Help Me-ADHD

[HappyLawyer]

hi all i know it has been a while since i have been on this particular board but i find myslef at my whits end. Daughter has ADHD and lately i find myself well you can imagine, i do not want to spank her. I need some alternatives, Last day of school stole 2 bucks off teachers desk. The lied about it. Has been stealing food around the house and hiding it, she is not neglected and eats like horse, she gets anything she wants to eat. Today sole m & m's from my sisters house, now sister already has a hard time dealing with my dtr, not everyone understands ADHD and how difficult it can be. She is my child and i love her but i have no idea, is she acting out, or can this be part of her disability, on the outside stealing is stealing but it could be more then that, i welcome all positive feedback please.

 

[MidgeD79]

Welcome back! How old is your dd? My ds is 8 and he has adhd (+others) and he is a handful!! Spankings don't work either. He has huge impluse control issues. He knows what he did was wrong and asking him why he did it is useless. I am also at a loss. Ds gets counseling, but it doesn't seem to help. It seems like ds needs routine to the extreme and that doesn't always happen. Sometimes I wish I could have a Nanny 911 come to my house, but if we planned it, he would be an angel. It's hard for people not to hold a grudge against "difficult" kids. having a diagnosis helps with why he does things but not in how to gethim to stop. I don't have nayideas for you, just an empathetic ear.

 

[HappyLawyer]

Welcome back! How old is your dd? My ds is 8 and he has adhd (+others) and he is a handful!! Spankings don't work either. He has huge impluse control issues. He knows what he did was wrong and asking him why he did it is useless. I am also at a loss. Ds gets counseling, but it doesn't seem to help. It seems like ds needs routine to the extreme and that doesn't always happen. Sometimes I wish I could have a Nanny 911 come to my house, but if we planned it, he would be an angel. It's hard for people not to hold a grudge against "difficult" kids. having a diagnosis helps with why he does things but not in how to gethim to stop. I don't have nayideas for you, just an empathetic ear.

she is ten and she goes to counseling too and it does not seem to work either, i mean my mom cannot watch her like a hawk 24 7 and i am so tired of the phone calls while i am working telling what she has done now. thanks for the ear and the hug.

 

[JenJen]

My DD ADHD with sensory issues got really bad at ten right when she started puberty. She is now 11 1/2 and things are much better. SHe is very moody now but seems more calm. She NEVER stole but always had to be talking or making noises all the time for some reason. Had many phobias (still does) of enclosed areas such as lines that zig zag but I think that is a sensory thing. It got so bad we have not been back to the parks in months because at Disneyland with the 50th there has been no off season and it was just too much and it was not worth it.
DO any of you have kids with ADHD that are perfectionist? ALmost OCD where things have to be a certain way or perfect. It is great for somethings like grades (she gets very good grades) but man you mess with her order and it is just confusing to her. Just wondering if anyone else had this issue. Also everything is black and white there is no gray area with her. She will fight tooth and nail to prove she is right. This just be normal ADHD things I am not sure.

 

[riu girl]

My DD9 has ADHD/sensory issues/anxiety and when it comes to behavioural management this is what totally works for us:

If it appears she is going to do an unacceptable behaviour: she receives one warning:
"If you do that you will loss a privilege, and state what she will lose"
ie. computer for a day, game boy for a day, tv for a day etc. etc.

If the behaviour occurs, TAKE AWAY THE PRIVILEGE. NEVER back down, compromise, take away the privilege and walk out of the room. Therefore, no yelling match etc.

Regarding an unacceptable behaviour that has already occured: Tell her "Due to this unacceptable behaviour, you have just lost one privelege", and then name what she has just lost (ex. tv for the day etc.)

Do not get emotional during any of this or she will play on it. Just state the facts and then get on with your day.

On the other hand, we OVERPRAISE good behaviour (ex. if DD makes her bed without being asked I would give her a big hug/kiss and thank her)

In our household anyway, by sticking to this plan, we see a lot more postive behaviours. But the whole secret (for us anyway) is to not get emotional, stick to the plan so DD will understand that begging for the privilege will not return it, there are no compromises whatsoever when it comes to lose of privileges, and OVERPRAISE OVERPRIASE OVERPRIASE for the slightest good behaviours.

I'm not saying this is a good plan for everyone, everyones circumstance is different but this works incredibly well for us.

Jenjen: sorry, I can't relate to what you have written. DDs room is a mess and does not exhibit any OCD tendencies. But think of the whole ADHD umbrella. There are so many different behaviours on the ADHD spectrum. As long as the child exhibits enough of the ADHD behaviours they are labelled. Therefore, one ADHD kid may exhibit some OCD behaviours, while another does not.

 

[LOLA2]

Just wondering if any of you have your kids on meds? Found out last year my DD 10 has ADD inattentive type. Mostly trouble in school concentrating
and at night homework is always a constant struggle, she gets frustrated by just thinking/looking at it. She also is very bossy with friends which means she only has one best friend that she is very jealous of if anyone else wants to play with her friend. so far everything has not been to such a high extreme that she needs medication but her teachers feel that if during the school days she could try meds it will help, what do you think.

Now as far as my son goes he has always been very active and on the go very happy child. Starting around 4 he started not listening going outside without asking, running away from us in crowded places (six flags, he thought it was funny) peeing on play equipment at daycare being very impulsive and telling people they are fat (he looks down and sort of whispers it) and I am no way a skinny and never use the word fat in my house. He told a child he didn't like them because they have brown skin (once again nothing that is said in our house) and no it's not the t.v. it is strictly monitered in fact his favorite show is Dora. He acts like a tornado and messes up daycare room and room at home. Daycare teachers put him at seperate lunch table by himself (I did not know this until I picked him up one day early and boy was I mad, they said they were doing this for a couple months now) teachers said other kids were blaming things on him all the time
even when he doesn't do the naughty thing because they know he is the troublemaker and teacher will beleive them. He's known as the bad kid at daycare. Even though he is very affectionate, funny,sweet he is just always into everything that everyone says he is naughty or he needs discipline. I signed him up for soccer and wow could I see the difference between him and the other kids (He is almost 5) At least everone else is listening to coach and trying, he was laying in the middle of field picking flowers. He has to touch and handle everything every where we go.

Well we spoke with pediatician and she gave us the tests to fill out then we meant with pschologist and she said he has ADHD very impulsive and maybe oppositional defiant disorder. She meant with and could tell at our meeting just watching Hunter get into everything (non toys) he could't sit still, she was like oh yeah you got your hands full.

Well that was just two weeks ago, now my cousin who is a chld psychologist and actually works at an elementy school and screens for ADD, thinks I should put him on meds. She said if your child has sight problems you would get him glasses right and I was like yeah, she said I should really at least try it and we could always go off. But at the rate I am going right now I feel like I have to do something I feel like I am yelling at him all the time and some times I just have to walk away afraid that I will beat his but. I have to check myself and say he is not doing this on purpose he has ADHD. I am on my last nerve, I can't imagine going through this for the years to come.

Please tell me about your experience with meds if any of you have tried it, I really want to get a handle on things before he starts kindergarten in September.

 

[HappyLawyer]

dtr was on concerta, no longer worked now she is on adderall in the am, and a small dos of ritlin from 4-8pm, it seems to be working well, her grades improved dramatically

 

[LilyWDW]

My best friend has been dealing with ADHD since she was 5 and she is now 22. She did have issues with stealing items. Often what the issue was for her though, was that she would pick something up to look at it and very quickly she would be focased on something else. This would usually mean that she would end up with the item in her pocket. They ended up doing something very close to what riu girl suggested.

She still continues to fight with this disorder through college. While taking tests they allow her to use an MP3 player to block out any surrounding noises so that she can focas only on the test. Disability services has been wonderful to her.

 

[daisyduck123]

Just wondering if any of you have your kids on meds? Found out last year my DD 10 has ADD inattentive type. Mostly trouble in school concentrating
and at night homework is always a constant struggle, she gets frustrated by just thinking/looking at it. She also is very bossy with friends which means she only has one best friend that she is very jealous of if anyone else wants to play with her friend. so far everything has not been to such a high extreme that she needs medication but her teachers feel that if during the school days she could try meds it will help, what do you think.

Now as far as my son goes he has always been very active and on the go very happy child. Starting around 4 he started not listening going outside without asking, running away from us in crowded places (six flags, he thought it was funny) peeing on play equipment at daycare being very impulsive and telling people they are fat (he looks down and sort of whispers it) and I am no way a skinny and never use the word fat in my house. He told a child he didn't like them because they have brown skin (once again nothing that is said in our house) and no it's not the t.v. it is strictly monitered in fact his favorite show is Dora. He acts like a tornado and messes up daycare room and room at home. Daycare teachers put him at seperate lunch table by himself (I did not know this until I picked him up one day early and boy was I mad, they said they were doing this for a couple months now) teachers said other kids were blaming things on him all the time
even when he doesn't do the naughty thing because they know he is the troublemaker and teacher will beleive them. He's known as the bad kid at daycare. Even though he is very affectionate, funny,sweet he is just always into everything that everyone says he is naughty or he needs discipline. I signed him up for soccer and wow could I see the difference between him and the other kids (He is almost 5) At least everone else is listening to coach and trying, he was laying in the middle of field picking flowers. He has to touch and handle everything every where we go.

Well we spoke with pediatician and she gave us the tests to fill out then we meant with pschologist and she said he has ADHD very impulsive and maybe oppositional defiant disorder. She meant with and could tell at our meeting just watching Hunter get into everything (non toys) he could't sit still, she was like oh yeah you got your hands full.

Well that was just two weeks ago, now my cousin who is a chld psychologist and actually works at an elementy school and screens for ADD, thinks I should put him on meds. She said if your child has sight problems you would get him glasses right and I was like yeah, she said I should really at least try it and we could always go off. But at the rate I am going right now I feel like I have to do something I feel like I am yelling at him all the time and some times I just have to walk away afraid that I will beat his but. I have to check myself and say he is not doing this on purpose he has ADHD. I am on my last nerve, I can't imagine going through this for the years to come.

Please tell me about your experience with meds if any of you have tried it, I really want to get a handle on things before he starts kindergarten in September.

Wow...your DS really does sound like a handful. I'm a teacher & just want you to know that from your description, you COULD be headed for a rough year unless some strategies are implemented to help. It's great that you want to get a handle on this before the school year starts. His teacher will thank you!

 

[riu girl]

Just my opinion about meds for ADHD, before trying the meds perhaps consider long term side effects. IMHO, it may not be as easy as simply trying a med and taking the kid off of it if it doesn't work. The possibility of addiction is always a concern. While working on one of my science degrees, I read a study about ritalin and it stated in the study that ritalin had many similar properties as cocaine (stimulates same parts of the brain). The study went on to say that in a previous study ( I didn't actually read that study just a synopsis of it) it stated that in studies in animals ritalin (and other drugs from this family) are used interchangeable (in science experiments) with cocaine since the sinthetic make up of these two drugs are so similar. That same year, I also read another study about the physical structure of the brain and how it actually changes in people who are on these type of stimulants (Ritalin and its family) for extended periods.

DD at 3 was diagnosed with severe/profound ADHD, so yes we had many ADHD behaviours to deal with. Through constant work from us and therapy she is now classed as borderline/mild ADHD. The new diagnose came from same therpaist that diagnosed her with severe/profound at age 3.

Perhaps instead of medicating, you might consider seeing a naturopath. These people do different kinds of tests/assessments including bloodwork that looks at entirely different things that what traditional drs. look at. They also look at hair samples for toxins etc etc.

Days that DD is at school she takes extra vitamin B, fish oils, multi vitamin with extra calcium/magnesium. She seems much more focused and less impulsive/hyper when on these extra vitamins/supplements. We also do a ton of yoga. I don't know if the yoga keeps away the ADHD behaviours or not though. But she enjoys it and so do I.

To look at her now at 9 and compare her to the child she was at 3, its like looking at two completely different kids.

Please everyone, this is only my opinion on this subject. Every parent is their childs best advocate and will know what is best suited for the child/the family dynamis etc. This is simply the route we decided to take vs. more traditional medications.

 

[JenJen]

Both my Kids are non medicated. But if it got to the point it was affecting there life and school so bad that they were not functioning I would consider it in a heartbeat.

Kids with ADHD Rarely get addicted to medications such as Ritalin and Adderal. It becomes a problem if they take more then perscribed and try to get a high off of it. Addictions is a very complicated thing and there is a BIG difference between addiction and dependency. Addiction is when you take a mind altering drug to get a euphoric effect or to get high. Dependency is when you have been on a medication for a long time and have to be weaned off the medication so that you do not have withdrawal symptoms. There are many medications like Paxil and Effexor (used for depression) that have a dependency problem. If you don't wean off them you will have the worst 3 weeks of your life. But you can toss 500 Effoxor out on the street and not on junkie would pick it up because you don't get high from it.
I know a lot of people that only take Adderal during the school days and take a break on the week ends. If they were addicted they would need to take it all the time for there "fix"
I hope that I made sense LOL
I guess my point is it really depends on each child. If your child is failing school and they can take a medication that can help them focus better and pass there classes so that they may be productive member of society then I think it needs to be an option (to medicate)​

 

[Earstou]

My ds has been medicated since kindergarten (K), and he now is in middle school.
I honestly don't think he could have made it through school without meds. It made a huge difference in his behavior in the early years. We never used babysitters because no one else could handle our ds. His preschool teacher refused to pass him onto K unless we "did something". That summer he started the meds, and the K teacher didn't realize he was ADHD until we told her 2 weeks into school.
With maturity, his behavior has greatly improved, but now with increased schoolwork and dealing with numerous teachers, we are dealing with greater attention problems. So now we don't medicate for behavior, we medicate so that he can keep up in school.
Another thing to consider is how the other kids in school view your child. Do they think he/she is the weird kid who is always talking or disturbing others? By medicating them, are you allowing them to be able to make friends AND keep them? We realized that without meds, it was difficult for my son to keep friends when he was youger because of his behavior.
Now we only medicate on school days, unless there is an event or activity where he needs the help. So weekends and summertime are mostly med free.
My son is very thin (it's hereditary), and the meds effect his appetite slightly, so that is part of the reason we only medicate for school and events now.

 

[sunny_medford]

Just wondering if any of you have your kids on meds? Found out last year my DD 10 has ADD inattentive type. Mostly trouble in school concentrating
and at night homework is always a constant struggle, she gets frustrated by just thinking/looking at it. She also is very bossy with friends which means she only has one best friend that she is very jealous of if anyone else wants to play with her friend. so far everything has not been to such a high extreme that she needs medication but her teachers feel that if during the school days she could try meds it will help, what do you think.

Now as far as my son goes he has always been very active and on the go very happy child. Starting around 4 he started not listening going outside without asking, running away from us in crowded places (six flags, he thought it was funny) peeing on play equipment at daycare being very impulsive and telling people they are fat (he looks down and sort of whispers it) and I am no way a skinny and never use the word fat in my house. He told a child he didn't like them because they have brown skin (once again nothing that is said in our house) and no it's not the t.v. it is strictly monitered in fact his favorite show is Dora. He acts like a tornado and messes up daycare room and room at home. Daycare teachers put him at seperate lunch table by himself (I did not know this until I picked him up one day early and boy was I mad, they said they were doing this for a couple months now) teachers said other kids were blaming things on him all the time
even when he doesn't do the naughty thing because they know he is the troublemaker and teacher will beleive them. He's known as the bad kid at daycare. Even though he is very affectionate, funny,sweet he is just always into everything that everyone says he is naughty or he needs discipline. I signed him up for soccer and wow could I see the difference between him and the other kids (He is almost 5) At least everone else is listening to coach and trying, he was laying in the middle of field picking flowers. He has to touch and handle everything every where we go.

Well we spoke with pediatician and she gave us the tests to fill out then we meant with pschologist and she said he has ADHD very impulsive and maybe oppositional defiant disorder. She meant with and could tell at our meeting just watching Hunter get into everything (non toys) he could't sit still, she was like oh yeah you got your hands full.

Well that was just two weeks ago, now my cousin who is a chld psychologist and actually works at an elementy school and screens for ADD, thinks I should put him on meds. She said if your child has sight problems you would get him glasses right and I was like yeah, she said I should really at least try it and we could always go off. But at the rate I am going right now I feel like I have to do something I feel like I am yelling at him all the time and some times I just have to walk away afraid that I will beat his but. I have to check myself and say he is not doing this on purpose he has ADHD. I am on my last nerve, I can't imagine going through this for the years to come.

Please tell me about your experience with meds if any of you have tried it, I really want to get a handle on things before he starts kindergarten in September.

Your son sounds exactly like my nephew., and your daughter just like my son. My nephew is headed to 2nd gr in the fall. His first week of kindergarten he was sent to the principals office 3 times and that was just the beginning of a long, stressful year for my sister. She eventually put him on the lowest dose of meds she could. The dr. recommended more. He is still quite active, but she can deal with him w/out getting upset. Mornings are rough because his meds are once a day and are worn off by the time he wakes up. He has improved sooooo much at school. He is very bright, and now everyone is able to enjoy him and his funny personality and wit. He has friends now, and my sister claims it is all worth it for that alone.
My son, on the other hand, was diagnosed 1 1/2 yrs ago. He is NOT on medication. I have discussed it with my husband numerous times. Right now we keep him on a very strict schedule and we are strict parents in general. My son is going to be 9 and his bedtime is 8:00. He wakes up at 5;45. We keep him on a regular schedule for everything. He also was born with other disabilities so a schedule works for us. I find that he doesn't deal with surprises in his schedule very well, so I often have to tell him "We'll do that tomorrow unless something comes up that we cant" It seems so simple, but you'd be amazed how well it works. We struggle at homework and he struggles at school, staying focused to get it done. We give him 30 minutes after school to do whatever, and then it time to get work done,and then depending on how long it takes him, he gets more time before supper to do whatever. I also have my son taking 3 different classes each week in martial arts. They reinforce Respect, Integrtity, Discipline. All things every child would benefit from!
Good Luck!

 

[katlas&kids]

Well we spoke with pediatician and she gave us the tests to fill out then we meant with pschologist and she said he has ADHD very impulsive and maybe oppositional defiant disorder. She meant with and could tell at our meeting just watching Hunter get into everything (non toys) he could't sit still, she was like oh yeah you got your hands full.

Well that was just two weeks ago, now my cousin who is a chld psychologist and actually works at an elementy school and screens for ADD, thinks I should put him on meds. She said if your child has sight problems you would get him glasses right and I was like yeah, she said I should really at least try it and we could always go off. But at the rate I am going right now I feel like I have to do something I feel like I am yelling at him all the time and some times I just have to walk away afraid that I will beat his but. I have to check myself and say he is not doing this on purpose he has ADHD. I am on my last nerve, I can't imagine going through this for the years to come.

Please tell me about your experience with meds if any of you have tried it, I really want to get a handle on things before he starts kindergarten in September.

Here goes. Jeff just turned 10. He was a fairly normal child until 3 1/2. In a private christian preschool, that knew us well after having 2 other children go through, 1 their 1st physically handicapped one. Mid year Jeff lost it. They started writing and focusing on letters & phonics. Tantrums, hiding, screaming... sigh

He didn't make it through the 4 year old program and we tried again the next year. He ended getting put out the end of Nov. and had to go public. The teacher there had the same problems, but passed him to 1st. Now we realized to get him moved on out of there. He sat the whole next year because he was started on meds and the special ed group wouldn't make a move, until Jan. (title 1 school) Took 6 months!!! to get him through their testing and we had it all done before school started outside. Finally said he did qualify for special services.

I should have mentioned that Jeff's dad is bi-polar. We found out while I was carrying Jeff. Jeff has ended up being BP, ADHD & has a visual processing error. He is on meds and it took a while to get adjusted. 3 years & 1 med doc change in fact. Right now he is on a med for the BP and adderall xr for the ADHD. We CAN tell the difference. The main problem for adderall and him is that his eating slows. We have found out it takes more than 1 day away to get him eating pretty well, and it isn't possible since during the summer he is in day camp. His sister is ADD and we have been told by his psych doc that there may be problems for both as they enter puberty. I know that 11-12 was a bad year for one of my older boys.

Sister also had to do K for 2 years cause her ADD wasn't diagnosed until this past winter. It really helped her focus and she is on a very low dose also. Her understanding and memory improved greatly after she started. At least look into it and research it so that you are ready for the school year. It is hard when a child is labeled and harder to change that impression.

Feel free to PM me if you have other questions. Jeff is smart too, but can't read yet. He will play games to get his way. To bad, so sad becomes a mantra here if he thinks he can get around us. We to are fairly strict, keep an early sleep schedule, and battle through homework with him. Hang in there and big hugs. kathy

 

[Pugrpooh]

My daughter, 17 was just diagnosed with ADD, combined type a week ago. All of the symptoms I looked up on the internet, they could have been written solely for DD. She's been on Adderall since Monday, but has not seen any difference in being able to focus better. We're upping the dosage tomorrow by 5 mg to see if that will make a difference.

The psychologist said kids with ADD have to multitask. When she was younger, she did gymnastics and other sports, around 20 hours a week. A lot of physical activity. Since she has stopped that, her behavior and focussing issues have worsened. She zoned out on the math portion of the ACT, which is her best subject, and the psychologist said she would have done better on it if she had been given less time to get it done.

I just thought she was spacey and ditzy, that if she would just pay attention and not watch tv or listen to music while she studied she would do better. This is my first experience with ADD and there's a lot more involved than just being a bit hyper, which is what I always thought it was.

Lynn

 

[wvdislover]

I have a DD8 who is ADHD (inattentive and impulsive), has sensory issues, anxiety issues, possible LD, autistic tendencies, auditory processing issues. Life is tough. We caught her trying to steal one or two times, but after talking to, that has stopped for now. We also had problems with her hiding food in her room and lying about it--psychologist told us it is a control issue. These kids have control over so little in their lives that it is one area that they can control. We made a rule that there is NO food or drink allowed upstairs, no exceptions! That has made a difference, esp. the no exceptions part. Her OT told me that if we say no food upstairs, except on Friday nights, it's just too confusing for her to understand why sometimes she can/can't.
Our big problem now is that she has no desire to work at anything. She doesn't want to try anything, doesn't want to practice anything, doesn't want to do anything that requires any type of exertion on her part, especially if it's an activity that she doesn't like. The only things she enjoys are watching tv and playing computer games. This is NOT what I want her doing all the time! We make her swim on the swim team, so she will get exercise for those 6 weeks, but she isn't a strong swimmer, and won't listen to the suggestions we or her coaches give her to help her swimming improve. She says she wants to do well, but she doesn't want to do the work to improve. I just want to see her succeed at something, to boost her self-esteem, which these days seems to be at an all-time low. I was thinking this morning that her swimming is a really good reflection on her mindset about school, too. She had a really bad school year, with a teacher who didn't understand her or try to. The teacher belittled her in class and allowed other students to harass my DD in class (calling her weird, kicking her, pulling her hair, etc), saying she didn't know how to make the other students stop this behavior. I even had 2 parents report to me that their kids were concerned over how my DD was treated in the classroom. One was worried b/c the teacher had yelled at my DD so furiously in class that day. The other told his mom that he was glad he wasn't my DD b/c the teacher picked on her so much in class. I know that this school year didn't help with DD's lack of desire to succeed. But she even has this problem with activities she enjoys. She loves dance class, but doesn't want to practice outside of class, as she needs to do to keep up in class. Not much, just a few minutes a day. Getting my DD to do ANYTHING is like pulling teeth! I worry that if she doesn't grasp the concept of trying and working to succeed, she'll never make it through life. I'm at my wit's end--please help! Thanks!

 

[simpilotswife]

My daughter, 17 was just diagnosed with ADD, combined type a week ago. All of the symptoms I looked up on the internet, they could have been written solely for DD. She's been on Adderall since Monday, but has not seen any difference in being able to focus better. We're upping the dosage tomorrow by 5 mg to see if that will make a difference.

Don't be afraid to suggest to the doctor to try another medication if the Adderall doesn't work out.

 

[Tissa]

hi all i know it has been a while since i have been on this particular board but i find myself at my whits end. Daughter has ADHD and lately i find myself well you can imagine, i do not want to spank her. I need some alternatives, Last day of school stole 2 bucks off teachers desk. The lied about it. Has been stealing food around the house and hiding it, she is not neglected and eats like horse, she gets anything she wants to eat. Today sole m & m's from my sisters house, now sister already has a hard time dealing with my dtr, not everyone understands ADHD and how difficult it can be. She is my child and i love her but i have no idea, is she acting out, or can this be part of her disability, on the outside stealing is stealing but it could be more then that, i welcome all positive feedback please.

I really feel for you, my autistic ds has really been giving me problems lately and we just increased his Adderall and his Zoloft and he is doing much better.
Stealing is a big issue and needs to be addressed before it gets worse, if counseling isn't working maybe it's time to have a sit down with the Dr and counselor and figure out a new game plan. The stealing is probably just a symptom of something bigger and not just the ADHD. I'm sending tons of pixie dust your way and hope that you can get things worked out with DD.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

My daughter, 17 was just diagnosed with ADD, combined type a week ago. All of the symptoms I looked up on the internet, they could have been written solely for DD. She's been on Adderall since Monday, but has not seen any difference in being able to focus better. We're upping the dosage tomorrow by 5 mg to see if that will make a difference.

I think you should give it more than 4 days.

 

[Rosie]

Hello again!

You know you are not alone alone in this and we all have these issues to deal with

Nobody has all the answers and so this is just my own "how I deal with it" list!

• Children have a right to make mistakes (its the only way for some people to learn) - even stealing. Most of us did it and most of us don't do it as adults.
• Deal with problems consistently. As others have said privileges are removable and taking them away works!
• Some people (including our families) will never accept our children with ASD's. That isn't our child's fault.
• Never punish in a way you feel uncomfortable with. I don't smack because it makes me sad not the children!
• Punishing isn't bad. It is how we help our babies to grow into adults.
• Rules help if they are explained. There are no short cuts and everything has to be discussed

I don't think your child is doing anything so unusual. All kids with or without ADHD will try to push the boundaries and take things just because they want them. I think it is a very common response to temptation at that age.
Stay strong and help her make the right choices in a way you can cope with.

Best of luck!