Do you have a child that has been diagnosed with ADHD or ADD?

Question

if so, what were the signs your child was having and if they were medicated how were they different? thank you so much in advance!! my son goes to the doctor this week and they are going to test him.

Answer 1

I was diagnosed as an adult with ADD...  I sometimes wish they had caught it when I was younger.  

When I was teaching, I could DEFINITELY tell which days my ADHD kids had taken their medicine and which days they had missed.  I had one mother who would OBSESSIVELY take her son off his meds whenever she thought they were making him "act funny".  Poor kid, I felt so bad for him.  When he was on the drugs, he'd do fine.  The minute he was off, he had detention EVER DAY, started failing all his classes...  it was a mess.  

If the counselor thinks your son should get tested, test him.  It's not painful.  If the medications don't work, then you're no worse off now than before.

Answer 2

I have a daughter that is ADHD & a son that is ADD/OCD/ODD & he also has emotional problems & possibly bipolar. My daughter had a hard time concentrating on her school work & staying focused in general. We tried a few different meds. & found one that works for her. She couldn't be left alone for 2 seconds, she was constantly bouncing from one thing to another & always into something. My son has tried numerous meds. & been in a mental hospital, he was only 5 at the time. He is now 10. He is on a med. that is working for him. He has to have a daily routine. If his routine is not consistent or he is not told in advance that things are going to be different he goes nuts. His day can go fine & at the drop of a hat all h**l can break loose. I have spent hours upon hours having to deal with him telling me he hate me, that I am the devil, I am not his mother, & him balling up his fist to hit me. I have to remain calm, I would love to beat his butt, that is not an option for me. When he starts, I just tell him that I love him & I try to hold him to let him know that I care. I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 3

Yes, both my son and my daughter have ADD.

The most used test now days involves a series of questions that are given to the child, the parents, the teachers, sometimes a friend, and the doctor.  There is no "blood test" or CAT scan, just a bunch of questions.

Therefore anyone can be diagnosed with ADD if they want to be diagnosed with ADD.

My son was on medication for 2 years.  Before medication he was a fun loving young man who knew everyone and everyone knew and loved him.  He was not necessarily "the life of the party" but he knew how to make people life and was very friendly.  

On medication his grades went from D's and F's to A's and B's. But he went from the little fun guy to a wallflower that never talked to anyone.  He was sullen and it hurt his mom and I to see him that way.

After 2 years, he came to us and said he had a deal for us.

No more medication and he would keep his grades up.  If they slipped we could put him back on, but as long as he could keep them up.... no medication.

We heartily agreed.

He gets the occasional C, but is doing much better.  However the medication did take its toll.  He never went back to what he was.  He is much better, much happier then he ever was on the medication, but if I had it to do over again.

And I do, as his sister also is ADD, but she will never see a doctor for it as long as I am alive.   Her brother's experiences  have taught us how to TAKE ADVANTAGE of this 'disorder'.  Being ADD or ADHD does not have to mean that you have a problem.  It can mean that you need to multitask, that you need to be more active in sports or work, it can mean that you are better than those who are 'normal'.

Answer 4

Hey I'm not a parent but I am an 11 year old girl, Who has ADHD I'm in sixth grade and was diagnosed when I was in fourth grade. My mom took me to the docter because I was doing really bad in school and was always yelling and mean. I could never keep a friend ethier. When we found out I had ADHD my mom got me medication. I have swichted medacations like 3 times, But one was cause I was allergic to it. Anyways, my medication makes my life much much easier and I don't know what I would do without it. before I got all D's and now I get all A's and sometimes a B. The one thing that helped me is that my mom is a soical worker so she knows how some kids act and what really help is my dad is a docter. It's really weird how I got it I think because all of my other 5 brothers and sisters are really smart My brother is a lawyer and skipped two grades and all my other one's are in colllage. But Im smart too now that I havemy medicene! Oh and the only side affect I have is that Im not always Hungry...

Answer 5

I dont have a kid, i am a kid that has adhd. i know that without my medication, im basically asking random questions at random moments, and getting kicked out of the room and getting detention (im in 8th grade) but when i do take my medication, i can concentrate, and i can take in information much better. my grades went from c's and d's, to a's and b's. but then i didnt talk as much, and i got more self consious and my self-esteem lowered. idk why though. i think it may be me and the medication.

oh yeah. i just remembered

if ur kid starts getting realy angry when he is on the meds, or sad. test again.

Answer 6

I have a few friends whos kids have it. Unmedicated they can not concentrate and were falling behind at school. One was constantly fighting and unsettles. Medicated they both caught up in school work and they settled down

Answer 7

Actually yes, my son is ADHD/Bipolar.  When he was a baby he was very hard to calm down and was just over the top with his emotions but they said it was to early to tell.  By 3 years old he was hitting and really lacked impulse control even though we have always used discipline methods and took many parenting classes to learn new ways to work with him.  When they test a child for ADHD they are usually in school so the teachers can speak up and say they can't sit still and pay attention in the classroom and they usually get in trouble a lot at school.  The parent(s) usually fill out a questionaire about how you feel they act and how the impulse level is controlled.  Some kids can control themselves and choose not to and others simply lack the chemicals in the brain to control their behavior.  They are over the top hyper like they are on a constant sugar high and they can't sit still and concentrate on things no matter how much they want to try.  They don't sit still in the car, have a hard time sleeping, constantly "on the go".  I know a lot of kids that get diagnosed that are just normal kids that parents want to control with meds but some are really that out of control that they need help and meds are the only thing that gets to them so that they can start working with a councler to learn to handle themselves better.  

My boyfriend has 4 kids that are ADHD and the 3 year old is probably going to be diagnosed too.  They are all over the top hyper and with the meds they still play and have energy and are active but they have more impulse control so they aren't going around getting into trouble so much and in school they manage to sit down and learn and actually went from F's to A's after getting on their meds.