Teacher concerned about ADHD. What next?

[ajwomic]

My 6 year old son's teacher is concerned that he might have ADHD and I am not sure what to do. I prefer not medicating unless absolutely necessary. Has anyone had success with diet therapy? He is very bright and makes all A's and does not get in trouble a lot, but figits all the time, falls out of his chair multiple times a day, talks and laughs really loud without realizing it, and has a hard time getting started on things like writing assignments.He starts about the time everyone else is finishing. At home, I often have to ask several time for him to do simple tasks like putting on pajamas. The teacher and I are in the fence on whether this is just immaturity and "being a boy" or a problem. Before I for out $$ on stuff I wanted to ask here. Thanks!
Alicia

 

[mechurchlady]

First you need to get a true diagnosis as it could be a tumor, SID/SPD, mild autism, ADD, allergies, and a dozen other things. Falling out of his chair is interesting as I can understand talking loud, fidgeting, etc but falling out of his chair is strange to me. You cannot get the meds until he is properly diagnosed. Once you know what is wrong then you can choose meds or no meds.

You would also have to look at his history like when did he start fidgeting was it recently or looking back was he always a bit of a fidgeter. If it is recent then it could be an allergy or something traumatic in his life. Does he avoid certain foods, sounds or things? Does he love something like being spun, hugs, and certain foods? The other people on the board are more eloquent and can better help you.

Chin up and hugs for you from Laurie

 

[bookwormde]

The important thing is to get an evaluation from a clinician who is qualified to identify any of the neurovariants that might cause these manifestations.

With the situation that he laughs really loud without realizing it is a significant indication that it may not be ADHD or even ADD. One good way to get an idea is to see is if when he is involved in an area of his strong interest can he concentrate for an extended period of time. Fidgeting is not hyperactivity; but is more likely an indicator of anxiety. Under IDEA as soon as your school recognizes that there is a possibility of ADHD, ADD, PDD-nos or any other neurovariation they are required to do a full evaluation (with your consent) at their cost and if you do not agree they have to pay for a “second opinion” from outside qualified clinician that are acceptable to you at their cost. Schools still are for the most part not trained to spot differentials between ADD and Executive function differentials; it takes someone who is highly experience in spectrum characteristics to do this. Medication are a last choice since their long term side effects can be quite dangerous.

bookwormde

 

[LMC]

My 8 yo son was doing the same things you described, even falling out of the chair all day. He just could not sit still to save his live, was always the loudest in the room and in perpetual motion. You ALWAYS knew when he was in the room as it was so disruptive. We were always the loudest group (family) wherever we went because we were always having to correct him and stay on him and he would be argumentative and "fuss" about everything. Lo and behold, I finally had him evaluated and the doctor told me my son has an extreme case of ADHD. He is on alot of medication but it has made his world much better. He now makes it through the school day without being in trouble every minute of every day. He can sit and watch a 30 minute cartoon without getting up 50 times. If I had known how beneficial it would be to my child, I would have had him evaluated sooner. Of course, I had no idea he was "extremely severe" adhd. Now this does not mean your child is ADHD. As another poster stated, it could be ASD or some other condition. I also teach preschool and I have a student that reminds me of my own son but since I am not a doctor, I don't dare tell the parent that I think their son is ADHD. IF the parent asks me about his behavior, I can tell them that he gets out of his seat many times per day, bangs on the table,etc. but I am not qualified to even suggest a diagnosis. I don't think school personnel are either. Does your school district not offer testing since they are the once who suggested it? It would be free if they did it.
Good luck and remember, just do what is best for your child.

 

[wvdislover]

I know the thought of medicating your child is a scary one, and one you're not sure you want to make. If, indeed, your son does have ADHD, I would seriously consider the meds. Your son is doing well academically, now, but as he gets older, that could change, as he may not be able to focus well enough in class to understand or complete his assignments. An even stronger argument, though, is that the meds may help your son "appear" more as a "normal" child, which could help him socially later on. Kids quickly figure out who the "different" kid in class is, and often will single that child out. What the kids in the class may think is funny now, will become "weird" later on. I would want to try to prevent that from happening. I have not tried changing my DD's diet a whole lot (we did eliminate red and blue dyes and try to avoid caffeine). If we went to a gluten-free diet, my DD would probably wither away and die for lack of food (she has a VERY limited diet, as she is ASD/Asperger's). I would by all means try changing your son's diet to see if it helps, but I probably wouldn't avoid putting him on meds just b/c you don't want your child on meds (stigma, side effects--I don't know your reasons; these are just a couple of the reasons I hear people give). When my DD was diagnosed with ADHD at 5, my DH didn't want to put our DD on meds, either, but the doctor suggested we try it. He was convinced when he saw our DD able to color in the lines for the first time. She is now 11 years old. We can see a definite difference in her when we don't give her her meds, for various reasons (like the times I forget ). Ultimately, he is your son and you have to make the decision that is right for your family. This is just my 2 cents worth, based on our experiences. I wish you lots of luck as you begin your journey down this road

 

[KirstenB]

Start with your pediatrician. They may refer you to a neurologist, or child psych. Anyway, you need to know what you're dealing with first, then decide how to tackle it. Our older dd has ADD, and takes Concerta. Her grades have gone from c's to a's and b's. Her teachers hinted since she was in kindergarten that she had issues with attention, but I didn't address it seriously til 3rd grade. She's in 5th now, and after tweaking her meds, I think we're on the right path. There are different ways to treat ADD, but I'd urge you to first discover what you're dealing with, then focus on treatment.

 

[kaffinito]

My oldest has severe ADHD as well. (He has many other diagnosis as well, but they aren't germane to the topic at hand)

I had him evaluated through the school system, by a therapist who worked closely with a psychiatrist, and a psychiatrist as well. In the end the triple evaluations really paid off, all three came back with the same diagnosis/recommendations. Medication made a world of difference to Ben, but I only went that route after being very through. I also tried the various diets to rule out allergies.

When Ben started medication I had him start at the lowest possible dose, figuring that it's far better to increase his medication gradually then to expose him to potentially harmful side effects. Even at the lowest dose, there was a definite improvement. He's now 16 and doesn't take medications any more since he is able to control/manage his ADHD.

Good luck and hang in there!

 

[BeckyScott]

I agree with finding someone to do a good evalutation.

DS is on meds, but a very low dose, especially considering his size. I didn't want to med him either. It finally just got bad enough during the school day that we tried the meds. As a child gets older, in about 3rd grade or so, the school day requires more sit-down concentration.

It might take a while to find the right med at the right dose, and your dr should want to be in the middle of that whole process and taking input from you.

As far as diet goes, there are several things I avoid, and I did buy the Feingold kit for reference. Everything as "natural" as possible and unprocessed. The artificial food coloring is evil stuff (especially the red), as is MSG and preservatives. However, that's a big committment too. Unless you typically cook all his meals from scratch... and don't eat out often... and the best way to approach it is if the whole family eats that way, which is certainly healthier but you can meet with some resistance. If you child is old enough to appreciate a Happy Meal or Pizza Hut, you're gonna have a fun time taking them over to Feingold. It's one thing if you start them out that way as a toddler, and one thing if they're old enough to really understand what you're doing (like in their teens), but it's very hard from my experience to switch out foods on a child that's elementary-aged and all they see is that they aren't getting McDonald's and the good cereal anymore. Since also at that age, they don't have a full understanding of ADHD, they don't understand the need to "fix" it. So the first thing you'd need to do is talk to your child and explain the diet stuff to them in a way that they understand and get them on board with you. Even if you monitor their food and their teacher knows too, there will be times when the "bad" food is presented and they need to understand what to do and why.

Okay, that was a very long and confusing paragraph.

If you really want to go diet, going to a DAN dr is probably your best bet. Not for the diagnosis! But for a treatment plan and further testing. But they're expensive.

 

[Piper]

In our district, a teacher who tells a parent that their child has ADHD or any other "diagnosis" really opens a can of worms. The district is then obligated to provide the testing needed to establish whether or not this is the case. This includes, but is not limited to, access to a physician, a full phych eval, etc. The parent has the right to seek their own diagnosis at the district's expense.

I am always very careful to just state the behaviors I observe: "Your child has difficulty sitting for lessons and often gets up while I am reading to the class. S/he will make noises, sing to him/herself, touch other children's hair, etc. S/he either go up or had to be redirected 9 times during a 15 minute session that was highly engaging for the other students. We were reading about the gingerbread man and then everyone took turns adding ingredients and stirring the dough to make our own. Although, XXX was interested in what we were doing, s/he had a hard time staying on task. Have you noticed any difficulties at home?"

This usually opens up a good discussion. If the parent doesn't see difficulties, then maybe I need to adjust my teaching for that child. If they do, then it opens the way to work together to help the child be more successful right now--and hopefully the parent will talk with their physician for help if there is a problem.

Since the teacher mentioned ADHD specifically, your district may have to pay for an evaluation.

 

[LMC]

In our district, a teacher who tells a parent that their child has ADHD or any other "diagnosis" really opens a can of worms. The district is then obligated to provide the testing needed to establish whether or not this is the case. This includes, but is not limited to, access to a physician, a full phych eval, etc. The parent has the right to seek their own diagnosis at the district's expense.


Since the teacher mentioned ADHD specifically, your district may have to pay for an evaluation.

That's exactly what I am talking about!! Even though I just work at a preschool, our particular preschool works closely with the local school district and I have been told not to tell our parents anything about their children. Like I said, if they ask me questions, I can answer in generalities but I can in no way suggest a diagnosis. Recently a grandparent brought up whether or not her GD has autism. I had to tell her that the mother should be the one to discuss that with me (due to confidentiality) but that if they had concerns they should consult their pediatirician. I really think they have valid concerns but I just can't go there. As a parent to a special needs child, this is very difficult for me. I have suggestions I could offer; doctor recommendations, things they should consider for IEP's etc but I have been told to keep my mouth shut.

 

[bookwormde]

The policies that you are describing are serious violations of IDEA. Parents are not the ones required to identify children who have a reasonable possibility of having disabilities, this the responsibility of the school and all of it’s staff. The schools have a legal mandate to move forward with an evaluation as soon as they become aware of the situation and potential.

While school staff are not qualified to state a diagnosis, restricting their ability to advise parents that there child may have issues which make it likely that an evaluation may be appropriate is a clear proactive move to violate IDEA by the administrators. Any time a teacher believes a child may have a disability they are supposed to notify the director of special education for their school of their concern and the director must start the IDEA process.

bookwormde

 

[KirstenB]

Have you noticed any difficulties at home?"

This usually opens up a good discussion. If the parent doesn't see difficulties, then maybe I need to adjust my teaching for that child.

Unless the parent also might have ADD or ___ condition, so they don't see the child's behavior as abnormal. As I mentioned above, teachers from K through 2nd grade had danced around the fact our older dd had issues with focussing. However, her 3rd grade teacher is my hero. This woman pushed me and pushed me, constantly letting me know that Andi's inability to concentrate was not normal. I probably have ADD myself, and just always thought Andi was a little spacy, but no biggie. I would have never pursued a diagnosis or treatment, and Andi would have continued to have very mediocre achievement in school, or maybe worse. As I read these posts, I have a renewed appreciation for her teacher.