My son suffers from symptoms of ADHD Post Reply

[Vladimir1986]

Hello, everyone! 
My son (age 7) suffers from symptoms of ADHD. I have been thinking for a long time about how to help him, reading a lot of articles and studying the literature. 
My son is experiencing these symptoms:
1. Inability to focus on details, inattention errors
2. Inability to hold attention for long periods of time
3. often gives the impression of not listening to addressed speech
4. Inability to follow instructions, algorithms, e.g., task conditions
5. Resistance to involvement in tasks, avoidance or active resistance
6. Frequent loss of things, especially those necessary for performing tasks
7. Mild distraction to extraneous stimuli or thoughts ("hovering" in one's thoughts)
8. Everyday forgetfulness (errands, household chores, being late)
No existing medication cures the symptoms of ADHD. So my question is as follows. What (proven) treatments do you know for ADHD?

[AnasteishaBuckovsky]

 

First understand that ADHD doesn't have a cure and though it's the most well understood of the spectrum disorders but it's still not understood enough to even start looking into a cure.

That said, you can start learning coping skills and looking into medication options. Both are valid techniques on their own but are most effective together.

• Coping skills are really helpful but on their own you will likely spend more time trying to use the skills and not getting anything done
  
• Medication on its own is needed in too high a dose and the side effects become too wicked
  
• There aren't many choices among safe medicines and they won't work in individual cases. For example cbd provides relief in many cases. Children are usually given cbd gummies, but only under a doctor's supervision! But in some cases it will not help. 
  

You also need to learn to advocate for the support you need, inattentive type tends to slip through the cracks because we aren't really disruptive.

**Of course your milage may vary, but this advice is what tends to me most effective for the vast majority of ADHDers

[Drazzy]

My son is 5 and I’m worried about the same thing. We’ve had several meetings with his teachers about the challenges and we find that a star reward chart for listening and following instructions- with a toy reward after a certain number of stars - can often help. I also got a referral from the dr for a paediatrician to assess him. At the moment it’s a 6 month wait so I suggest getting a referral ASAP.

[curly]

Firstly go to your GP and get him referred to CAMHS. There is a waiting list so do this ASAP. Also ask the doc for a referral to an paediatrician in the ADHD clinic.

In the short term, reassure him that it is ok and keep him from situations that overwhelm him. Explaining to him that everyone’s brain works differently will help not feel weird in himself.

The ADHD medication will change yours and your child’s world! It literally changed my sons life overnight and gave him back his self esteem and confidence.

All the drug does it enhance the messages from one neuron to another so they don’t get overwhelmed. It is the best thing I ever did for my son.

Happy to talk privately if you would prefer.

[snowyhunter]

My son was diagnosed just before his 6th birthday, he is now 14.  We got an enormous amount of help from ADDISS an ADHD charity: http://www.addiss.co.uk.  We went down the medication route and my son is just about to go into his GCSE year at an accademically demanding secondary school. 

It is not an easy ride and can feel very scary but knowing what you are dealing with is the first step.  If is ADHD then acceptance the second and then I can only echo what a previous poster said - you need to be his advocate.  It is nothing to hide and the more people who know the better, there has been a lot of stigma attached to ADHD (although less so these days as it is talked about quite openly now), and therefore a lot of mi-understanding / ignorance.  I was advised by his Peadiatrician to tell everyone, which I did - not to make excuses for his behaviour but to explain why he sometimes acted differently to others in the same situation.

Good luck and if you want to talk about medication, please do PM me.  It might not be for everyone but for my son it has been life changing. 

[gkc]

My teenage daughter was diagnosed with ADHD a couple of years ago. I’ve been very impressed by an organisation called ADHD 360 who specialise in diagnosing and treating people of all ages and providing support for them and their families. As with many other options (including ones you pay for like this) the waiting list for an initial consultation is quite long, so worth contacting them ASAP. I discovered them via another organisation recommended by an Educational Psychologist - Connections in Mind. They offer specialist tutoring for people with Executive Function challenges (a key part of ADHD and other conditions). They also have lots of good information on their website and do excellent free webinars etc. Good luck!

[HightreesHouse]

My understanding of this area is only amateur however I would avoid self diagnosis and when he is old enough ( aged 8 ?) I would get a good educational psychologists report. Some  characteristics you identify might for example be poor working memory or processing issues. He may have a learning profile which is not suited to his present environment. 


 

[Fluff27]

Hi there,

There are some really interesting posts on this topic.

Hoping for some help from the NVN community........

My 8 year old boy has just been diagnosed with ADHD, after a series of investigations, an EP report and, finally a paediatric consultation. 

He has always been behind academically, and I wasn't too bothered when he was first at school as he was a Summer baby, very happy, and I thought he would just mature and catch up.  However, the home learning/lockdown in Year 2 really brought everything to a head.  The gap has continued to widen as it becomes  clear he has a multitude of areas of difficulty.  He can only read very basic books, and his writing is still very illegible.  Real concentration issues.  Unable to follow the class and keep pace.  Everything always seems one step forward and 2 steps back.  The EP highlighted that he has poor working memory and executive functioning skills.

Struggles to learn basic activities like riding a bike, game rules and swimming.  Understandably,  this has all had an impact on his self esteem and confidence as he's aware of the difference between him and his peers. The last year at school has been really tough.  

Does this sound familiar to anyone? And I hear some of you advocating medication.  I am open minded, but would like more information/advice.

Thanks for reading x
 

[parentpractice]

Hello Valdimir

Firstly if your son does have ADHD, then huge congratulations. It means he has a Ferrari type brain, but perhaps with bicycle brakes at the moment. The first step is understanding what his needs are and how his brain works and with new found knowledge, comes power. I coach many parents of ADHD children and once you accept the brain is wired differently and it sounds as if he has the inattentive type, you start to understand his struggle to focus in the classroom. It then becomes clearer that he may not BE BEING a problem but HAVING A PROBLEM.

The main issue is if parents and teachers don't understand children's needs, children can often quickly be labelled as unfocussed, not trying hard enough and distractible, and this impacts hugely on the way they view themselves and self esteem can quickly suffer.

If I detect signs of ADHD in my parent coaching, I gently suggest a referral to an experienced educational psychologists who should be able to confirm the signs of ADHD, but be aware they are unable to diagnose. If you do go down this  as a first step, do be clear with the EP that this is what you suspect, as often they can make inferences in the report that are just unclear and lead to further confusion and lack of clarity. A good EP report helps you understand a child's cognitive profile and the results will indicate clearly if there is an executive functioning issue. After that if you want to confirm a diagnosis you'll need to see a psychiatrist and you can get a referral from your GP to be assessed at the ADHD clinic within CAMHS.

In terms of managing the symptoms, usually a combination of meds and lifestyle changes can help hugely. Every client I have coached has NEVER chosen meds as a first option, but 90% eventually go down that route and wish they had done it sooner.

My experience suggests that the meds can be tricky to get right and I now suggest to clients that they investigate doing a genetic testing kit Genomind | Welcome to Smarter Mental Health, which is something not many psychiatrists are aware of, but can be very revealing as to why some meds are not suited to some folk.

I have huge experience bringing up a child differently wired and what I do know is that the old stigma of being neuro diverse is changing hugely, but we do need more understanding and more awareness of ADHD which is a neurological condition, but which can cause huge issues within education if not understood.

You may be interested in my book  -My Child's Different and if you are looking for some hope and optimism, you guaranteed to find it there.

Good luck and hopefully in time you can celebrate all the wonderful  qualities your son will have and unlock his potential

Elaine @ The Parent Practice 
 

[JosephHarris1994]

I had a difficult child who was subsequently diagnosed with adhd, high functioning autism, and sensory integration issues. "Some kids just need more parenting," a great specialist once told me. This one will require a lot of work." Get help for yourself—counselling is great—and make time for your other children, but keep that unconditional love front and center because your son needs you more than anyone else.

My challenging kid is doing great now, and parenting is a lot simpler. My route may have been more difficult than others', but I adore my children.