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Everyone's story about ADD/ADHD is different. I am going to share our experiences with ADHD. Our son was officially diagnosed the summer before he was to begin Kindergarten. He was also diagnosed with Asperger's (high-functioning autism) at the same time. He was always a bit more "on the go" than his sister, but I never really worried about it much. We could tell by his vocabulary that he was a bright child and we found many ways to deal with his distractibility on our own. We would make sure he was looking at us when we gave him instructions ... we made sure to tell him all about what we were going to do or where we were going so that he wasn't surprised later. We also kept to a similar schedule each day so that he knew what came next all day long.
After his official diagnosis, we were given several options. The biggest was whether to give him medication for his ADHD or not. We chose to use the medicine and tried several before settling on Adderall XR. He is on the lowest dose possible so that it doesn't have as much of an affect on his appetite as the higher dose does. We do not medicate on the weekends or during our breaks from school. We did try doing homeschool without the medication during our 2005-6 school year, but his standardized test scores showed a significant decline and it became obvious to me that he just wasn't focusing well. He couldn't answer the simplest questions about what I had been reading about or discussing. It seems that the medication is definitely warranted in his case.
I have done a lot of reading on nutrition for children with ADHD and autism, but the recommended diet of no wheat or dairy just wouldn't work for him. He already has food issues (due to the autism) and taking these items out of his diet would leave little left for him to eat. A regimen of fish oil has been recommended to me with the expectation that it takes up to 3 months to see results. I have found some wonderfully tasting fish oil at Vitacost.com - it's inexpensive and he'll take it. The problem is that I can't seem to remember to give it to him daily! If I can overcome that hurdle, I'll be curious to see how he does. I've also read that increasing a child's iron intake can help the brain, too.
Ian can focus on things that interest him and he is calmed by watching TV. I know that's why he likes to watch it after he's been playing with the neighbor kids. His mind is going a mile a minute and he needs to calm it down. We still try to limit his TV watching, though. A book I recommend for parents of ADD/ADHD/Autistic children is Heads-Up Helping!. I wish that I had had this book YEARS ago! To be honest, I've not read many books on ADHD because my husband and I had already figured out how to deal with our son before he was officially diagnosed. I don't excuse his behavior either when he acts out. As he gets older and we can share with him more about his "special need," our goal is to help him learn to understand himself so that he can find ways of dealing with his distractibility and become accepted by those around him.
It is my hope that you will find something useful here on my site!
I currently enjoy the privilege of being able to stay at home
to homeschool my children and I am always striving to be
the best caretaker for my precious family.
"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."
~ Philippians 4:13 ~
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All Rights Reserved. © 2006.
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