great insight into how a kid with ADHD feels, go to Amazon or the library and get a copy of "Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key" by Jack Gantos. Fictional, it is written from the perspective of a kid with this disorder who is always screwing up. It's an elementary school library book, I've read it out loud with ADHD kids and although the book is funny on one level, it has brought tears to their eyes...
posted on July 6, 2002 02:03:13 AM new
profe51- My wife teaches 4 year olds and has told me the horror stories. My question for you is what was the respective reactions from the medicated and non-medicated kids when you read the book? Aren't you taking a chance of alienating some of them? Did the school have any problem with this? There is now a problem with older kids taking Ritalin for a high.
junquemama- The effects of high sugar intake are well documented across the population, but it seems to have a more pronounced effect on some ADHD kids. It is not thought by most experts to be the cause of the condition, however.
[ edited by stusi on Jul 6, 2002 02:13 AM ]
posted on July 6, 2002 06:00:08 AM new
stusi, the reaction I spoke of was from kids on med's who could attend to the task of listening to a book being read, or reading one themselves. ADHD kids who have stayed in school thru the 5th grade without medication are generally so far behind academically that they are already well alienated by the time they get to 6th...
it's not just kids abusing ritalin...we have had an instance or two where parents discovered how much fun their child's meds are...every month the kid "loses" a few doses, while mom or dad is looking good after losing a few pounds....
[ edited by profe51 on Jul 6, 2002 06:04 AM ]
There is a very good reason why we didn't see these kids in school so much back in the 60s and 70s and that is because after about 4th grade they started lump kids with this illness and others all in the same catagory.
they attentended special classes road on the little bus or van that came to pick them up they werent even allowed to ride to school with the rest of us.
they had there classes with the rest of the disabled, handcapped and slow learning students.
Today scools have budget prblem slow and disabled students don't even go to the same schools any more.
ADHD is a chemical imbalance in the brain this can and usually is passed on from parrent to child .
many adults don't know or were never tested years ago just pushed through school or tossed in with the slow kids even in with retarded and backwards childern and forgotten.
many of the adults out there today them that work 12 to 15 hours a day on the job 7 days a week are not workacholics they are ADHD same with many who keep finding there way back to jail time after time.
you would be suprised at how many treated and even more untested untreated adult there are out there in this country up untill the mid 80s parrents and adults were rarly tested for this it was thought most just grew out of it but they are finding out now that for many it can be a cronic life time problem.
posted on July 6, 2002 08:08:24 AM new
Thanks - I am getting a better picture of why I would not have had one sitting beside me in 1958. How about adults??
Any advice and experience on dealing with an adult with this condition - because I am starting to wonder if my one boss I was never able to deal with successfully was not suffering from this.
posted on July 6, 2002 08:20:27 AM new
gravid- I would assume it would be easier to get an adult to take meds, but then again I am sure there is a percentage who are in denial or just don't like taking anything.
dman3- Workaholics are ADHD? I would think that 12-15 hours a day on the same job would be contradictory.
posted on July 6, 2002 08:39:30 AM new
profe51: Don't waste your time going around with stusi. He simply knows it all. You merely have lots of good hands-on experience and an intelligent mind. Still, if you care to take him on, don't say you weren't forewarned.
Gravid: You said>>I am not disbelieving - I am saying I did not see kids like this when growing up.<<
Me either, except me maybe. (I need overkill to be "normal".) Anyway, there was this place somewhere known as Special Ed. Maybe they went there. But the #'s now I would have to anecdotally agree appear much higher. There must be lots of hypothesis. Maybe even television?
I am watching my son very carefully. If he appears to be one degree over the line I'm running him to the best available for evaluation. If stimulants are the difference between a lifetime of pain or being "drug-free", I'd "drug" him a hot minute thank you.
In his case there are several variables to be considered 1)He is one of those so-called gifted children, which I understand can be like having five. (I've never read any of the books. Don't want to.) 2) He is also a BOY. Boys and girls are different, duh, and males have been screwed by all the attention being paid to young females these past few decades. (But I digress again, damn ADD!)
If I could, I would send my son to an all boys school. I reckon there they would have a different median in terms of fidgetiness and attention span, due to taking out the comparison to the girls in the classroom. Girls are more complacent at desks, generally. Boys are diagnosed 10:1 (higher actually) with ADD; girls a significantly lower percentage. From here it is obvious where this all might go.
Anyway, back to my kid. If my son has ADD of the subtler variety, it still could mean drinking his way through college and, if he survives, becoming a moving man when he could have become a surgeon.
posted on July 6, 2002 09:12:09 AM new
nycyn- profe51 clarified his/her previous statement which had created some questions. Your warning was neither necessary nor warranted. There just MAY be some here who ARE more knowledgable than you or others in certain areas and that seems to bother you. If you had read the posts in this thread you would not have given info already stated here. BTW- "if he appears to be one degree over the line I am running him..." There is a percentage of parents, particularly those with small HMO copays, who overreact to their children's supposed medical problems to the extent that they are taking them to the doctor on a weekly basis and coerce their doctors to give them unnecessary tests which can traumatize the kids. As you tend to overreact to so many things here, I would not be surprised if you fell into that "overprotective" category.
posted on July 6, 2002 12:00:48 PM new
stusi,The young relative I spoke of was the child of a sugar addict.The mother lived on Cokes(all day long)and sugar coated breakfast cereal.When the mother was pregnant,She was on over-load mode.I assumed it was passed down to her child.(I should have mentioned that before)
A zombie(to me)is someone who has lost the light in their eyes,And to follow,Without original thought.
posted on July 6, 2002 01:18:18 PM new
nycyn- Those such as yourself, who feel compelled to make every thread into your personal battleground, are sad, troubled individuals who cowardly take out the frustrations of their personal lives on those who are at a safe distance on the internet. It is one thing to react to something that was posted but quite another to initiate continued attacks. Your comments about your lack of interest in reading about the gifted but yet stating uninformed opinions on the same, and those you made about boys having to combat attention to girls are quite revealing. You seem to have tunnelvision based upon some preconceived notions or some very limited personal experience. You may well have been the one to reply " I don't know and I don't care" when asked what the difference is between ignorance and apathy. I will once again put you on "ignore" as that is what you deserve.
posted on July 6, 2002 06:34:20 PM new
I would blame the additives in food,don't think sugar is the only culprit.Didn,'t have this problem in 50's & 60's.
posted on July 6, 2002 07:38:46 PM new
Although the use of chemical additives has increased as of the 50's-60's, and may in fact be responsible for some medical conditions, to say that we did not have this problem at that time may be a result of improper diagnosis back then.
posted on July 7, 2002 12:46:32 AM new
Or perhaps they knew something that we increasingly refuse to acknowedge now: that it is natural for kids, especially boys, to be boisterous and extremely active.
There is also the fact that our country allows less and less time for recreation during the school day. How can we be surprised that more and more kids have a hard time sitting still and concentrating on learning when we don't give them the opportunity to let off steam, to loose pent-up energy through play? By contrast, Japanese school children have a recess after *every* class, and a full hour for lunch--and the results can be clearly seen in their scholastic performance. It is also a fact that even during lessons, Japanese grade school classes are very boisterous by our standards, with kids fully participating in the learning process & often lessons are kid-driven rather than teacher dominated.
It's not natural for kids to be expected to be sedate and buckled down 24/7.
