ADD/ Weight advice needed.

[CzyDsnyFan92]

My youngest son was diagnoised with ADD (Impulsive type), dyslexia and working memory issues last year. We have been workign with him on all of this and the medication (Metadate) that he is taking has been helping him focus at school. I am so glad that we finally figured out what was going on and even he has mentioned that the medication seems to help. His school work has definitely improved 100% since last year and DS was very exicted that he doesn't have to attend summer school this year. Every other year since Kindergarten he has had to go becuase he was so far behind. We worked with him all the time but it was a struggle. He has problems remembering words that he has read if he comes upon a word he has to sound out and gets frustrated when he has to start all over again to figure out what the sentence was.

Anyway, here is my vent I am not sure what to do...our doctor wants DS to gain weight this summer. When he is on the medication he isn't very hungry so I have been keeping him off meds this summer and he has lost 3 lbs since his last check up. (He only weighs 48lbs right now.) I am not sure what else to do to get him to gain weight...we were told to put him on a high protein diet and he eats snacks in between meals but we are worried that if he keeps losing weight this school year is going to be a major battle again. Hoemwork time pre-diagnois would take 2-3 hours to get through 2 homework sheets and 20 minutes of reading.

Thanks for in advance for any advice or tips yoiu can share with me.

 

[bookwormde]

How far did your doctor go in diagnosing your child (did he have an auditory processing evaluation done). Most of these medications have serious nutrition damopening side effects and once the pattern is established it can be hard to break even after withfdraw of the medicine.

With the right school supports and modifications often meds can be greatly reduced or eliminated, if the attention differenetials are from a preference for non linear processing.

The next question is if homework is neccesary for his acedemic progress and if so how much and what, all of which can ge modified in his IEP

Impulsivity related to attention issues are often not an attention issue but a social skills deficit issus so a WPS SRS evaluation by you clinicians of the school is important.

Only time will remove the psycological patterning that the medicaition has created, although in some cases I have seen where increased levels of exersize have helped a lot.

bookwormde

 

[CzyDsnyFan92]

How far did your doctor go in diagnosing your child (did he have an auditory processing evaluation done). Most of these medications have serious nutrition damopening side effects and once the pattern is established it can be hard to break even after withfdraw of the medicine.

With the right school supports and modifications often meds can be greatly reduced or eliminated, if the attention differenetials are from a preference for non linear processing.

The next question is if homework is neccesary for his acedemic progress and if so how much and what, all of which can ge modified in his IEP

Impulsivity related to attention issues are often not an attention issue but a social skills deficit issus so a WPS SRS evaluation by you clinicians of the school is important.

Only time will remove the psycological patterning that the medicaition has created, although in some cases I have seen where increased levels of exersize have helped a lot.

bookwormde

We took him to a child pyschologist for testing and he spent an hour talking to us about the issues we were concerned about the 1st session. Gave us a bunch of questionaires for us, the school and anyone else that has contact with him in an educational setting to fill out and then we had to take him in for 4 hours worth of testing. It was this testing that found the dyslexia and working memory issues.

I took a copy of the final report to his doctor and to the school once we got it. For some reason I had to complain to the principal after dropping off the same package 4 times and getting no response. He goes for additional reading help every day and they finally learned that DS learns better when allowed to practice and learn new concepts on the computer. So they have incorporated it into his reading and math program. We use Spellingcity.com to help him remember his spelling words...he loves the various games and I like that they spell it and say it. We also practice several times before his spelling tests. He is doing really well in math and can actually answer most of his older brother's math questions. (We try to let him figure it out on his own and then will steer him in the right direction and ask him why he thought his answer was right to see where he got thrown off but younger DS will normally just blurt out the answer if he hears us talking about math problems.)


We did try to lower his medication to only 10 Mg last year...but he just ended up getting in trouble at school. He was very upset about that and asked to go back to his normal dosage. So he is on 20 Mg of Metadate Mon - Fri. I noticed that he is a lot mellower on the medicine. Off it he is prone to major meltdowns. For example, he loves Percy Jackson so we bought him the movie and he watched it while asking plenty of questions which is fine. After the movie he wanted to take the quiz and so did DD so he flipped out and started crying and screaming that he was never gonna be able to take the quiz now. Ran out of the room crying, screaming and stomped up to his room. We normally give him a few minutes to get it out of his system and then I brought him back into the room to talk about what happened. These out bursts normally happen when he doesn't take the medication. He was doing this before we knew he had ADD...we were told it was normal temper tantrums and that he would outgrow them every time they were mentioned to the doctor. So we try time outs for his own good when he starts having these meltdowns. We also have a chore chart for him and he earns points for completing tasks although he does need to be reminded of recurring activiites failry often. He just gets distracted and forgets to do things especially when he has to follow a specific order. He wants to learn how to cook...so we are working on reading recipes and trying to get him to understand that things need to be done in specific orders for a reason.

He is a very active kid and loves to run and play. So not sure if all the running around is affecting his metabolism too. I do know that on meds he is not hungry all the time but he has moments like that when he is not on meds too. He hasn't taken any medication since school got out June 4th.

 

[millerpjm]

I could have written your post - my DS has ADHD and we are working right now to get him to gain weight. He also takes Tae Kwon Do for an hor 3 days/week. These are some of the things we're giving DS:

-whole milk
-peanut butter
-ice cream treat for dessert (if he eats a good dinner)
-cheese and crackers

We also give him Pediasure occasionally. Just work on making the choices fairly healthy (whole milk vs. candy).

If your child likes sauces and gravies (mine does not) this would be another good way to add calories.

Good luck to us both!

 

[bookwormde]

IT sounds like the clinical work missed some really important components and just opted for the shortcut of medications (unfortunately this is not uncommon for clinicans who do not have current training in neuroligical variations and development).

Find a developmental pediatrician or neurologist who can get them done and you will be able to help your child much better and hopefully with less medicine.

bookwormde

 

[csharpwv]

While this isn't weight specific - it is ADD specific - and advice I'd like to pass on to anyone who will listen/read!

I was diagnosed with ADD in the 3rd grade - I'm 28 now. Let me make sure you know one thing for sure. Medication does not TREAT ADD. Medication treats the symptoms of ADD. The only thing that will TREAT ADD are mental exercises, feeding one's strengths, and knowing one's behaviors and warning signs or the symptoms of ADD behaviors.

I am the youngest of three children, and both of my older brothers were diagnosed.

Having been diagnosed in Elementary school, I was on medication from the middle of 3rd grade all the way through the end of 8th grade. At that point my parents started to really notice the ill effect that the medicine was having on us - one of the biggest being almost total zombies I guess you could say.

During the time we were on medication, we were also learning a ton of coping mechanisms to handle problems related to ADD. The medicine helped me in school - but it did not help me in 'life'.

Through my adult life so far I have really come to know myself through reading books on ADD and the different variations of how the condition surfaces.

The medicine is YEARS behind me, but the coping strategies and mechanisms that I learned still remain part of what I do to 'get by' in life. I say 'get by' because that's what anyone with ADD has to learn to do. I get overwhelmed very easily and it is literally disabling at times - but I have to do what Mom used to call "Eating the Elephant" - you can't handle it all at once - you have to take little bites!

In the 'real world' I'm not just getting by - I'm a young professional that is respected in my field, and recognized by the people I work with both in and out of the office for what I do - and how well I do it. ADD is NEVER an excuse - sometimes it's a reason - but it's never an excuse. Life is too short to go through it like a zombie - and I know that now. Boys will be boys!

Just because your son isn't reading at 'grade level' does not mean that he has a learning disability. The school system is not set up to serve all students equally. The school system assumes that if a child does not perform equally with their peers - that there is something wrong with the student. It does not occur to them that there is something wrong with the system. I was always very advanced for my age - that's why my 3rd grade teacher would not complete the paperwork for testing - my Mom had to go around 'the system' to get it done privately. ADD is just as different as the people who have it! It's different in everyone - while there are common symptoms, they surface differently in different people.

What I really want to say to any parent of a child with ADD is this - DO NOT RELY ON MEDICATION ALONE! Medicine is a necessary part of initial treatment in my opinion - it allows things to normalize and a proper assessment to take place of where the child/student stands in regard to academics and social skills. It distinguishes between problems and behaviors. If a child can't read and comprehend what they read- is it because they can't sit still long enough to read and understand - or because they actually cannot read? Those are two totally different problems!

Most people with ADD have very creative minds - allow their minds to run with that! BUT - spend the time necessary to teach and explain creative expression.

Disney is a great outlet for me - I get so inspired every time we visit! There are so many things to be learned - if time is taken to actually take in the fullness of the experience. Take the Carousel of Progress for example! While to most people that attraction is a snoozer - I find it very inspiring! Talk to you child weeks before hand about the different attractions - explain what they will experience, and tell them things to look out for - maybe even have the keep a journal page for each attraction of things to look for! How does that oven door open? How does the dog move? There are so many things that I - an Adult with ADD - have trouble taking it all in! I have to take it in small bites!

Know the warning signs of problems that are common among people with ADD. Mental health is a very important indicator of overall health of someone with ADD. If your child does not 'seem' normal - they aren't! They need your help - and possibly the help of a doctor. Note behavior changes and - definitely eating habits!

Do not overwhelm your child with options and or decisions that they need to make. People with ADD have two modes - consider ALL the option/consequences - or consider NONE of the options/consequences. There isn't a switch that operates either mode - however- giving them decision to make in small bites makes things go much smoother.

My parents suspect that they too had ADD growing up - and all the evidence is there - so dealing with 3 children with ADD was a real eye opener! My family never made hotel reservations, trip plans, or anything that required advance planning. Vacations were always spur of the moment, and things happened haphazardly. We spent MANY a night driving around looking for a hotel with a vacant room. I remember out trip to Disney in 1987 - it was a disaster - and at that time there were only two parks - imagine if there had been 4 back then! In light of that - I am just the opposite - I plan things years in advance - so that way I only have to make decisions a little a time - instead of sitting down 24 hours in advance for a marathon planning session! Little bites! We have our December 2010 vacation planned - and we are still 100+ days out - but we've been planning it for nearly a year now - so that's us!

I occasionally deal with other students with ADD and never hesitate to share my experience. If you ever have any questions - PLEASE - just ask!

 

[bookwormde]

Millerpjm,

Thanks for relating your personal story, I am often tempeted to relate the stories from parents of children who have been ADD medicated and call me, when they hit their teens or when as you adult they stop medication, I get at least on a month that just makes you hair curl and want to cry and go find the incompetant clinicians an show then the damage that they have done.

bookwormde

 

[millerpjm]

csharpwv - thank you for shaing your story. It is good for parents of ADD/ADHD children to hear from others about their experiences.

I like to compare ADHD meds to eyeglasses - they don't "cure" your eyesight problems, they help while they're on, and when you take them off the problem is still there. But it helps.

I am very committed to a "multimodal" approach to working with my son's ADHD. We see a pyschologist in addition to the medication, and I use Tae Kwon Do as not only an outlet for my son's energy, but also to help build mental discipline and control.

 

[mdvlprof]

Some parents just cannot deal with ADD. Become dependant on meds.

I had one tween girl end up staying with us for a couple weeks. Her parents were not expecting it to be so long, so meds were not sent. We didn't have any problems with her that couldn't be resolved by one-to-one time/ talking about changing what she did.

 

[deerhart]

What I really want to say to any parent of a child with ADD is this - DO NOT RELY ON MEDICATION ALONE! Medicine is a necessary part of initial treatment in my opinion - it allows things to normalize and a proper assessment to take place of where the child/student stands in regard to academics and social skills. It distinguishes between problems and behaviors. If a child can't read and comprehend what they read- is it because they can't sit still long enough to read and understand - or because they actually cannot read? Those are two totally different problems!

This is very important. Just like any other chronic health condition, medication alone does not solve or address the issue. One must also manage the condition through other types of therapies/interventions beyond just medication.

Know the warning signs of problems that are common among people with ADD. Mental health is a very important indicator of overall health of someone with ADD. If your child does not 'seem' normal - they aren't! They need your help - and possibly the help of a doctor. Note behavior changes and - definitely eating habits!

Do not overwhelm your child with options and or decisions that they need to make. People with ADD have two modes - consider ALL the option/consequences - or consider NONE of the options/consequences. There isn't a switch that operates either mode - however- giving them decision to make in small bites makes things go much smoother.

This is too much lumping of everyone with ADHD into one category. This condition is very widespread and will manifest differently in each person. Both of my children (who are both ADHD and on medication for their ADHD) MUST have options and make decisions. If we do not allow them control over parts of their lives, they become completely unmanageable. We were at the point with my oldest that he automatically refused to do anything we asked, until we recognized that he has all the control over his compliance and started doling out options and allowing him then to choose an option (which we always give one option as non-compliance with a consequence, again its HIS choice)

My parents suspect that they too had ADD growing up - and all the evidence is there - so dealing with 3 children with ADD was a real eye opener! My family never made hotel reservations, trip plans, or anything that required advance planning. Vacations were always spur of the moment, and things happened haphazardly. We spent MANY a night driving around looking for a hotel with a vacant room. I remember out trip to Disney in 1987 - it was a disaster - and at that time there were only two parks - imagine if there had been 4 back then! In light of that - I am just the opposite - I plan things years in advance - so that way I only have to make decisions a little a time - instead of sitting down 24 hours in advance for a marathon planning session! Little bites! We have our December 2010 vacation planned - and we are still 100+ days out - but we've been planning it for nearly a year now - so that's us!

Both DH and I are ADHD and we manifest differently. I am the planner of the family (it is how I deal with worrisome anxiety), but then again, I have difficult putting things into place like birthdays, minor holidays, and such (usually because the person it surrounds doesn't give me input and therefore inertia sets in, also since I downplay these things when it comes to me, it gets downplayed for them, finally, I am usually trying to coordinate with multiple people - grandparents - and they drag out the yes or no decision that I need). DH is our organizer. He can take the house and such and have it organized lickity split while I am still trying to plan out how to do it!

Yes, some people have difficulty with the medications used for ADHD. If your ever a zombie, then the medication or the dosage is not correct. Neither of my children have ever looked like zombies on their ADHD meds, except for one time (oldest and concerta did NOT mix well) and he was immediately removed from the medications.

On the flip side, because my kids are on medication, my youngest child no longer is being suspended from 1st grade due to aggressive behavior, grades and learning have improved, my oldest's anxiety has lessened and he's functioning better in the classroom.

 

[csharpwv]

This is very important. Just like any other chronic health condition, medication alone does not solve or address the issue. One must also manage the condition through other types of therapies/interventions beyond just medication.





This is too much lumping of everyone with ADHD into one category. This condition is very widespread and will manifest differently in each person. Both of my children (who are both ADHD and on medication for their ADHD) MUST have options and make decisions. If we do not allow them control over parts of their lives, they become completely unmanageable. We were at the point with my oldest that he automatically refused to do anything we asked, until we recognized that he has all the control over his compliance and started doling out options and allowing him then to choose an option (which we always give one option as non-compliance with a consequence, again its HIS choice)

That's just as I said - you give him choices - but you 'frame' the choices in a way that forces him to think about both options. You don't just say "Stop that - OR ELSE!" Everyone that I have met that has been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD behaves in a similar way. You don't allow your children to make their own decision - totally on their own - you give them two options that you narrow down to achieve the result you want! Which is a great thing! it works for you - and it is something that teaches them to look at two options. If I have 12 options in front of my - I'm not going to make a decision until I absolutely have to do so - but if I given two options - or narrow the options down to two - I can then make an informed decision.

I drive my wife nuts agonizing over decisions. I let time be my friend instead of my enemy. I am more apt to allow things to fall into place - rather than force things into place. The first year I organized our church's Youth Christmas program - I think I drove the parents crazy, because they didn't think that I tied up the loose ends, because I didn't do it as a group- with "LISTEN UP!" instructions, but I had spoken with each child individually after each rehearsal - and I knew in my head that everything was going to be alright - AND - It was! Most folks don't understand someone that thinks differently than them!

"Both DH and I are ADHD and we manifest differently. I am the planner of the family (it is how I deal with worrisome anxiety), but then again, I have difficult putting things into place like birthdays, minor holidays, and such (usually because the person it surrounds doesn't give me input and therefore inertia sets in, also since I downplay these things when it comes to me, it gets downplayed for them, finally, I am usually trying to coordinate with multiple people - grandparents - and they drag out the yes or no decision that I need). DH is our organizer. He can take the house and such and have it organized lickity split while I am still trying to plan out how to do it!"

My wife did not understand what the big deal with ADD was when we first started dating - I bought her the Idiot's Guide - and I think she started to understand a little more. Given the choice of doing something now - or later - I am always going to say LATER unless it's something that I really want to do - or something that I know has to be done right at this very moment!

She would say "We are going to clean the house!" so I would start cleaning the first thing that I thought needed to be cleaned - and that would make her so angry - because it wasn't happening in the way she had planned it to happen - but I was still cleaning something - but she didn't see it that way since we weren't getting something done inside of the confines of her plan. So now we have a list of things that she is responsible for - and a list of things that I am responsible for - and that works!

"Yes, some people have difficulty with the medications used for ADHD. If your ever a zombie, then the medication or the dosage is not correct. Neither of my children have ever looked like zombies on their ADHD meds, except for one time (oldest and concerta did NOT mix well) and he was immediately removed from the medications."

On the flip side, because my kids are on medication, my youngest child no longer is being suspended from 1st grade due to aggressive behavior, grades and learning have improved, my oldest's anxiety has lessened and he's functioning better in the classroom.

I am not totally 'anti' medication - I am anti total reliance on medication to solve the symptoms of ADD/ADHD without equipping the child/individual with coping strategies.

As young people with ADD/ADHD mature - they have to learn what exactly the disorder is, how it effects them mentally/physically, and how to deal with the symptoms naturally and recognize the warning signs of when ADD/ADHD is taking over.

I have friends with ADD/ADHD that go through cycles of productivity, and just as quickly fall into cycles of the opposite. I think everyone with the disorder goes through similar cycles - long term mechanisms/strategies help to alter the frequency and duration of those cycles.

You are correct - the disorder surfaces differently in nearly everyone who has it - I made sure to make that a point as well
I have very limited experience and do not know as much about ADHD - I was diagnosed, along with my brothers, with ADD. The two share similarities, but also have very different treatments and symptoms.

It is very hard to believe that there are physicians that refuse to acknowledge that the disorders exist. I for one know first hand that my brain functions vastly different than the 'normal' person.

 

[millerpjm]

Let's get back to the OP's question about weight gain suggestions....

I had a couple more:

-Carnation instant breakfast with a meal or ovaltine mixed into milk
-Serve some whole grain bread with butter with dinner

 

[Christy729]

How old is your son? I must have missed that. Mine is 8 years old and averages around 50 lbs, so I can relate. One tip I received is to substitute Pediasure for water/milk when making oatmeal and pancakes.

 

[deerhart]

I am not totally 'anti' medication - I am anti total reliance on medication to solve the symptoms of ADD/ADHD without equipping the child/individual with coping strategies.

As young people with ADD/ADHD mature - they have to learn what exactly the disorder is, how it effects them mentally/physically, and how to deal with the symptoms naturally and recognize the warning signs of when ADD/ADHD is taking over.

I have friends with ADD/ADHD that go through cycles of productivity, and just as quickly fall into cycles of the opposite. I think everyone with the disorder goes through similar cycles - long term mechanisms/strategies help to alter the frequency and duration of those cycles.

You are correct - the disorder surfaces differently in nearly everyone who has it - I made sure to make that a point as well
I have very limited experience and do not know as much about ADHD - I was diagnosed, along with my brothers, with ADD. The two share similarities, but also have very different treatments and symptoms.

It is very hard to believe that there are physicians that refuse to acknowledge that the disorders exist. I for one know first hand that my brain functions vastly different than the 'normal' person.

Which brings on an even bigger issue is that for many kids without the medication they are never able to learn those coping strategies at all. Hence why undiagnosed and untreated ADHD is a significant factor in later drug and alcohol abuse due to self medicating (the drugs or alcohol become the coping mechanism).

There actually is no difference in ADHD and ADD because ADD has not existed for about 16 years. The DSM IV (released in 1994) removed ADD as a dx and instead all are labeled ADHD with different sub-categories (hyperactive-impulsive, inattentive, combined types)

to the original OP, which working memory was at issue? Long term or short term? audio or visual?

For weight gain, usually it is trying to hide high calorie foods in what the child will eat. For example, adding extra butter into eggs, pancakes etc... adding stuff into milkshakes. We find that allowing the boys to eat less food more frequently (rather then 2 or 3 larger meals) results in them eating more food (my kids eat constantly at home during the nighttime). We also keep around lots of easy pick up stuff that they can just get when they are hungry (tons of fresh fruit, tortilla chips, pretzels, fruit snack type stuff). You might also switch to drinks with a calorie content to them (just not citrus based in the morning).

It would help to know what his daily food intake actual is (do you keep a food journal for him? Also what is his activity level like? If he's hyperactive and you have taken him off his meds and now he's more hyper running around etc... he's going to need way way way more calories then what he will need on the meds to gain weight. It's not atypical for eiher of my boys to eat a large bowl of cereal for breakfast, have a piece of fruit 2 hours later, lunch (pb and j, fruit, chips, capri sun at camp), come home have a bowl of ice cream and more fruit before dinner, eat dinner (usually meat with either fruit or veggie), and eat 3 or 4 more snacks until bedtime (we go through about 15lbs of fruit a week between apples, grapes, pears, and bananas)

 

[Christy729]

For weight gain, usually it is trying to hide high calorie foods in what the child will eat. For example, adding extra butter into eggs, pancakes etc... adding stuff into milkshakes. We find that allowing the boys to eat less food more frequently (rather then 2 or 3 larger meals) results in them eating more food (my kids eat constantly at home during the nighttime). We also keep around lots of easy pick up stuff that they can just get when they are hungry (tons of fresh fruit, tortilla chips, pretzels, fruit snack type stuff). You might also switch to drinks with a calorie content to them (just not citrus based in the morning).
QUOTE]

Why no citrus based drinks in the morning?

 

[Leajess99]

For weight gain, usually it is trying to hide high calorie foods in what the child will eat. For example, adding extra butter into eggs, pancakes etc... adding stuff into milkshakes. We find that allowing the boys to eat less food more frequently (rather then 2 or 3 larger meals) results in them eating more food (my kids eat constantly at home during the nighttime). We also keep around lots of easy pick up stuff that they can just get when they are hungry (tons of fresh fruit, tortilla chips, pretzels, fruit snack type stuff). You might also switch to drinks with a calorie content to them (just not citrus based in the morning).
QUOTE]

Why no citrus based drinks in the morning?

Citrus based drinks can mess with the effectiveness of the medicine. Because of the citric acid it is not good to take it with most medicines.

As for the OP's issue, is your son playing and running a lot?? It is a good possibility that while you are attempting to get him to gain weight he may just have a higher metabolism. I have a friend whose son can eat anything and not gain weight and even loses at times. He is 8 and they let him have extra snacks and whatever but he cannot gain weight. As long as he is eating and active than there is that chance he will not gain weight.

 

[ireland_nicole]

To answer the OP's question-

The strategies we are using successfully are to supplement AM and PM with one carnation instant breakfast (we allow DS to choose Vanilla or Chocolate); personally, this isn't my fave, because we prefer to eat all natural and organic, but hey; I made a deal with the doctor to get weight on, and this works. Also, we allow snacking before and after dinner (because he will still eat dinner; he's starving from 4pm on; he gets all the calories he needs in that 3-4 hour span when combined with the other bits during the day). We encourage snacks every two hours during the day; doesn't have to be big, but has to be nutritious and we try to make it a good source of unsaturated fat and/or protein, i.e. peanut butter, cashews, black olives, cheese, lunchmeat, granola bar, guacamole, etc. Using this strategy he's really improved his weight, is growing well, and he albumin and pre-albumin levels are great.

 

[CdnBuzzFan]

I could have written your post - my DS has ADHD and we are working right now to get him to gain weight. He also takes Tae Kwon Do for an hor 3 days/week. These are some of the things we're giving DS:

-whole milk
-peanut butter
-ice cream treat for dessert (if he eats a good dinner)
-cheese and crackers

We also give him Pediasure occasionally. Just work on making the choices fairly healthy (whole milk vs. candy).

If your child likes sauces and gravies (mine does not) this would be another good way to add calories.


Good luck to us both!

For our DS, we were also adding whipping cream to things like his glass of milk, his macaroni and cheese, his cereal and other places where I could sneak it in. We were giving him protein shakes made with whole milk and the whipping cream with breakfast and supper. I also started replacing a little flour with protein powder when I made his favourite chocolate chip cookies. Of course, once he caught on to what we were doing, he refused to eat them.