Long-Term Effects of ADHD Medication
July 3rd, 2011
The following article was contributed by Jeremy Fordham
Posts Tagged ‘ADHD’
Is It ADD or ADHD? Attention Deficit Disorder
June 26th, 2011Is It ADD or ADHD? Attention Deficit Disorder
The term ADD attention deficit disorder is a common one today as is ADHD. In fact it is so common because the incidence of attention deficit disorder in 2007 of 4 year- old's to 17 year-old's was 9.5%. That is almost 1 out of every 10 in a classroom. As an adult it is rare that I am out socializing and another adult refers to their own ADD. This happens at the park, coffee shop, even on cruises.The actual term ADD is now considered the "old" term for Attention Deficit Disorder. It was generally used for those of us who have ADHD without the hyper activity component. ADHD was ADD with the hyper-activity. Nowadays the 'proper term' is ADHD with the specifics added. Remember, there are a variety of specific types of attention deficit problems. Each child will deal with the problems slightly differently because each child is unique.The DSMIV Identifies and Defines ADHD
The DSM IV combined ADD and ADHD into one disorder with multiple parts. So now the proper terms are: ADHD-HI (primarily hyperactive impulsive) ADHD-I (primarily inattentive) ADHD-C (combined) ADHD-NOS (not otherwise specified) It is rare to be diagnosed with this type.What Is Combined Type Attention Deficit Disorder?
A combined type of attention deficit disorder is someone who has all the diagnostic criteria for both the HI type and the I type. The diagnostic criteria for HI type are very different than for I type. You can find the diagnostic criteria for each type by simply doing a google search for DSM IV and ADHD.Important Points to Remember About ADHD
- Attention Deficit Disorder has been recognized as a disorder for over 150 years.
- ADHD has gone through over 50 name changes in those 150 years, some of those names were pretty nasty.
- It is likely that there will be more tweaking of the diagnosis when the next revised addition of the DSM IV comes out.
- This is due to the debate about the difference in people who are inattentive versus hyperactive.
Here are 9 of 18 common symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder
- Not following through with instructions.
- Not paying attention appropriately to what they need to attend to.
- Seeming not to listen.
- Being disorganized.
- Having poor handwriting.
- Missing details.
- Appearing to be easily distracted.
- Appearing fidgety.
- Being verbally impulsive.
Diagnosis of Attention Deficit or Is It a Learning Problem or Is It Both?
One other important point that has to be made is that a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder is not the 'end of the world.' In fact, there are many successful business persons with attention deficit disorder, so your child does have a lot going for them. In fact, there is much you can do at home to help your child. Additionally, there are often other issues that may compound the difficulties of attention deficit such as problems in one or more areas of visual, auditory, or tactile/kinesthetic processing. And, sometimes a child is misdiagnosed due to problems in so many areas of perception. when one are is overwhelmed, it shuts down. This 'shutting down' can be mistaken for inattention. Identifying and addressing the underlying causes of any of those problems will make coping with any of the types of attention deficit easier.Family Activities to Improve Learning Skills
Other things you can do to help your child is to incorporate learning games into their learning. This is because when your child is playing a learning game it is appropriate to move around while they are learning. They are also learning skills of getting along with others, cooperating with others while playing. Some great games that are very successful with ADHD children that teach learning skills at the same time are The Sentence Zone, The Comprehension Zone, and The Math Zone.Misdiagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder – ADHD
March 21st, 2011Misdiagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder - ADHD
Nearly 1 million children in the US are potentially misdiagnosed with ADHD simply because they are the youngest and most immature in their kindergarten class. This is according to Todd Elder’s research at Michigan State University as reported in Science Daily. Think about this for a minute. Almost 1 million children are potentially misdiagnosed with ADHD. And what happens when a child is misdiagnosed? More often than not that child is prescribed to take behavior-modifying stimulants such as Ritalin and they don’t need them!Diagnosing ADHD or Misdiagnosing ADHD
There are two important criteria to look at in the diagnosis and misdiagnosis of ADHD. The first is the most obvious criteria. Look at the behaviors a child is having, doing, exhibiting. For example, can they sit still for a lesson or while you read to them? The second criteria is critical! What is the age of the child doing the behavior, and do look at others of the same age. If a child can’t seem to sit still but he is only 5 and the rest of the children are 6 or close to being 6, that is a big difference! It is much harder for a 5 year old to sit still than for a 6 year old to sit still. Teachers and medical practitioners need to remember this when evaluating whether a child has ADHD.Additional Situations to Look at Regarding Diagnosis and Misdiagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder - ADHD
1. Is the problem you are seeing situational (e.g. Only one parent sees it as a problem; at school they don’t seem to have the problems, when they are with dad they don’t seem to have the problems, or when they are with mom they don’t seem to have the problems.) 2. If only one parent is having problems with the child, it may be a problem with parenting skills (e.g. Yelling at the child such as “You don’t act like you want to be part of the family.” or “Get up right now or else” and then not follow through with a consequence.). 3. If the teacher is the only one having a problem it may be a problem with the way the teacher is dealing with the child or it may be an inexperienced teacher. 4. Other times a child is misdiagnosed with attention deficit disorder is when the actual problem occurs through a shutdown of either their auditory system or their vision system.- When the auditory or vision system becomes overloaded, it shuts down and needs a break. When either of these systems shuts down temporarily, the child often appears to be not paying attention. What is happening is either the vision system or the auditory system is resting.
- Unfortunately, often the child has trouble bringing themselves back to the activity at hand. A gentle reminder to come back to the activity is all that is needed in this instance, and it may need to be given each time they aren’t paying attention until the child learns to come back on their own.
So, what happens educationally when your child has ADHD?
Educational Problems Caused by ADD/ADHD
Although attention deficit disorder (ADHD) is not a learning disability, ADD/ADHD obviously affects performance in a school setting, as well as affects other parts of their life. Kids and adults with ADD have neurological gaps that interfere with the cognitive processes of memory, concentration, and attention span. In other words, kids with attention deficit disorder have often missed out on instruction because they were distracted and attending to other things instead of the instruction that was being given. Assignments, especially homework may be missed because they were distracted and attending to other things instead of the assignment that was being given. When kids aren’t paying attention in class, they often miss bits and pieces of skills, content, and the easy tricks to becoming efficient learners. Dr. Daniel Amen states that school problems can include: o Restlessness o Short attention span and distractibility o Impulsiveness o Procrastination o Trouble shifting attention o Forgetfulness o Writing disabilities o Reading disabilities o Visual processing problems o Auditory processing problems o Unusual study habits o Difficulties with timed situations such as timed tests.ADHD and Learning Disabilities or Dyslexia
About 70% of kids with ADHD also have dyslexia, learning difficulties or learning disabilities. School age kids may have problems with reading, spelling, writing, penmanship, or arithmetic. The question then becomes one of, how do I help my ADHD kids to do well in school when they have such trouble attending to the instruction? How do I help them to improve their memory, mental energy, organizational skills, and expressive vocabulary so they can succeed in the school setting? There is a lot you can do to help your ADHD child in school. The key is to determine what specifically is interfering with their learning. Is it only the ADHD, or have they been misdiagnosed with ADHD? Are there other underlying causes interfering with their learning in addition to ADHD? For more information on the underlying causes of learning problems, you will want to check out our comprehensive behaviorally based learning assessment. It is critical to your child’s success, whether they have attention deficit disorder or not or whether they have been misdiagnosed with ADHD or not, to find out what other underlying causes may be contributing to your child’s educational struggles. Once you know exactly what is going on, there is so much you can do to help your child whether they have ADHD, have been misdiagnosed with ADHD or have a learning difficulty or learning disability.Learning Reading, Dyslexia, ADHD, Homework Help Webinar
January 19th, 2011What the Schools Don't Tell You
That You Need To Know to Give
Your Kids a Learning Advantage
Even if They Struggle with Learning
Reading, Dyslexia, or ADHD
You will learn how to give your child a learning advantage even if they have dyslexia, struggle with learning reading, have ADHD, or take too long to do their homework.
You will learn: 1. The Cone of Learning 2. The 5-step formula to give your child a learning advantage 3. The 3 ways we learn and how to access the ‘sweet spot’ of learning reading, writing, and math 4. Specific tips to gain greater access to the brain, making your brain and your child’s brain learn more quickly 5. Activities to implement tomorrow As a parent you do have the power to really make a difference in your child's lives. Once you know the 5-step formula and start implementing it, your life and your child's life of learning will become much easier. I've been teaching well over 37 years and have taught just about every type of learning problem that exists whether it is dyslexia, ADHD, learning disabilities, deaf, blind, physical handicaps, or gifted. There are things you can do, simple exercises that will give your child greater access to their brain, making it work more efficiently. We will go over several of these brain efficiency exercises on the call. All children can learn and can learn with greater ease. Learning should be challenging and exciting, not stressful or boring.Be on the webinar and see what you can do to make learning reading, writing, and math easy for your child even if they have dyslexia or ADHD.
Common Symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD)
January 12th, 2011Common Symptoms of Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD)
A lot of emails have been coming in regarding attention deficit disorder, often referred to as ADD and ADHD recently. Parents are wondering if their child has attention deficit disorder. Some parents are being told by their child's teacher that their child has ADD. Others are questioning it themselves. ADD or ADHD is nothing to be scared of. I know life can be quite difficult at times when you have a child with ADD. Not only have I taught many students over the years with ADD, one of my son's also has ADD. The good news is there is a lot that can be done to get through life and learning with greater ease once you know what is going on. One of the most critical things is to understand what is going on, then you are able to deal with it and cope with greater ease. Here is a list of common symptoms of ADD/ADHD:Eighteen typical symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD) are:
- Not following through with instructions.
- Not paying attention appropriately to what they need to attend to.
- Seeming not to listen.
- Being disorganized.
- Having poor handwriting.
- Missing details.
- Appearing to be easily distracted.
- Appearing fidgety.
- Being verbally impulsive.
- Difficulty waiting for their turn.
- Acting on impulse regardless of consequences.
- Do not give close attention to details or make careless mistakes in schoolwork or other activities
- Have trouble keeping attention on tasks or play activities
- Fail to finish schoolwork or chores
- Often avoids, dislikes, or doesn’t want to do things that take a lot of mental effort for a long period of time
- Often loses things needed for tasks and activities (e.g. toys, school assignments, pencils, books, or tools)
- Is often easily distracted
- Is often forgetful in daily activities
Note: Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD)
Remember, not all people with attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) have all of these difficulties, and they usually do not have all of these difficulties all of the time. It is also important to know that everybody has some of these symptoms some of the time. There are many things you can do as a parent to help your kids with attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD). Look for part two where I will go into more depth on attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD) In the meantime, for more information on attention deficit disorder you will want to check outWe suspect ADHD…Help!
Improve Learning Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Math Skills
October 28th, 2010
“FACT – It's Not Too Late...
Give Your Child A 2 To 4 Year Advantage
in Learning Reading, Writing and Math
In Just 20 Minutes A Day!”
Does your child struggle with learning reading, writing, spelling, or math? Do they have reading comprehension problems? Do they understand their homework? Do they do their homework with ease or do they take what seems like forever to get their homework done? If you have answered yes to any of these questions...you want to be on the FREE private training call: How to Help Your Child Improve Learning Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Math.Private Training Call reveals:
1. The 5 things you need to know to put in place to accelerate your child's learning reading, writing, spelling, and math in just minutes a day. 2. Secrets to this proven, easy to understand, Speed To Learning Program. 3. The power of understanding the underlying causes of your child’s learning reading struggles. 4. How to turn Your Child’s Life of Learning Struggles into a Life of Joyful Learning in just 20 minutes a day using Speed to Learning principles. 5. Great for all children, no matter what learning age they are at and especially effective for those children with learning disabilities such as LD, Dyslexia and ADHD.Youngest in class get ADHD label
August 17th, 2010Youngest in class get ADHD label
Parents often wonder if they should enter their child into kindergarten when they are very close to the age cutoff for entering school. Should you have them start kindergarten or wait another year? A recent study from Michigan State University shows that kids who are the youngest in their grades are 60% more likely to exhibit Attention Deficit types of behaviors and actually be diagnosed with attention deficit disorder than the oldest children in the class.Nearly 1 million children diagnosed with ADHD
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY Nearly 1 million children may have been misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, not because they have real behavior problems, but because they're the youngest kids in their kindergarten class, researchers say. Kids who are the youngest in their grades are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit disorder than the oldest children, according to a study out today from Michigan State University, given exclusively to USA TODAY. A second study, by researchers at North Carolina State University and elsewhere, came to similar conclusions. Both are scheduled for publication in the Journal of Health Economics. TEENS: 1/3 with ADHD drop out or delay graduation About 4.5 million children have been diagnosed with ADHD, according to the studies. Misdiagnosing children can have long-lasting effects, says assistant professor of economics Todd Elder, author of the Michigan State study. In fifth and eighth grade, the youngest kids in a class were more than twice as likely to use Ritalin, a stimulant commonly prescribed for ADHD, compared with the oldest students, his study says. Read More For more articles if you suspect ADHDWe suspect ADHD…Help!
March 31st, 2010
Bonnie
Ever since I informed my daughter’s teacher that we suspect she has ADHD and that she is on a waiting list to have tests done, her teacher seems to be worse with her rather than more understanding. In fact, she no longer has time for her. She's constantly shouting at my daughter now for struggling with her work and not getting it finished in time and getting it wrong. She is even giving my daughter extra assignments as a punishment for it. My daughter is really stressing out about this and she stays up late refusing to sleep until she completes this work. Is it just me or is the teacher doing the opposite of what she should do?? What should I do?
Pamela
Whether your daughter is diagnosed with ADHD or not, her teacher is responsible for teaching her and creating an environment that is safe and conducive to learning. It might be that your daughter’s teacher is feeling overwhelmed with the possibility of teaching someone that doesn’t fit into her square peg or round whole, so to speak.
That being said, you do have your work cut out for you. It sounds to me that you need to do some educating of the teacher, although I don't know how receptive she will be.
There are two issues going on here. One is the ‘yelling’ or ‘shouting’ at your daughter. The other is the additional homework assignments. Short of sitting in the classroom all day long, you are limited at this point to some extent with changing the teacher’s behavior.
First, set up a meeting with your daughter’s teacher and say something to the effect of, “I know that you are being pushed at times by your daughter’s name and I know you know her ADHD is what is interfering with her learning and it can’t be helped until we get the official diagnosis and develop a plan to address it. In the meantime, I was wondering how we might be able to work together to help your daughter’s name cope better in the classroom."
Coming in in a non-confrontational way and ‘giving her the benefit of the doubt’ by saying that you know she realizes it’s the ADHD should put her in a more receptive mood.
If that doesn’t help, you might want to enlist the help of the vice principal, principal, or counselor and ask them what they suggest you do. I would go in saying you know your daughter’s teacher is qualified, but your daughter and she seem to be having some issues. You think it might be related to the fact that you told her that you suspect your daughter has ADHD.
I know this sounds a bit ‘nice’ when you must be fuming, but you always get more accomplished when you ‘sugar coat’ things as best you can.
If you do not get any assistance with them, you can contact your County Office of Ed or your state advocate. (Most states have them – give the Dept. of Ed a call to find out.) Sometimes just mentioning the name of the state advocate gets the ball rolling for you with a school.
Regarding the additional homework…
One thing you need to do to start with is to judge for yourself if the additional homework is beyond the typical amount of homework that a student in her grade should have. So, put the ADHD aspect aside for a moment to measure the amount of time that students should spend on homework. Students should on a normal basis not have more that 10 minutes per grade level of homework per night (3rd grade - 30 minutes). Then, realizing the complications that the ADHD adds to your daughter’s focus, add some additional time to that (30 to 60 minutes).
The National Education Association along with the national PTA suggests adding 10 minutes of homework per night incrementally with each grade level, as a general rule of thumb. Thus, a first-grader gets a total of 10 minutes, a second-grader 20 minutes, a third-grader 30 minutes, and so on, not to exceed two hours per night total in high school.
For high school Spanish teacher Michael Bolyog, homework is designed to reinforce what happens in the classroom, but should never be used to supplant class work. He sees the teacher’s role as similar to that of a sports coach: The player can go out and practice on his own for hour after hour, but the best learning occurs when the coach is right there with him, to immediately correct any flaws. Therefore, more than 30 minutes of homework per class may be an exercise in futility because the student can feel overwhelmed by the quantity of work, get distracted or bored, and end up giving it a halfhearted effort just to get it done.
Just a few more rambling thoughts...
You can share this info with the teacher, saying something to the effect that the National Education Association as well as the PTA supports this, so that is what your daughter will be doing from now on. You might also let the principal know that you have been having some issues with this, so you are going to do this from now on. You can have your daughter present when you talk with the teacher, so she knows what has been discussed and will feel stronger about not overdoing.
You might want to ask the principle or your school district office what the policy on homework is and what is the school policy about punishment is for the ADHD problems -then talk with the teacher. (Get your information first - then approach the teacher) You can say something to the effect that: "I thought the school policy or school district policy was ___________. Am I wrong here? Or Correct me if I'm wrong, but _____________."
Once a diagnosis is made, you need to see what kinds of adjustments need to be made in the classroom. You might request a student study team meeting or suggest a meeting to set up a 504 to see what can be done to help your daughter succeed in the classroom.
There are a number of easy accommodations that can be put into place to help your daughter throughout the day, making learning easier and less stressful for both her and her teacher.
Hope this is helpful,
Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET
How to Improve Reading and Memory Skills and Still Have Fun
January 7th, 2010
What can you do during the winter weather to help your kids improve their skills? This question is a frequent one for me. Parents are always interested in helping their kids, but it is sometimes hard to stay motivated, especially during the winter months.
The following activities work well with all kids, whether they have dyslexia, LD, ADHD, are falling through the cracks, or are gifted. I have done the activities successfully with all of them!
I have two favorite things to do to not only help my kids, but to stay motivated doing it too. The first thing is to have more frequent game nights, playing educational games - learning games like The Sentence Zone, The Comprehension Zone, or The Math Zone. When you play games with your kids, they build skills while having fun and get a lot of modeling from you too. At the same time you get to have quality family time, so it is a double win situation.
The other activity I like to do is to have an evening where I might turn the heat up a degree or two, and everyone gets dressed in ‘summer’ clothes, and we have a ‘picnic’ on the floor of the living room. Afterwards, we might tell stories to each other – what I call ‘add-on stories.’ In these stories one person starts off and then the next person adds on to the story. We keep going round and round and the story gets longer and longer. The only thing is, the kids have to pay attention and so do you, so what you add on makes sense to the story. This builds listening comprehension and memory as well as a really good time.
Hope this is helpful!
Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET
A Parent's ABC's of ADHD
December 29th, 2009
I just read this by Lindsey Petersen of 5kidswdisabilities and thought you would all appreciate it. It rings true for so many parents, not just those of ADHD kids.
Hope you enjoy...
The ABCs of ADHD
December 27, 2009 by 5kidswdisabilities
The ABCs of ADHD/ADD
I’ve read the articles and books on ADHD. I know the discipline methods, rewards and time outs, the methods of Ross Green (from The Explosive Child) and the medications that work best. But I also know the realities of ADHD, having 2 children with ADHD and 2 with ADD. In real life terms, the ABCs of ADHD/ADD are:
Attention! Always on alert for dangerous situations due to impulsive behaviors, such as running across streets without looking, grabbing a butcher knife to cut the end off a banana, running up the down escalator, and grabbing the dog or any other animal roughly and the dog (or other animal) retaliating by biting (or scratching.)
“Be careful! Be careful! Be careful” is the parent mantra.
Climbing climbing climbing: out of the crib at age 15 months, out of the bedroom window when a teenager, on rock walls and curbstones and couches.
Don’t touch that! Don’t do that! Don’t hit her! Don’t pull that! Don’t eat that! Don’t hurt it! Don’t break it!
Exhausted parents trying their best to keep up.
Friendships are difficult.
Go! Go! Go! They’re always on the go!
Helpless parents, unable to control their child’s behavior, especially embarrassing in the grocery store under the staring eyes of others, judging them.
If only he’d… If only she’d…. Parents dream for a different lifestyle.
Jumping Bean: he goes here and there from friend to friend to friend, never staying long enough to establish a real friendship.
Kitchen walls are written on, bathroom doors have holes kicked in, curtains are ripped, bedrooms are messy.
LOVE. Parents give unconditional love, but the behavior doesn’t change because the ADHD remains…
MEDICATION! MEDICATION! MEDICATION! Alleluia when it works!!!!
Not paying attention in school so schoolwork suffers: not paying attention for homework, so it’s a nightly fight: not paying attention to other’s feelings, so no friendships are formed.
Overload happens easily and tantrums result. Keep it quiet. Keep it simple. Keep it under stimulated for peace.
Psychiatrists are our best friends!
Questions! Questions from them all the time! Especially hard to escape when you are stuck riding in the car together.
Rewards for good behaviors; stickers, ice cream, Playstation, tv.
Self-esteem is low, parent and teacher patience is limited so he’s always the troublemaker and never measures up.
Time-outs in the seat till we’re blue in the face. All the time spent in time-outs would add up to a year in the life.
Understanding is needed from parents, family, friends and teachers; understanding is often in short supply.
Very draining on all, child and adults.
Whining, whining, whining until their parent’s ears hurt.
X-rays, CAT Scans and emergency room visits: active behavior results in injuries.
YIKES! What has he done NOW?!?!
Zest for life would be a polite way of putting it…
|......................
Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET