Can anyone give me advice about ADHD?

[Mummy-D]

What a day. I got to hear my babys heartbeat today then within the space of 2 hours i am being told that my other baby very possibly has ADHD

A bit of history. (sorry if a bit long)

Ds will be 7 in January and has just started primary 3 at school. Ever since i can remember he has been very active if you like!

He started nursery at 2 & 1/2 and school at 4 & 1/2 and every parents evening is the same....he disrupts the class, he cant sit still, he shouts out when he shouldnt, he cant stay sat on his bum etc etc. We had thought it was down to him being a bit younger than some in his class, but it is just getting worse as he gets older. He never seems to listen to me, he jumps on the furniture no matter how many times he is told not to, he cant concentrate on anything (even something he is passionate about) for any length of time. Last year i mentioned to his teacher about the possibility of him having ADHD and was told quite simply that he most certainly didnt. He was just an "active little boy". Everyone kept saying to me "thats just what boys are like". I wish i had trusted my mothers instinct and followed it up myself because his teacher for this term spoke to me tonight after school and said that his behaviour is getting worse in class. She said that she would start a behaviour diary which i have to read and sign every night which i said is fine. I mentioned to her about ADHD and she was so relieved i mentioned it as she said she was worried about suggesting it to me, but she strongly believes that he has it. While i am on one hand relieved (no longer thinking he is just naughty and no longer blaming myself and my parenting skills) i dont know what happens now or what the future will hold for him.

Can anyone give me any advise. Does anyone elses LO suffer from it and what course of action is normally taken?

Thanks in advance
Debbi

 

[daftscotslass]

I don't have experience with it as a mum but have worked with children with ADHD as a teacher and had one child with ADHD in my (mainstream) class last year.

It is absolutely not a teacher's place to suggest a diagnosis - I would be in real, real trouble if I did such a thing. I have a degree in psychology and even along with that, my teaching qualification and an interest in educational psychology I don't consider myself nearly qualified enough to make such a statement. It's great that she has recognised early on that his behaviour might be a cause for concern, though, and the diary seems like a good idea. Might be worthwhile speaking to management in the school to see if he could get a bit of support in the class (like a learning support assistant) who could help keep him focused? She should be able to help make referrals to educational/clinical psychology and you can go from there. It might be worthwhile speaking to your GP who could probably make a referral quicker than the school could.

Try not to worry about the future. My mum's friend's daughter was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and grew out of it - it was also worsened by artificial colourings and additives as well so cutting them out really helped. The child I taught last year was given medication (not Ritalin) to help him and it was a miracle, he is a different child and an absolute delight to be around.

Hope that's of some help

 

[Fly]

Hi Mummy-D

I understand you must be a little reassured that someone in officialdom is finally starting to see your point...

My son is diagnosed with something called pragmatic and semantic languge difficulty. He also exhibits many of the traits of adhd.

I got to the end of my tether with his behaviour a few years ago and went to my GP. The GP was great and listened to everything I had to say and then referred us to a family centre where we saw various specialists such as a paediatric psychologist, speech and langauge therapist etc. They confirmed the suggested diagnosis of the pragmatic and language difficulty that had been given when he was in year 2 by an ancillary teacher who charlie was seeing for help with social skills outside of class.

It is infuriating when you know your child so well and are treated by family and friends and teachers as being neurotic! I knew something was different about Charlie almost from the word go but it wasn't until he started in year 2 that he finally started getting some support. I had to fight for it all again last year when he went up from first school to middle school and started in year 5... it took a full year for the teacher to finally start listening to what i was saying and after Charlie's sats (he over acheived massively yet his classroom work and homework he consistently under-achieves) i got a phone call at home asking me if i minded charlie attending with a support worker out of class time one day a week... i cheered lol

Something that really helped Charlie was cutting out all the preservatives and additives from his diet. Specifically Monosodium Glutamate (MSG E621). MSG is found in most savoury foodstuffs.. crisps and gravy granules/stock cubes are the big culprits.

Google "Luke Jackson" and you should eventually pick up some links for some books written by his mum but her name alludes me for a minute (bloody pregnancy bain lol) She wrote an excellent one about the dietry links between autism spectrum disorders and various foodstuffs. The Jackson family is made up of 4 or 5 boys all with various diagnosis on the autism spectrum and a couple of girls who are totally free. The mum is a single mum and campaigns tirelessly for the cause. Her son Luke has aspergers syndrome and has written some very good books about the subject.

Does your son crave certain foodstuffs? with charlie he could rinse a multipack of crisps in about ten minutes...his addiction was the msg...I got my little boy back when we cut this from his diet.

The food connection is one that alot of healthcare professionals won't discuss in any real terms but i strongly urge you to look at his diet closely and see if you can identify any trigger foods. Aspartame is another one that can cause major hyperactivity (found in squash, soft drinks in general and some yoghurts) its an artificial sweetener.

Asda's is one of the best supermarkets for cutting all this shit out of their ownbrand products.. you can now buy aspartame free fizzy cola and all their ownbrand multipack crisps are msg-free. I can do the shopping at Asda and trust that it won't take me 3 hours from checkin ingredients put it that way lol.

PM me if you like

Love Sarah xxxx

 

[Mummy-D]

Thanks Sarah
Have Pm'd you hun

xx