Originally Posted by triumphguy

I've worked with lots of kids with ADHD. I taught a class for many years where, on average, half had the condition.

There's a couple of issues you are bringing up.

Your child's assessment, and support for you and your child.

First:

You have to be careful who is assessing your child - it takes a medical diagnosis. And sometimes schools and other institutions tend to medicalize behaviours.

The fact that concerta seems to be helping with his impulse control is a good thing.

If you don't have a medical diagnosis, however, then you cannot for certain write on your app. that your child has ADHD. And a doctor can't just chat with you, the parent, and then proscribe a pill, there's diagnostic tools that they use, over here at least, before they can declare someone with ADHD.

Now, I'm not saying that your child does not have that condition: I'm coming from a "what do I have to declare on my app?" point of view.

Second:

You will find lots of support when you arrive here, once your child is assessed.

Now don't go all "hyper" on the school , they have to start with a baseline behaviour and move through the process. Work with 'em, not agin' em!

There's also parents' groups available. In fact, you could look them up on the web and connect right now, just to get things in place for your support.

Originally Posted by seaham gal

Reading your post made me feel very sad that you have had to cope with this for so long - but I can understand why, what with the mixed understanding of the 'condition' and the many approaches to it - including the explosion of putting kids on drugs automatically for the past few years.

Thank you Seaham gal, thanks for your empathy.....and you're quite right......I didn't want the label of using ADHD as an excuse for poor parenting and didn't want a zombified son!

I have only resorted to such an assessment because my son was arrested twice within a month and both times were because he lost his rag with something or someone. I wanted to curb the slide.

Also he was just about to start the PRU, his last chance at education, and I wanted something to be different from all the other times that he started in a new school, schools he started where nothing had changed, he was just shifted to a different school without the problems being addressed.

I think that by taking this medication he is able to focus better, though there are still major issues to work through and hopefully he will manage to stay in school until July, when he would leave anyway, and intends to go on to college. Â Â

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I'd love to know the name of the book and see if it helps....mind you, I have read/own/dipped into about 8-10 parenting books about subjects such as 'How to talk so kids will listen/listen so kids will talk, Raising boys, Siblings without rivalry, Whatever- the guide to raising teenagers, Living with a teenager, Liberated parents-liberated children, Children - The Challenge, and the Parenting Network book that came with the course we did called Parenting Matters.

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Originally Posted by Robin (The Gadget family)

I would like to add that at times my son is loving and considerate, and we can have a lot of laughs & fun together......but that's not why I am writing this thread!

Originally Posted by Jsmth321

During my younger years I am sure they didn't have an official name as I was a kid and not really aware of what was going on, it wasn't til I became an adult that I knew/realized why I was always going to the doctor and taking pills.I remember spending more time in school with the psychologist then actually learning anything (wonder why my grades were so low, probably from that.) or at the doctor having so sort of test done.The only one I can remember clearly from a kid was and I probably dont remember it all since I was young, but I would have things attached to my head and would just be left in a room in a bed, no clue if I was sleeping or drugged up, but I did that several times.My son had to do a couple of tests on the computer, we went through all his school reports, detention letters, internal/external exclusion letters and ed psych report......but no things attached to his head in a room in a bed though. He has got the NHS assessment coming up on 30th so we'll see how differently they assess him!It wasn't til high school that I actually got to start attending class and talking to psychologists less. At the time (maybe now too.) the schools had licensed psychologists as part of the staff in addition to the school RN.Sometimes I wonder had I not had meningitis would I have had less issues later in life. I was only 4-5 days old when I was diagnosed with meningitis and spent over a month in the ICU fighting it. At one point the doctors told my parents to prepare for arrangements, but somehow I survived it, but I do wonder the damage it may have caused since I was so young when it happened..

Originally Posted by lancashirebird

This is how we have found it, my story about the AD part of ADHD

My eldest struggled for so long in the uk, she was way behind with her school work and many a week i would be there asking if there was anything i could do for her, felt like i was making stuff up at points, but i had a friend with a child who had ADHD and knew that she went through hell to get him some help.

When we moved over here, i spoke with her teacher and on her first school report he said that he was concerned with how she was learning, could he get her tested and see if they could help her
yes finally someone who thinks like me, she does have a problem with learning.

So after afew days they brought someone in and got her checked, they have a sheet that they work on and she was placed on mild AD list, they advised that if i wanted her checking for the HD factor that we needed to see our doctor, but they thought she didnt have this and was only concerned for her AD factor as she is a bright child, just lacks on how she learns.

Within a couple of days they had given her a spell checker, they had given her a IPP (which is a learning program for the child) and she has gone from really under grade to meeting her grade now.
There will be things put in place as the years go by and even though she has AD she is not labelled, as they totally have a different look on things here.
I am soooooooooooooooo happy with her teacher and within the 6mths of us being here he has managed to build so much for her, she has even made the school basketball, stands infront of class and reads, answers questions and is not the shy, none talking kid that we brought from the uk

Good luck, if he hasn't been given the medical note from the uk, i would wait until you got here, that way he can go through the process here, they really do not label them, well not in our area

LB

Originally Posted by burton bunch

Hi Robin

Another bit of Cr4p for you to deal with eh

I have also had dealings with ADHD - my best friend in the UK and her daughter. Be very glad that this has been diagnosed now as opposed to in the early 90's when it was just pushed to the side in the UK although it was widely accepted as a condition in the States.

My friends daughter went through hell - before she was 6 she had been expelled or rather asked to leave 3 schools as the behaviour aspect of this condition was just too severe for the teachers in the schools to actually deal with. They classed her as a problem child For years and I mean probably 8 years my friend battled her way through different specialists etc and finally at the age of 14 the daughter was prescribed the ADHD medication - which she is still taking to this day at 25 years old.

At 25 years old this young lady is the most beautiful girl to look at but due to her uncontrolable behaviour caused by the ADHD she is unable to live at home with her parents, cannot live independently and has to live in assisted living. She has no concept of any danger in life, doesnt understand relationships, and could be labeled as being mentally retared.

The most terrible thing about this story is that now with doctors and specialists widely accepting this condition my friend has been told that had the doctors known and accepted this condition earlier in the UK and the daughter been put on the medication as soon as something was found out to not quite right then the likelihood of the daughter having a more normal life is highly probable.

If you are worried about the med part of your PR it would boil down to whether your son would place "excessive demands" on the Canadian health system. As most ADHD cases are successfully treated with medication I would think that it would be looked on in the same respect as diabetes - medication only.

I also wholely agree with the poster who said about having it properly diagnosed - some people are only too quick to give things "labels" especially if it allows them to gain more public funds for the school for more Special Need teachers.

Suppose I am just reaffirming what everyone says - make sure that the proper diagnostic tests are done and he has been diagnosed by a specialist so that he is taking the correct medication and getting the right help.

Having met the young chap I think he is a great youngman.