All About ADHD : Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
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I certainly DO NOT mean teachers diagnose. They’ve no right to do so. Only doctors can do diagnosis & ONLY psychologists/pychatrusts shld and only after they’ve applied relevant testing tools.
In fact, as a mother, I was the first to noticed exceptional behavior in my child but cld not confirm as I did not hv the right tools (only learnt how to recognize symptoms). Eventually, brought my child for professional therapy & one of the need was to hv his teachers complete a thick set of questionnaire. DC’s Form Teacher brushed aside that it is not nec as she do not see any learning issues. It was the language teacher who recognized and cld contribute a written report on classroom behavior of DC. Doc then use these contribution to put DC on group therapy to watch & apply intervention.
I rmbr part of therapy was to do art therapy with DC. Ano activity DC did was exploring feelings on grp therapy and articulating various feelings with a grp of 5-6 other kids. It is not unlike some of my company teambuilding activities done with trained consultants.
I was indeed.very relieve dear child get early intervention & now hv little learning issues of inaatentiveness or over-active & inappropriate behaviour. Granted it is still WIP as DC grow, as different milestone requires guidance. Was thankful I seek early help for DC, in spite of DH’s early denial. It was not easy persuading DH and was even ‘accused’ of being paranoid, till he heard fr doc. We were relieved it’s mild and we put in at least 2 years of therapy.
Can’t imagine how serious DC cld hv become due to our ignorance as I rmbr early years frustration. But I know we need professional diagnosis & if true, intervention. -
I certainly DO NOT mean teachers diagnose. They’ve no right to do so. Only doctors can do diagnosis & ONLY psychologists/pychatrusts shld and only after they’ve applied relevant testing tools.
In fact, as a mother, I was the first to noticed exceptional behavior in my child but cld not confirm as I did not hv the right tools (only learnt how to recognize symptoms). Eventually, brought my child for professional therapy & one of the need was to hv his teachers complete a thick set of questionnaire. DC’s Form Teacher brushed aside that it is not nec as she do not see any learning issues. It was the language teacher who recognized and cld contribute a written report on classroom behavior of DC. Doc then use these contribution to put DC on group therapy to watch & apply intervention.
I rmbr part of therapy was to do art therapy with DC. Ano activity DC did was exploring feelings on grp therapy and articulating various feelings with a grp of 5-6 other kids. It is not unlike some of my company teambuilding activities done with trained consultants.
I was indeed.very relieve dear child get early intervention & now hv little learning issues of inaatentiveness or over-active & inappropriate behaviour. Granted it is still WIP as DC grow, as different milestone requires guidance. Was thankful I seek early help for DC, in spite of DH’s early denial. It was not easy persuading DH and was even ‘accused’ of being paranoid, till he heard fr doc. We were relieved it’s mild and we put in at least 2 years of therapy.
Can’t imagine how serious DC cld hv become due to our ignorance as I rmbr early years frustration. But I know we need professional diagnosis & if true, intervention. -
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a32858/drugging-of-the-american-boy-0414/
Very long article about ADHD. But I loved reading it, particularly for the personal stories and good insights. -
Estéema:
In fact, as a mother, I was the first to noticed exceptional behavior in my child but cld not confirm as I did not hv the right tools (only learnt how to recognize symptoms)......... Can't imagine how serious DC cld hv become due to our ignorance as I rmbr early years frustration. But I know we need professional diagnosis & if true, intervention.
:goodpost:
Esteema, thank you for sharing your personal experience.
Reminded me of our experience with my dd's primary school days when we & dd constantly struggled with trying to cope with schoolwork all the time, failing miserably, constant complaints by various teachers & even one tutor who said she don't think she can help dd. My dd was diagnosed rather late - at Pri 4 - while struggling with English (her poor spelling skills meant failing English & Science tests even when her answers were phonetically \"correct\").
We were so frustrated, angry, tearful when we tried supervising her homework - she cried, we cried .... We thot she was dyslexic and got her tested too. Eventually, she was diagnosed with ADHD and then placed on Ritalin (fortunately she had no side effects). We worked with both the clinical pyschs who taught us the various techniques on how to coach her at home (highlighters, break down smaller tasks, working with her teachers, etc). Slowly, she managed to stay on top of things - passing up her schoolwork on time, achieving borderline passes, becoming less forgetful and less disruptive when doing a task/homework.
One day (about a month on ritalin / new techniques), my dd turned to me and said: \"Mama, I now know what is happening in class.\" I was so shocked - I thot: omg, what was she thinking before all this?
It was a long tough road - passing PSLE, N-levels, O-levels, now journeying with her thru her As. We're always praying for strength.
So parents, keep your strength up and persevere on! -
CatMoon:
Estéema:
In fact, as a mother, I was the first to noticed exceptional behavior in my child but cld not confirm as I did not hv the right tools (only learnt how to recognize symptoms)......... Can't imagine how serious DC cld hv become due to our ignorance as I rmbr early years frustration. But I know we need professional diagnosis & if true, intervention.
:goodpost:
Esteema, thank you for sharing your personal experience.
Reminded me of our experience with my dd's primary school days when we & dd constantly struggled with trying to cope with schoolwork all the time, failing miserably, constant complaints by various teachers & even one tutor who said she don't think she can help dd. My dd was diagnosed rather late - at Pri 4 - while struggling with English (her poor spelling skills meant failing English & Science tests even when her answers were phonetically \"correct\").
We were so frustrated, angry, tearful when we tried supervising her homework - she cried, we cried .... We thot she was dyslexic and got her tested too. Eventually, she was diagnosed with ADHD and then placed on Ritalin (fortunately she had no side effects). We worked with both the clinical pyschs who taught us the various techniques on how to coach her at home (highlighters, break down smaller tasks, working with her teachers, etc). Slowly, she managed to stay on top of things - passing up her schoolwork on time, achieving borderline passes, becoming less forgetful and less disruptive when doing a task/homework.
One day (about a month on ritalin / new techniques), my dd turned to me and said: \"Mama, I now know what is happening in class.\" I was so shocked - I thot: omg, what was she thinking before all this?
It was a long tough road - passing PSLE, N-levels, O-levels, now journeying with her thru her As. We're always praying for strength.
So parents, keep your strength up and persevere on!
CatMoon, I very empathize what u had gone thro.
You reminded me tt I also need to highlight that parents need to pay close attention to kids handing up work on time & keeping up with class learning. Don't leave then falling behind.
I'll always revise with kids. When kids didn't hand up work, I'll talk to find their reasons for it. Amazing the reasons I get - lost my textbook, forgot & left it under desk, teacher didn't asks for hmwk, etc.
S'times kids don't pay attention, deliberately 'sweeping under carpet' (put under table don't bring home). Once Form Teacher said to let child learn to be responsible (not to loose things, find his own books, don't buy new text, pack their own bags...) but by 3rd week of new school term, I cannot leave issue but bought new one bcoz the negative impact wld be falling behind school work. -
Estéema:
You reminded me tt I also need to highlight that parents need to pay close attention to kids handing up work on time & keeping up with class learning. Don't leave then falling behind.
I'll always revise with kids. When kids didn't hand up work, I'll talk to find their reasons for it. Amazing the reasons I get - lost my textbook, forgot & left it under desk, teacher didn't asks for hmwk, etc.
S'times kids don't pay attention, deliberately 'sweeping under carpet' (put under table don't bring home).
Ha, ha, ha! Yes, I remembered all those crumpled sheets of writing paper that I used to find at the bottom of her bag. I thot she had forgotten to throw away the unwanted sheets (she had only written a few lines).
I realised much later that they were classwork that had to be handed up in class - but as she takes a long time to write (distracted & fidgety), she fell very much behind and so could not complete her work. Hence, all those complaints by teachers! -
Hi Parents,
My 14 years old son has been formally diagnosed with ADHD mid of last year. Failing in secondary school, thus from express to normal stream. Still not doing well in normal stream now. I am curious what therapy can he go for as the only solution the psychiatrist and psychologist recommended is to take Ritalin. Psychologist mentioned that if he doesn’t take the medication, his learning curve will get wider and wider than his peers. Which it seems to be true. He has been getting into trouble in school too.
It seems that most children are diagnosed younger and usually in primary school. And the children go through therapies. But for my son’s case, no therapy recommended and I don’t know where to get help as I wish he could go through therapies than taking medication. -
If your son has managed up till now without a diagnosis, his ADHD is probably not very severe? What are his main issues and how have you been dealing with them up till now? How does he feel about his diagnosis? Is he willing to cooperate with you if you implement some rules?
I have a grown-up daughter with Asperger's who exhibits behaviour very like ADD (without the H). We have avoided medication as we are unclear what the long-term outcomes of drugs might be. Behavioural modification seems to work well, and that is what is practised by many therapists who treat younger children. I guess they don't do it for teens as it's less common for treatment to begin at that age, and teens are less easy to handle. But it doesn't mean that therapies won't work on older children. I am still helping my daughter who is now in university as she has other learning issues too, so I see no reason why the therapies shouldn't work with your son even though he is in his teens. But you will need to DIY, and get him to agree to cooperate with you or it won't work.
Have a look at the links below which give some ideas about how you can help your son.
https://www.liahonaacademy.com/adhd-behavior-modification-for-teen-boys.html
https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/adhd-and-your-child/adhd-behavior-management-strategies/
https://www.additudemag.com/improving-executive-functioning-skills-video/ -
Thanks slmkhoo for the links.
His main issues is his attention span and impulsivity, thus getting into troubles easily. You have guessed it right. He is not taking his diagnosis well and refused to cooperate. -
mum2BG:
Actually, poor attention span and impulsivity is quite normal for a lot of teens. It's just a matter of degree. So it's not necessary to get him to be completely mature and adult, which would be strange at his age, but to curb some of the excesses. Even for a non-ADHD teen, things like spending less time on screens, getting more sleep, keeping to a schedule, being tidier, getting more exercise, having a better relationship with parents etc will help. So you don't have to make it an \"ADHD-thing\".Thanks slmkhoo for the links.
His main issues is his attention span and impulsivity, thus getting into troubles easily. You have guessed it right. He is not taking his diagnosis well and refused to cooperate.
Catch him at a good time and get him to read some of the links below? He needs to accept his ADHD and learn to cope. At the same time, he needs to understand that his ADHD has upsides too, if he learns to harness them. Tell him that you love and appreciate him for what he is, and that you are willing to work with him.
http://www.chadd.org/Understanding-ADHD/For-Parents-Caregivers/Teens/ADHD-Information-for-Teens.aspx
https://www.everydayhealth.com/add-adhd/how-to-use-adhd-as-a-tool-for-success.aspx
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/managing-adult-adhd-attention-deficit-disorder.htm
https://www.additudemag.com/dealing-with-adhd-80-coping-strategies/
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