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Originally posted by ACE Hi Madsad, We haven't actually had anyone diagnosed ADD but my husbands uncle, on his fathers side, struggled terribly at school and eventually went on to develop serious depression and drink related problems. He committed suicide aged 40. Two of his three sons followed a similar pattern, both were depressed and both of them died, within months of each other, last year in their 20's. Both deaths were suspected suicides but the official verdict was death by misadventure. They may have had another mental illness but you can imagine may horror when Rhys started to show signs of depression and difficulties with his school work. Kind Regards ACE:) Malcolm is not Andrews natural father,but has brought Andrew up since he was a baby. Andrews natural father was an absolute "Head case"(please excuse my choice of words) I had known him all through High school & he was always "playing the idiot" didnt care what trouble he got into from minor to serious situations anyway to cut a long story short, I knew & got on with his mum very well & the things she used to tell me back then about her sons background ever since he was a baby,bares a scary resemblance to Andrews behaviour at times. His natural father has spent most of his years in & out of prison as his behaviour spiralled out of control,He had become a violent & extremely nasty person to anyone who dared stand up to him or say anything against him.The last ive ever saw or heard from him was over 11yrs ago & believe me i want it to stay that way. Andrew has shown me all the symptoms i used to see in his father, lack of concentration,destructive behaviour,impulsive,demanding,no fear or concept of dangerous situations,clumsy,cant share,fights to gain control of a situation& has very little friends as they dont want a smack in the mouth for not giving into him.The list is endless as you are only too aware.One exception i havent had a problem with is Andrew is in no way deliberatly nasty,he has two younger sisters in which he is fiercly protective of & absolutely adores,they have thier typical arguements as brothers & sisters do,he is a very caring, loving& extremely sensitive boy to how others are feeling. Andrew is as i said 12years & is moving into High school in August,which scares the life out of me as he is no longer a child & wants to be treated according to his age,do what his friends are doing & follow suit.The thought of him falling into a bad croud,experimenting with drink as most teenagers do at this stage,worries me greatly:eek: But i cant wrap him in cotton wool & at the end of the day if it happens we have to deal with it best we can. Donna. . |
Originally posted by MSB and the constant anxiety of what he would do next was frightening, because he had no concept of consequences of his behaviour. I agree with everyones comments too, I think that we all should be very proud of our kids, especially when they have so much negativity pushed at them for doing so well & for overcoming all the massive hurdles that get put in their way. One other thing that has come out in this thread (& that someone else actually mentioned to me) is how often kids with this disorder are incredibly bright, intelligent & often talented in things like music or art. Originally posted by ACE Most people that I mention it to make the right noises but you can often see the doubt in their eyes. My mother-in-law keeps saying "how comes children never had this years ago?" and "I don't agree with giving children drugs". Strange as she has never objected to his asthma medication even though his ADD had a much more devastating affect on his ability to function. Her (surprised & shocked) -: "Noooooo, they dont need a referral, they dont have ADHD, look at how well they are playing & behaving!". Great, now a doctor after having seen my kids (in the background mind you, it was my consultation) for less than 10 mins has decided that she knows more than I do. :rolleyes: I just quietly pointed out to her that yes, they were behaving & concentrating on the task at hand due to the fact that they were medicated but that I was happy for her to come to my house just before bedtime to see if the situation had changed, but in the meantime could I please have the referral. Catherine, I dont know the exact symptoms of dyspraxia, but it is certainly separate from dyslexia. The only thing I know is that children with it quite often have poor muscle tone. Donna, yes, its been said that up to 70% of kids that have it have either a sibling/parent or other close relative who shows the same traits. But as walla said, I dont think its been proven yet. ACE & MSB, my hats off to you for doing something so important like becoming a teacher to help the kids. And finally ... Originally posted by MSB He became a different child overnight, able to sit still for the first time ever, able to follow a conversation and join in with it, and began to think about how his behaviour may effect others and visa versa. |
Wow!Did any of your fish survive?!!:eek:
When asking Andrew why,when he has done something,we have always had the same reply "Dont Know" & no matter how much you try to simplify the question its always the same answer "Dont Know" even now although i think it is more through habit he replys the same everytime. Sometimes it is genuine these kids really dont know or cant explain what makes them do these things,its too complicated to understand let alone expect an explanation.We have been in the same room as Andrew literly watching him hack away at the kitchen table,or pick holes in the wallpaper as soon as you alert him to the fact you are watching him he replies "im not doing anything,that wasnt me"its as if he blanks out what hes doing,not even aware he is infact doing it. :eek: Aarghhh!! That frustrated feeling i think will live with me forever!:scared: |
Originally posted by madsad Thanx Teach, Its such a pleasure to actually hear from a teacher with some understanding of the condition,Andrews teachers throughout primary have either been ignorant or just dont know anything about the condition & a case of "boys will be boys" His head teacher is a joke & put her case forward as "These days ever child has a label attatched to them" & Andrew is her "Model" pupil!-Boy is she eating her words now!But wont even admit it? For me its been since day one with Andrew,something just wasnt right,(but it took my hubby to point it out to me before we got help)I feel mentally & physically exhausted with him,hes just "constantly on the go,fidgeting,talking giberish nonsense! etc..Its a little easier now hes actually sleeping more than an hour a night,no sleep makes the problems tenfold! I know Oz is going to make the world of difference to him,he will benefit so much. Thankyou very much for your understanding & i hope Andrews new school in 0z has many more like you. Donna. Thank you for your kind words, Donna. I could say I'm just doing my job but I feel very strongly about the way that some children are treated and given labels. I hate it. I think it helps that I was the original "naughty little girl", it wasn't until I was older they gave my condition a name. I was very hyperactive and had a very short attention span but was also intelligent. I don't think I would say that I had ADD or ADHD but I was certainly very close. Even today if I eat or drink anything dodgy, I'm off. I know exactly how it feels to Andrew when someone tries to make him stay still when all he wants to do is move. My solution, let them go. Send them on an errand, have a run around on the yard etc. The other children love the extra chances to get out onto the yard for a run around. I haven't been lucky enough to get into special needs teaching full time here in the UK, I have my fingers crossed for Oz. Hugs to you and Andrew. Sarah |
Hi All,
As this thread is now coming to a close,i would just like to thank everyone who took the time to reply with your kind words,your own experiences,thoughts & feelings.Its comforting to hear that we are not the only family that is going through this every day & its overwhelming when complete strangers offer such support as you guys all have :D Once again thank you all so much. Malcolm& Donna. |
Sarah,
I too, was the original hyper child, and was quite unusual in that i was given valium for the first 7 years of my life. Hyperactivity or add wasn't mentioned to my mum and I dont think it was commonly recognised as it is today. I only slept for an hour a night and did all the things that my own son with add does now. I still wake up 3/4/5/6 times a night now and have periods of very hyper and very lethargic times. Does caffiene effect you? A glass of coke at dinner time will keep me awake all night and as for coffee... Has anyone tried a wheat free diet with their kids? New research seems to rate it as it may be that a protein in wheat effects the development of kids brains prone to add/adhd. My son is 17 and there is no way he would eat wheat free, being a pizza junkie. Catherine - dyspraxia is exhibited as a very clumsy child who seems to fall over his/her own feet for no reason. Hand /eye co-ordination is poor so ball skills and other general sports are a real nightmare. In some cases speech can be effected and the child can speak with a very short and stunted speech. Physio and speech therapy helps a lot in these cases. As a teacher myself I agree with you Sarah about not trying to control the kids with add and related conditions. Sometimes my kids are sent on errands to get say, a paper clip, from each teacher if they are on a real hyper, just to give them 5 minutes to wizz around the school. I teach a mix of 'mainstream' and special needs kids here in the uk, and hope to teach special needs in perth when we go in 6 weeks. These kids are so much more interesting than others. I love the story about the fish. My son once threw a ball up onto his school roof - 3 floors. His headmaster drove up the road towards the school and saw my son boldly walking across the roof to retrieve the ball. His reason was that as he had thrown it up there it was his responsibility to get it down. No fear or recognition of danger whatsoever. Suspended for a week. Anyone else got some stories to share? Laura |
I know the focus here is ADD/ADHD but as hevs said, autism is part of the same spectrum, so... on Wednesday 30 June at 9pm on the UKTV Documentary channel there's "My Family and Autism", a repeat of a program shown on BBC2 last summer. Seven children, four with some degree of autism. "Insightful and unsentimental."
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few more stories
When I was 12 (in 1972) they sent me off to get my head read to find out if I was brain damaged from having meningitis at 8 years, or I was just a naughty little girl that constantly distracted others in class, couldnt concentrate on any subject that I didnt enjoy and loved to be the class clown. So I had some electrodes stuck on my head and they monitered my brain waves while they told me to think of different things. They told mum the area in my brain that makes you have forsight seems to be impaired. They said I shouldnt ever get my license cos I would just zip through red lights without a care in the world cos I couldnt forsee danger. Every time in my life growing up that I was a bit naughty mum would say "oh well shes got brain damage" I was put on ritilen and it made me feel so happy and in control like I just wanted to help the teacher after the bell rang etc and be a good girl. They took me off it cos they sed I got addicted to it (cant win) they then put me on stuff called Haloperiodol which I cant remeber feeling anything from. Anyway Im not brain damaged they sed I would grow out of it, I didnt know you could grow out of brain damage! I was diagnosed as being hyperkinetic which is same as hyperactive. I must admit tho I often did say things without thinking, but age has improved my tact. Im the sort of person that finds it hard to say mean things or be mean to people and I love animals (more than some people). My son Jake is alot like me so he must have inherited my......braindamage;) Older generations say "they didnt have adhd or add etc in my day" but actualy they did they just wernt understood and used to get alot of punishment for just being naughty they were even punished for being left handed and would get a whack across the back of the hand if caught writing with their left hand!
Anyway thats enough from me bye for now Catherine (still cazy after all these years):D :D ;) |
facinating thread - thankyou
I just wanted to first say thankyou to all the 1st hand experienced parents who have contributed to this thread.
As a parent I have no direct experience of these conditions, but as a training teacher aide I have been rather thrown in at the deep end, so am trying to gleen all i can from this thread. I am currently doing an open polytech teacher aide course, as part of which I do some voluntary work at my childrens school. I have recently taken on a small paid postion 3/4 of an hour 4 days a week supervising 'naughty' kids at lunch time. As you can imagine most/all of these children display ADD/ADHD symptoms in some degree or another (wether officially diagnosed or not). This is no easy task trying to watch upto 5 children with social skills issues in an open playground enviroment, you need eyes up your backside. Time out for violent outbursts is very difficult when they can't sit still! and whilst you are dealing with it one of the other kids has buggered off or is setting about another kid! I try very hard to keep myself well informed and try to have a high level of understanding. I have a couple of thoughts on the "no ADHD kids in my day" and "fish oils as a natural treatment" comments. I feel there were ADHD kids in my day, but, I have to say there seemend to be less boarder line cases. There were a few who definately were. I too watched the Robert Winston doco on brain development and feel that fish oils has a big potential role. When my mother was a child she, and all her friends were regularly dosed with cod liver oil. They also ate copious amounts of oily fish, as oily fish was the poor mans fish. When was the last time any modern day family had a weekly intake of oily fish (such as sardines, mackeral, herring, kippers, pilchards etc) I am not saying it will cure ADHD so don't jump on me! I just feel the modern diet has a lot to answer for. I feel quite strongly about diet, with just cause. I have had to become an avid label reader due to a very nasty food allergy suffered by my husband. We still do not know exactly to what he is allergic but have managed to have a good idea as to what to eliminate. He is allergic to something in 'processed foods' we think Hydrogenated veg oil is 1 culprit and maybe some preservatives. i can not buy any jar or packet sauces (eg chik 2nite, dolmio etc) no frozen ready meals like lasange or pizza, no battered or crumbed meats or fish, no margarine or spreads, and no meats with added ingredients like sausages or rissoles. If he eats any of the above stuff he is violently ill. I have to say that having read up on food allergies that people seem more accepting of a food allergy with a physical reaction but people need to think what these chemicals and modifyed foods are doing to our children. Things like the colouring Tartrazine can cause a zinc deficiency which can cause a behavioral disturbance (read this recently). SOME of these children MAY be experiencing a toxic overload. Please don't jump on me, I just think it is food for thought (pardon the pun) Paula. |
ODD
Has anyone over there heard of ODD I know someone who has two kids that are ODD which when she described the symptoms I thought it sounded like ADHD which was their 1st diagnosis. I cant remember what the O stands for now, but an example of one of her sons behaviour which I witnessed is extreme stubborness like it was his brothers turn to go on the computer and he just absolutley refused to get off and got quite angry bordering on getting violent (this was an 12yr old) nothing would work he had made up his mind. I think the dad hauled him off to the bedroom kicking and screaming then about 10 minutes later he was right as rain and came out and acted normal! weird alright I was expecting another big show down but nothing its like he felt better after being forced off istead of having to get off on his own accord. They are both on Ritilen and the mum would be a total wreck if they werent. They seem normal when have taken medication. I wish I could remember what the O stands for. Catherine:confused:
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Re: facinating thread - thankyou
Catherine ODD is Oppositional Defiant Disorder, its something thats called a co-morbid condition of ADHD (ie it usually exists along with & as well as the ADHD). Heres a short explaination
Oppositional Defiant disorder is described by DSM-IV as a pattern of negativistic, hostile and defiant behaviour lasting at least six months during which four or more of the following are present; 1. often loses temper, 2. often argues with adults, 3. often actively defies or refuses to comply with adult requests or rules, 4. often deliberately annoys people, 5. often blames others for his/her mistakes or behaviour, 6. is often touchy or easily annoyed by others, 7. is often angry or resentful, 8. is often spiteful or vindictive. The behaviour in question must occur more frequently or to a greater degree that is age or developmentally appropriate. Oppositional behaviour is typically shown by aggressive refusal to comply with teacher or parent requests. The child may become physically or verbally abusive to the adult concerned and may damage property, or risk injury to self or others. Parents and/or teachers feel that their discipline is being threatened and feel impelled to persevere in order to make the child confirm. This results in an escalation of the problem as both parties to the confrontation struggle to assert their wills. The consequence is that the interaction between adult and child becomes locked into a win-lose confrontation. Oppositional behaviour frequently occurs as a co-morbid condition with Attention Deficit Disorder, predominantly hyperactive impulsive type. While it is possible that this type of behaviour occurs as a result of other factors, it often happens that the characteristics of ADHD are implicated in the occurrence of such behaviour. Children with ADHD lose their tempers easily, and react without thought of consequences to the constraints of their environment. Because of the considerable failure and frustration which they experience in their daily activities, they are more likely to react aggressively to the constraints being imposed on them. Originally posted by Watt Dabney I have recently taken on a small paid postion 3/4 of an hour 4 days a week supervising 'naughty' kids at lunch time. As you can imagine most/all of these children display ADD/ADHD symptoms in some degree or another (wether officially diagnosed or not). This is no easy task trying to watch upto 5 children with social skills issues in an open playground enviroment, you need eyes up your backside. Time out for violent outbursts is very difficult when they can't sit still! and whilst you are dealing with it one of the other kids has buggered off or is setting about another kid! BTW, I dont think anyone will "jump" on you in regards to the food/fishoil topic, I think some kids are definately affected adversely by additives & colourings etc. I think the problem that most of us find is that it sometimes takes many months to get a positive reaction or improvment from a diet change & if you dont know the actual cause of it, you may be back at square one every 3 months while trying to eliminate the hundreds of things you find in everyday foods. Also much easier in very young children, in older kids its so much harder as you dont have total control over their food intake - it only takes one handful of crisps at lunchtime or one slice of a kids birthday cake brought to school to share to put months of work down the drain. And you might not even know unless your child tells you everything thats passed his lips, which makes it doubly hard. Probably the last consideration is the time & dedication it takes to eliminate absolutely everything from a families diet - most of us have a hectic & stressfull enough life as it is, without adding more ;) . I tried fishoil, it didnt seem to help my kids in anyway unfortunately - I just wish that they would do more independant testing trials & research into the supposed new remedies that come out so that if it works you can see the proof, but they never seem to do it. MSB, you want more stories - how long do you have to read this thread? ;) |
bang on
Thanks for that definition on ODD that sounds like you were writing a description of him, although it sounds all bad he has been known to be affectionate and happy also mind you that was probably after his medication:rolleyes: :) I could also give you lots of stories, its my favourite thread at the mo, makes a change from sunny Oztraylia doesnt it.;) :) Catherine
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Originally posted by MSB Sarah, I too, was the original hyper child, and was quite unusual in that i was given valium for the first 7 years of my life. Hyperactivity or add wasn't mentioned to my mum and I dont think it was commonly recognised as it is today. I only slept for an hour a night and did all the things that my own son with add does now. I still wake up 3/4/5/6 times a night now and have periods of very hyper and very lethargic times. Does caffiene effect you? A glass of coke at dinner time will keep me awake all night and as for coffee... Has anyone tried a wheat free diet with their kids? New research seems to rate it as it may be that a protein in wheat effects the development of kids brains prone to add/adhd. My son is 17 and there is no way he would eat wheat free, being a pizza junkie. Catherine - dyspraxia is exhibited as a very clumsy child who seems to fall over his/her own feet for no reason. Hand /eye co-ordination is poor so ball skills and other general sports are a real nightmare. In some cases speech can be effected and the child can speak with a very short and stunted speech. Physio and speech therapy helps a lot in these cases. As a teacher myself I agree with you Sarah about not trying to control the kids with add and related conditions. Sometimes my kids are sent on errands to get say, a paper clip, from each teacher if they are on a real hyper, just to give them 5 minutes to wizz around the school. I teach a mix of 'mainstream' and special needs kids here in the uk, and hope to teach special needs in perth when we go in 6 weeks. These kids are so much more interesting than others. I love the story about the fish. My son once threw a ball up onto his school roof - 3 floors. His headmaster drove up the road towards the school and saw my son boldly walking across the roof to retrieve the ball. His reason was that as he had thrown it up there it was his responsibility to get it down. No fear or recognition of danger whatsoever. Suspended for a week. Anyone else got some stories to share? Laura Hi MSB, You sound just like me, lol! I don't sleep well either. Coke, chocolate and caffeine are big no no's for me. If I accidently get a normal cup of coffee at school even the kids notice. I'm not so bad on tea but a coke and a choccy together, make way I'm coming through, lol. I get so hyper, when I start to come down, I feel incredibly sick. Like you I feel children with SEN are so much more interesting and that is the field I want to go into. It's so nice to hear another teacher who sends children on errands. When I first went to my school I was the youngest and newly qualified, my methods were frowned upon a little. As far as I'm concerned it works so I'm going to do it. I will try anything to give these children a normal life. They deserve it as they have enough hard times to deal with anyway without someone constantly at them to sit still and behave. Better get ready for school now, hope you have/had a good day. Sarah |
Re: few more stories
Originally posted by glhall they then put me on stuff called Haloperiodol which I cant remeber feeling anything from. Mark, pure coincidence, I got the latest newsletter from the ADD association in Qld today, in it is this little snippet. Not sure where I read it the first time, but it seems my memory isnt too bad ;) ADHD was first described by Dr George Still in the medical literature "The Lancet" in 1902. Another thing, Michael in particular has some strange episodes where he tells us to be quiet because we are giving him a headache by talking too much, he gets very agitated about it & tells us to stop talking etc etc, problem is that we havent actually spoken :scared: . |
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