Does anyone have ideas on how to help a 5th grade child with ADHD do better in school?

Question

My 11 year old struggles in school, we do not belive in ADHD RX drugs, but have altered her diet, due to some major food arergies and it seems to help, however, she does not apply herself and worse she thinks its ok. I am not a parent that says she needs straight A's but I do expect her to try. Punishments and rewards work short term but nothing sticks. I also worrie about her self-esteam. She can be upset very easily and be brough to tears for no real reason at all, I'm not sure what to do to help her with her school work and self-esteam. Most of the time she is a happy cheerful child but when she is down , she is down. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

My nephew is the same. His parents did not want to give him any RX drugs. They tried different ways to help him. Three years later my nephew is taking medication to help him in school. My sister asked the Doctor what are the long term effects if he does not get help with the medicine. The Doctor said many cases with ADHD children growing up abused drugs. They searched their hearts and his for the answer.

He now takes a very low dose and is doing a 110% better in school. My nephews parent was told that he had ADHD when he was in the 1st grade. Know his in the 4th grade and doing much better. Know he can sit and read a whole book and enjoy it. His school skills when starting 4th grade was a 1st grade level. His 4th grade is half way over and he has improved a lot. He is now almost at a 3rd grade level and loves school.

My nephews a happy go lucky and loving child. Always happy and helpful. His told me Aunt I can read now, and I like school. School is fun. From a child that hated to go school and frustrated about his school work. Enjoys school!

Every parent wants to do whats best for their child. And with all the news about different RX scares them. We want to love and protect them always. But sometime the best way is to try something different and watch them sore. My best wishes to you and your daughter. Take Care and God Bless... Aloha

Answer 2

Helping her know how to organize can help.  Teach her how to outline things.  Like a book report for example.  Make sure she has a special place/ notebook for writing all homework assignments.  She may just forget, its not that its not important to her.  

It may sound funny but, have her exercises before school.  Even if she just does some jumping jacks or spinning, it can help the brain focus more.  Good that you have adjusted her diet, have you tried Cod liver oil?  And caffeine can actually help too.

This is a hard age for many girls.  Getting upset is not unusual.  However, make sure she doesnt have depression or slight anxiety problems.  If she is putting undue stress on herself, she is making things worse for herself and she needs some life skills to help her deal.  If she can feel more in control of herself, her surroundings will seem better to her also.  This will bring her concentration level up too.    

I have ADD and my son seems to also.  I am just giving a few suggestions, there are many things that could help her.  Maybe you should ask her to go on the computer and search for some ideas that she would like to try.  Some site's below may help.  Things she learns now will help her thru her whole life.  Good luck

Answer 3

I am an adult that was diagnosed w/ADD about four yrs ago. I started working in the medical field and that is when I heard about ADD. As a child I belive I always have had this, but when I was growing up know one knew what it really was. I would get distracted very easily, you could be talking to me and you may thought I was listning in which I may have been noding my head and looking you right in the eyes, but I had so many thoughts running through my head. I graduated high school w/ a 1.86 avarage, sliding through w/the lowest d that you could get. once I went to school for Medical I relized that if I sat in the front of the class and used index cards for test. I graduated w/ a 3.86. I had more problems working for a Dr. then a dead end job, b/c when you mess up a towle on a shelf or somethng it does not effect anyone, but when you ask a Dr. something five times over, it looks as if you don't care about your job, even though you are trying your hardest to concentrate on what the person is saying. Don't get me wrong once I got it I got it. Now I am on Adderall XR in which I can tell the diffrence with my concentration when I am on it and when I am off it. I really wish someone knew what this was when I was younger. Maybe an rx is not your first choice, but don't put it away, for the sake of your childs learning. I know that if I could have had something while I was in school, I would not have had to struggle in school and in life as much as I have.

Answer 4

My son was diagnosed with ADHD and I refuse to give him drugs of any kind. I have spoken to the school and they allow him extra time for projects and assignments and he is involved with the after school homework club. Whenever he has a lot of homework to do, I divide the work up into sections and he is only asked to complete one section at a time and then takes a little break. This seems to help him as he doesn't feel so overwhelmed with the work.