Looking for opinions re: ADD/ADHD diagnosis for my 11 year old son. Please.

Nice kid. Great kid. ZERO behavioral problems.

Straight A's in Science, Social Studies. Straight F's in Math and Reading.

Has been in Title One Reading program and Reading Recovery since 1st grade.

Every teacher he has ever had says exactly the same thing.."He has these 'holes' in his learning."

Was given a Special Education evaluation 2 years ago and despite being diagnosed with a visual processing disorder, failed to meet the criteria for and IEP or a Section 504 plan.

Has private tutor twice a week, has afterschool Math and Reading classes twice a week. Summerschool all summer, every summer to try and keep his head above water.

Falling through the cracks and continuing to get worse.

The school refuses to work with us on a 504 plan saying they need a medical diagnosis.

Met with his pediatrician (A great guy and a Liberal Democrat activist in our community. You should have heard him rant about No Child Left Behind!) and he evaluated my son and said he does NOT have ADD/ADHD. We already knew that. Pediatrician started negotiating with the school to get him a 504. School will not budge.

Pediatrician phoned me this morning and said "We need to play their game. I am going to diagnose your son with ADD/ADHD. That will force the school to get him the help he needs."

So, basically, I have to slap a false label on my child in order to get him the help he needs.

Looking for some input from anyone who has experienced this. Force labeling in order to get an appropriate education for my kid.

My son has ADD, is now 26 years old, so I come at this from the perspective of a parent and a teacher.

Schools these days are all one-note: learning problems=ADD/ADHD.

Question: If the doctor diagnoses him as ADD/ADHD to shut the school up, does that mean your child will have to take medication? Will the school expect and check for that?

Besides, altering a child's education method to work with ADD/ADHD is not the same as altering a child's education method to work with his or her REAL problem, whatever that may be.

I say ask more questions and take your issue to the district or school board. Labeling all "problem learners" as ADD is beyond the pale.

On edit: Sorry--just caught the diagnosis of visual processing disorder, so disregard the questions I just deleted.

So, if I slap that false label on him, how does that help?

I don't think the school can force me to medicate my son. Especially since they themselves admit he has no hyperactivity.

Educate these idiots. And your doctor should back you up with some official notes of his own. Doesn't seem like any of this even remotely relates to ADD (from the first link I clicked on in the Google for visual processing disorders).

http://www.ldonline.org/article/6390

Interventions

First, a few words about interventions in general. Interventions need to be aimed at the specific needs of the child. No two children share the same set of strengths or areas of weaknesses. An effective intervention is one that utilizes a child's strengths in order to build on the specific areas in need of development. As such, interventions need to be viewed as a dynamic and ever changing process. Although this may sound overwhelming initially, it is important to remember that the process of finding successful interventions becomes easier with time and as the child's learning approach, style, and abilities become more easily seen. The following examples provide some ideas regarding a specific disability. It is only a beginning which is meant to encourage further thinking and development of specific interventions and intervention strategies.

The following represent a number of common interventions and accommodations used with children in their regular classroom:

* For readings

Enlarged print for books, papers, worksheets or other materials which the child is expected to use can often make tasks much more manageable. Some books and other materials are commercially available; other materials will need to be enlarged using a photocopier or computer, when possible.

There are a number of ways to help a child keep focused and not become overwhelmed when using painted information. For many children, a "window" made from cutting a rectangle in an index card helps keep the relevant numbers, words, sentences, etc. in clear focus while blocking out much of the peripheral material which can become distracting. As the child's tracking improves, the prompt can be reduced. For example, after a period of time, one might replace the "window" with a ruler or other straightedge, thus increasing the task demands while still providing additional structure. This can then be reduced to, perhaps, having the child point to the word s/he is reading with only a finger.

* For writing

Adding more structure to the paper a child is using can often help him/her use the paper more effectively. This can be done in a number of ways. For example, lines can be made darker and more distinct. Paper with raised lines to provide kinesthetic feedback is available. Worksheets can be simplified in their structure and the amount of material which is contained per worksheet can be controlled. Using paper which is divided into large and distinct sections can often help with math problems.
* Teaching Style

Being aware and monitoring progress of the child's skills and abilities will help dictate what accommodations in classroom structure and/or materials are appropriate and feasible. In addition, the teacher can help by ensuring the child is never relying solely on an area of weakness, unless that is the specific purpose of the activity. For example, if the teacher is referring to writing on a chalkboard or chart paper, s/he can read aloud what is being read or written, providing an additional means for obtaining the information.

not medicating him will not preclude him from receiving the services he needs.

My son was diagnosed with ADD without hyperactivity. Even though all his teachers agreed he wasn't hyperactive, the special ed director still tried to force me to put him on Ritalin (a drug to control hyperactivity) and stick him in with the slow learners. :grr: My son wasn't a slow learner, he had no problem with any of the concepts, when tested orally he always excelled, there was just a loose wire between his brain and his pencil. I finally had to go to the Superintendent with his school and medical records to keep him in mainline classes and off of Ritalin. Now he's a high school teacher, and a good one at that.

lots of kids that are dyslexic are being diagnosed with ADD... same is true for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (which I guess ADD could be a symptom of), Asperger's, and a whole bunch of other disorders and syndromes.

When my niece was young, her school tried to label her ADD. She was nothing of the sort--instead, she was bright, intuitive, a quick learner, etc., but she was very high spirited and a bit scatterbrained--and got bored easily. Does that constitute ADD and require medication? No, it required better study skills and an outlet for her energy instead of sitting in a chair for seven hours. Luckily my brother is an attorney--all he had to do was give the school the evil eye, and they backed down quick enough. But so many families don't have that added leverage. :evilgrin:

Come to think of it, I was bored easily in school as well. The only criticism I got was on my report card--that I was a "daydreamer". Bet if that were now, I'd have been labeled ADD too.

pass this along to her to see what she thinks. Her Mom is a retired principal; I'll get her opinion, too!

I'm sorry you are going through this crap.

Auditory Processing disorder? My son has it and with it has a 504, IEP and I have a education guardian for him. PHD, works for the Fed and shows up every time we have a problem at school. If you son has that, then that would explain alot. My son goes to resource once a day, has speech therapy three times a week and stays in all his regular classes the rest of the time. It's working well for him.

But the school says that is not enough.

Have the school systems audiologist give him take the test. If they can give my son an IEP and 504 just based on his this assessment then why can't they give yours the same for a visual processing disorder? Me thinks, the school doesn't want to be responsible for any special services. My sons vision by the way is 20/40 but his left eye is 20/200. Basically blind in his left eye.
Heres a link why they both my be involved

http://www.ldonline.org/article/6390

Here in Mass (at least in our school district), something like 20% of kids have IEPs - I don't think a particular diagnosis is needed from a doctor, the school will put something non-specific if needed.

That being said...

Is there any chance that he actually has ADHD? I had ADHD as a child, and it caused me to have the same imbalance in school success that your son seems to have. I would have been much, much better off in many ways had I been diagnosed and treated with stimulants (ritalin, etc). Stimulants are not without problems, but the problems aren't as bad as the hype indicates. Basically, the small risk of trouble from these drugs has to be weighed against the problems of ADHD kids who are not treated - increased drug abuse, depression, social issues, etc - all of which became problems for me.

Not all ADHD kids have behavior problems - some are primarily inattentive, often only in certain situations (they can be hyper-attentive in others).

Good luck!

he's diagnosed ADHD (on meds), and he's straight F's now, when he used to be B's and C's. I know what you mean about watching him fall through the cracks--my son isn't going to pass this year, unless we can get him back into special ed. It takes such a toll on his self-esteem to fail, and he is so overwhelmed in keeping up with his work, and lately he's been acting out in class, trying to be the clown. I am at wits' end myself. Good luck, and if you have to "play the game" to get him some help, do it.

moving to the middle school (special ed program) from the elementary (sep)
was very hard on my son .. took him til november to adjust to the new program.

I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to go mainstream w/o
an IEP support network ...

:hug: :cry: :hug:

and passing math, that they thought he could go it alone and adapt without too much of a hit to his grades, and we agreed--oops, wrong! We've given it half a year, and it's been a total failure. He really, really needs that one-on-one attention and someone to keep him focused. I've almost considered home-schooling him, because he just gets too distracted and bored and lost in a classroom setting with 15 other kids, but I am not a teacher. We are going to meet with the school to see what we can do to get him some more help.

YOU, the parent have to agree to that. Federal law. If you refuse to sign the new IEP because you don't agree with it, the OLD one remains in place.

I would recommend you get an advocate and post haste. Hell, I wish you lived near me, I'd rip that school to pieces.

doing very well with minimal intervention. Boy, were we wrong! We're going to talk with the school and see if they can place him back into the program, but he doesn't want to go to the "special trailer" anymore--it's a VERY BIG social stigma to him as a 12-year-old, compared to when he was 9 or 10, so he is resisting, but we've got to do something.

Or a full time aide? I don't know the laws in your state, but knowing what I know about school special education programs and the CYA aspects of all of them, I think you should get an advocate. Someone who knows the laws backwards and forwards and can get your child the help he needs and deserves.

Good luck.

I'm not sure if we have that many other options available. We'll see!

My son was "diagnosed" w/ ADHD at 7 years old ..

Turns out that he is more likely bipolar . He is 11 now
and has been through the gambit , doctors , hospitalization
medications ... It is still virtually impossible to get a bipolar
diagnoses for him even though we have charted his moods for
4 months w/o medicine . He keeps his ADHD diagnoses on the school
paperwork and gets the accommodations he needs to achieve his
fullest potential .

:crazy:

My only advice as a parent is : You are the best advocate for your
child . Do what you have to , get what he needs ...Labels smabels...
Eventually you will find the proper diagnoses regardless of what
he is labeled . Go with your gut ... I've had to yank my kid off
concerta when he started hearing voices etc.. a side effect of the
meds ...Only you know what is best for your kid .


I wish your son the best .

pulling out his eyelashes because his eyes felt "weird". We had to take him off of it. He's on Strattera now, and I'm not sure it's doing much good. I feel bad for filling him with pharmaceuticals, but I can't sit next to him in school all day, keeping him on task.

strange.

He's on a patch now and can take it off at night. Working well for him.

we switch meds in a month if my son's attention and impulse control doesn't improve (recently upped his Strattera dose, we'll see how that goes), so I'd like to know which meds work for other kids. My son also lost weight on Concerta--he's downright puny as it is, in the tenth percentile for growth, and we couldn't afford for him to be on that kind of stimulant for very long, even though it seemed to work.

jiving the system if you have to--you'll get all sorts of help and understanding with a "legitimate" diagnosis, trust me, if your doctor is willing to do it--it's not like he has to go on meds or anything, and it's just a label that hopefully won't come up outside of school purposes.

She doesn't eat enough to starve a mouse, except in the summer, when she takes her meds every other day, and she eats on the off days. She looks like a starving kid on one of those commercials for adopting a child from the third world.

There's really nothing wrong with her except that she's not real great at math and has an enthusiastic personality- not annoyingly so, just very eager and active, pretty normal for a girl her age. But her mom popped out a few more babies just as she hit her troublesome tweens, and all the sudden she needed to be medicated. :eyes:

It's very sad. As a society we really need to work on adapting to children and not medicating them into adapting to us.

:hug:

He currently takes 3 meds :(

Stratera(wellbutrin for kids)
Depakote (Mood med)
he just started Geodon (mood med)(seems to be working better than the Risperdal)
took him off the Risperdal (mood med)(too much wieght gain and ticks)

I hate that he needs the meds , but he would be hospitalized w/o
them .

school, always had friends, always made good grades--effortless, like my other son and most of my sons' peers--and so it's heartbreaking to see a kid struggle daily with ordinary life by comparison. :hug:

I'm one of those that hear the drip drip of a faucet
and get very distracted . I didn't receive any help for it
just did the best I could Cs and Bs .

My husband was a discipline problem in school and got in
trouble for "horse play" quite often . He didn't have
a support network at home ,got himself up and to school
everyday 'cause he knew his mom would "kick his ass".

We both could have benefited from adapted teaching
strategies I think.

We didn't struggle like our son though .. I wish I could
protect him forever , but He must learn his own coping
skills that will see him through those times when I'm not
there .

own coping mechanisms--he has embraced his ADHD diagnosis as an excuse for his lack of acheivement, and tends to have very low expectations for himself. You learned how to cope, even if your grades weren't stellar, and so did your husband, without drugs and intervention. I guess I'll never know what would have happened if I had simply let him fail in those early grades, until he figured out his own methods without meds and special ed.

what I tell my son is ... "when you are 16 and have your driver's permit
a police officer will give you a ticket for speeding even if you have
ADHD" ADHD is not an excuse it is a challenge . I also like to refer
to Thom Hartman's Edison's gene .

I let my son try it w/o meds and he ended up 5150 in second grade .

He still refers to the Hospital as the "H word"

I wouldn't wish that on any one .

And to the OP, I wish you and your son the best. You sound like you're really on top of things. I was lucky in that my school has never fought with us. I can only imagine the additional stress of dealing with that. I hope your son's school comes around soon.

I have a similar kid. Well-behaved, awfully bright, loves science, but suddenly, in first grade they told me he was in danger of failing because he couldn't read and his math sucked. I let them take him to their pull-out program twice a week and guess what? No improvement at all. I found out that the special program was exactly like the regular classroom program, only with candy motivators. (!!)

So we started getting up an hour early every single day and **I** taught him to read. I realized that I'm the only person who knows exactly how his goofy little mind works, and the person who cares most passionately that he does learn.

Professionals don't always know better. It's possible that getting your son a 504 will be the key that unlocks the problem, but I wonder. I've come to believe that there are no Secrets of Imparting Information that are passed out with the teaching degrees (and I'm speaking as a former teacher, too).

He's obviously not absorbing enough from all the private tutoring -- fire their asses, and don't send him to summer school. Get a book on visual processing disorders and teach him yourself.

4 other kids.

There is only so much we can do without help. And the guilt is tremendous.

excellent book. my oldest kindergarten teacher gave me this book to read because we found him so different in class. reading and math was never hard for the child, sequential thinking was/is murder on the child. i too had to work with this kid at home for a lot of years. now he is in 7th grade and is able to recognize most of his issues and has learned tools, or at least responsibility to deal with these issues. he isnt going to change. he can only embrace this who he is and work with it. i am a believer that because he is this, it is also why he is the amazing that he is.

my youngest has totally different issues that i, doctors and teachers are left stumped.

it is not only and issue of the parent taking the time, though i am a firm believer in what you state in your post too.

If I were in your shoes, I would take him to the nearest Children's Hospital or Child Psychiatrist for a diagnosis. Reason being. Regardless of the label the Pediatrician has slapped on him, and that is very kind of him to try to help you, it won't help your child. Unless there is an actual diagnosis, the protocol could actually be harmful.

For example: A child with Down Syndrome shouldn't be in a classroom with a child with autism. IMHO. Children with Down Syndrome love stimulation, sounds, colors. Autistic kids, rarely so.

My point is unless there is an actual, accurate diagnosis, it could prevent your son from academic success.

Has the doctor ruled out sensory integration disorder? SID can be misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD, but the treatment plan is vastly different.

PM me if you want to talk further. I would be happy to help.

I think we definitely need an outside evaluation.

As you said, misdiagnosing him could just make the situation worse.

I understand that oftentimes, there may be a family link to ADD.

So, we have nothing to go on as far as medical and family history.

Because when I was diagnosing kids with learning issues, that was one of the biggest factors in my perservance. If mom 'had a feeling something isn't right', she almost always was. right, I mean.

And that's all. He can watch a Discovery Channel documentary about Albert Einstein and recite it back to me with astonishing recall of facts. And he retains those facts.

If he were to read the same facts in a book...he has no retention.

And I insisted the school accomodate that. He now receives copies of notes as well as copies of all powerpoints the teachers use. (It's a new school and they are all about the powerpoints :eyes:)

Do you sometimes feel like your son's brain resembles a piece of swiss cheese? He's really great in some things, and clueless in others? He's advanced in some areas, and does extremely poorly in other areas? In some areas he's very mature, and in other areas he's very immature?

On the other hand, did he do well in kindergarten, and maybe even first and second grade, and then start to slip farther and farther behind?

The reason I ask is because alcohol related neurological disorders can be very difficult to diagnose. They run the gamut - problems like severe retardation, and yet some kids have above average IQ's. Severe behavior problems in some kids, and no (abnormal) behavior problems in others. Some kids have physical features, and some kids have none. And in fact, most kids with ARND do have normal IQs. They can still have great difficulty in school, however. Unless you know with certainty that his birth mother did NOT drink, you might want to investigate that possibility. Kids with ARND frequently have auditory processing disorders.

Anyway, the main thing to remember is that no two kids with ARND look alike. They all have different strengths and weaknesses, and because many are so "normal" they don't get help for the few issues that they do have.

We were able to meet his beautiful birth mother and she denied any alcohol or drugs.

All we can do is take her word for it. But I will definitely do some investigating of ARND.

Thank you.

I don't know what your adoption situation is (foreign, private, agency, open, closed, etc), but if it is an agency or adoption facilitator, you can request them to contact the birth parents for an updated medical history.

have lost her. Very sad for us and my son, but according to our agency, about 50% of birthmothers move away and do not want to be found. The fact that she is undocumented probably has alot to do with it as well.

We know nothing about the birthfather except his first name.

It's true that most birthmothers pull away even from open adoptions at some point, but most of the time, not permanently. It is just that they have to process their grief, and each person does that in a different way and in a different time in the adoption cycle. The 'birthmothers do not want to be found' is a huge myth perpetuated by the adoption industry.

If you had a semi-open or open adoption, it might be very easy to find her with an adoption searcher. you can find volunteers who do this in every state. You can get more information about them at http://adoption.about.com/cs/sear2/a/becomangel.htm .

Buy him dremel kit and let him build birdhouses or a paintball gun and let run around and yell and shot targets. Let him be a kid.

Not even to get an IEP. First off, the IEP for your child will be designed around that diagnosis, rather than what he truly needs. Secondly, you could be forced into medicating your child. Third, it is a label, and a negative one at that, that will hang around your kid's neck throughout his education career and beyond.

Rather, take your child to a specialist and get the correct diagnosis. It could be a psychological problem, it could be a physiological one, but it you don't get the correct one, your kid will continue to suffer.

Finally, if this false diagnosis that your pediatrician is cooking up falls through, it will justifiably piss off the school authorities, be harmful to your child, and put roadblocks in your child's way to get the proper help that he needs, not to mention opening both you and your doctor up to legal liability.

I know that this is long and frustrating process, but you absolutely must get the proper diagnosis for your child rather than simply pulling something out of thin air and hoping it works. Such actions are counterproductive and irresponsible.

I would suggest that you search for a top notch child psychiatrist. Your pediatrician can probably give you a good reference. If you have a college or university nearby with a good education program, I would contact their Education Psychology prof and perhaps that person can help. You also might contact the National Association of School Psychologists and see if they can be of service to you.

But whatever you do, don't try to get an IEP using a false diagnosis. It will only make matters worse, not better. Good luck.

for an outside evaluation.

I know how frustrating this all is, but it is better to take the time and money and get the correct diagnosis rather than winging it with a false one. Hell, it could be as something as simple as some sort of chemical imbalance, or as complicated as a particular part of his brain is physically underdeveloped. That's why I recommend a psychiatrist over a psychologist, they can diagnose both physical and mental problems that might be effecting your child.

Again, good luck, be patient, you'll both get through this OK.

ALSO: a COMPLETE Psycho/Educational Evaluation (done independent from the school, if you can afford it)


AND


An Occupational Therapy Evaluation, which will definitely address visual processing disorders. They will give you a list of remediation techniques to help your child.


I would NOT allow my child to have a false label slapped on them just to force the school into providing him services. Consider yourself your childs advocate and get as much support and documentation as you can. Once you have a clear diagnosis and professionally recommended remediation and treatment plans, it's real hard for the school to ignore.

*You can either get the OT eval through the school, or independently ... depending on what you are able to afford.


Best wishes to you and your child, Beausoir.

Fortunately, we can afford our own independent testing.

It is a damn tragedy that we, the "haves" can afford these while the "have-nots" remain at the mercy of the school system.

Something is badly broken.

of all the children "falling through the cracks", whose families couldn't. The $$$ the system saves now, when they could positively impact a child's entire life, costs us (as a society) later when they become dysfunctional adults with wounded psyches and poor self-esteem. We've become a backward society ... breaking people, and then trying to fix them ... rather than nurturing them and investing in their wellness ... physically, emotionally, and mentally. We have become our own worst enemies.

I find I get more done if I bypass the school and go straight to the department head in the Council education offices and sit down with them. I also use the help of our local Councilman, he seems to move mountains!

you may want to stop any fluoride in your child's system-ADD is a symptom of fluoride poisoning-if you go to the fluoride action network you can get info on what it does to children(as well as adults).

I don't think that is right that your son has been labeled with that diagnosis.

position without it. It certainly is not a miracle cure. That much I know.

i totally agree with your doctor that it is not adhd, or add. my oldest has add/autism..... low level, no drugs, i refuse and have worked with him over the years giving him tools and ability to recognize so he can compensate thru out life, as he gets older.

your son is sounding more like my youngest. but then there is also physical things going on with youngest i have recognized and explored, tested and questioned for lots of years to come up empty. to the point of catscan. BUT the similarities in the academic is amazing. now my child excels in reading (high level in reading) and creativity. also a feel for the numbers but cannot get him to memorize the multiplication, math hard for him though i FEEL it should be a breeze and poor grade in english cause though creative and good reader, is not getting sentence structure. the feel of him is exactly holes in his learning. it really is amazing as we (teachers and i) have watched this child over the years. comprehension so far beyond ALL the kids in his school, but the practicality is not applied to him. leaves all baffled. every teacher beginning of every year says they can help, by this time of the year they are saying, dont get it.

he have come up with different things this year because of the tak test, .... and if he doesn't get "special" he is not going to past, which would be gravely wrong for this child.

anything specific?

I recently found out about this through one of my local CHADD meetings. My daughter does have ADD, however she also has dyscalculia. She was not a behavior problem and sounds like the same problems your son is having. She does great in Reading, Spelling--actually excells--but Math and "Reading problems" get her. Here is some info that might help

www.dyscalculia.org

http://www.ldanatl.org/aboutld/parents/ld_basics/dyscalculia.asp

I also have a few more websites on this, but I'm at the library now and they're on my computer. If you have any questions PM me. Also if you find this site useful google dyscalculia and there is much more on it out there.

I hope this helps some. I know, believe me, I do...it's SOOOOOOOOO frustrating to not get the accurate diagnosis and help needed for your child to succeed. I finally went down to school administrative offices and threw a fit for them to do something for my daughter. Now the wheels are turning. Hang in there...many of us are hitting the some of the same obstacles

:hug:

by my favorite of our great progressive media voices, the wonderful Thom Hartmann. although you state that your son does not have a diagnosis of ADHD, i think it's worth looking at this material from a holistic learning perspective, since the therapies and advice Thom gives seems like they may also be applicable in your son's case.

part of his website is devoted to ADHD:

http://www.thomhartmann.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87&Itemid=49

some of his books on the topic as as follows:

Thom Hartmann's Complete Guide to ADHD: Help for Your Family at Home, School and Work
http://www.amazon.com/Thom-Hartmanns-Complete-Guide-ADHD/dp/1887424520/ref=pd_bbs_sr_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200681962&sr=8-9

Healing ADD : Simple Exercises That Will Change Your Daily Life
http://www.amazon.com/Healing-ADD-Simple-Exercises-Change/dp/1887424377/ref=pd_bbs_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200681962&sr=8-11

The Edison Gene: ADHD and the Gift of the Hunter Child
http://www.amazon.com/Edison-Gene-ADHD-Hunter-Child/dp/0892811285/ref=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200682229&sr=8-23

Attention Deficit Disorder : A Different Perception
http://www.amazon.com/Attention-Deficit-Disorder-Different-Perception/dp/1887424148/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200682229&sr=8-24

(i'm not recommending Amazon by providing their links - the reviews on the site can be helpful)

i :loveya: Thom Hartmann and think he is simply one of the most brilliant people alive today. i got to meet him at a book signing event last year and i was so thrilled to even be in his presence.

good luck with your son!

Request a copy of your son's full records, get a copy of the diagnosis of visual processing disorder, and then write the Office of Civil Rights. Ask them why your son does not meet the criteria under 504.


Sounds like you are in Florida.