Trouble in school!

Kirstenmumof3 wrote: I just don't know what I am going to do with Spencer. I saw his teacher today and she is having problems with him in school. I let her know that we are having problems with him at home. She says he won't sit still, he takes his shoes off and puts his feet in his mouth, he won't listen and he is easily distracted. She said he is very bright and worries that his behaviour will interfere with his learning. At home he has started wetting the bed again, he is fighting us with everything from bedtime to what he is eating. I don't know what to do. I phoned our Family Support Worker to see what he suggests. Spencer's teacher thinks it might be ADD, I don't really know too much about this and she has suggested that we make an appointment to see the head of Pediatrics in our city. This of course will take a few months because he is so busy! I don't know what to do!

coasterqueen replied: Oh wow, I wish I had some experience to give you advice but I don't. Has he ever been a "spirited" child/high needs? In the book I'm reading it says that sometimes spirited children get diagnosed with ADD because doctors don't know what else it could be and don't really understand the spirited child. So I'm wondering if he's always been spirited maybe there is something with that to explore.

Making any sense? I'm confusing myself, lol.

Kirstenmumof3 replied:
We have always been told that he was spirited, but I don't think this is it. I think there is something wrong with him, I just don't know what.

amynicole21 replied: I think that talking to a therapist might be the best thing for him right now. I don't know much about ADD, but I do know that a lot of kids are misdiagnosed with it and put on medication they don't need. I wonder if Spencer is acting out due to some of the issues that have been going on at home. In that case, talking with a child therapist would definitely help. I hope you can get to the bottom of this

A&A'smommy replied: ((((BIG HUGS))))) I hope you figure out whats wrong with your little man! Keep us updated!

jcc64 replied: ITA with Amy. Be wary of the ADD diagnosis. It is thrown around far too often.

jem0622 replied: I would see a pediatrician who deals with behavioral diagnosis. This is what we did for Nathan when he was 2 and the daycare center was telling me my son was not normal. The pediatrician told me otherwise.

kimberley replied:
we are going through the same thing with Jacob. everyone comments on how bright he is but he just doesn't focus and sometimes has crying fits for no known reason. go to your ped to get a referral for him to be ADD tested. if you do it through the school, it will take months (Jacob has been waiting for 5 months with no appt still through them) but with the ped, i got an appt in 3 weeks. we go on thursday for the first assessment then again on tuesday for the second one. they take about an hour+. i will let you know how our appt goes. hang in there!

Kaitlin'smom replied: I wish I had some advice.....hope you can figure out what it is and work through it. I also think ADD gets thown around when they (docs and teachers) dont want to take the time to find out the real problem. Best of luck and keep us updated!

coasterqueen replied: Like I said earlier I would be very leary about a ADD diagnosis. It's used too much and for spirited kids it's usually a misdiagnosis.

kimberley replied: just wanted to clarify... for us, the ADD testing is a last resort. we are doing a full battery of learning disability tests as well as the ADD testing. we have gone through having his ears and eyes checked, taken him to a neurologist because he complained of headaches but he just said that was Jacob's way of dealing with stress. he has been seen by a social worker who thinks he is normal, so we are just exhausting every avenue to find out why he is having such problems with reading and focusing. having him ADD tested was definitely not the first route we chose and even if they do diagnose him with it, i doubt i will put him on any meds since i haven't heard great things about them and still have much research to do about them.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: Thank You for all of your advice. My DH is taking Claudia to see our Family Doctor tomorrow and is going to ask for a referral to the Pediatrician. I don't know what to think. I will definately ask the pediatrician to rule out other things before we test for ADD.

coasterqueen replied:
Kimberly, sorry I hope you didn't think I was directing my post at you. I've just known a few people who were clearly misdiagnosed, my nephew being one of them, and after reading some research on it I concluded that it is done often.

maestra replied:
In the states, teachers don't ever refer to doctors for ADD. We can recommend that you take your child to the dr for an eval, but ADD is a medical condition, so we pretty much have to leave that side4 of it alone.

kimberley replied:
no worries Karen, i didn't think that. but your post did remind me that i hadn't posted everything i wanted to because i had my little octopus in my arms the first time lol. i agree that they are far too quick to diagnose kids with ADD and it is definitely something to educate yourself thoroughly about before the "experts" have your child all drugged up. this is pretty much the last thing the school has asked us to rule out and then THEY will finally have to take some responsibility here. Jacob has improved dramatically since september and is almost at his grade level in reading. when he was first tested for his level in reading and writing they concluded he was at about a beginner grade 1. now he is at a beginner to middle grade 2 and we have just moved up to stage 5 readers last week (they only go to 6). after all this, he might just be one of those kids who will settle down and just "get it" in his own time and there is no problem. who knows. but until i do know for sure, i will drive all over the city and prove to them the fault may lie in the school system and not the child.

MommyToAshley replied:
ITA.

I don't have any other advice, just some hugs and support. I hope you are about to figure out what is going on.

coasterqueen replied:
LOL! That's a cute explanation I'll have to use that when Kylie is nursing and has her hands and feet in every direction but where they should be.

Mom2_my3boys replied: Tyler (almost 6) is in kindergarten. He is ADHD we have had him on several of meds including Ritalan, Foclan, Adderal xr, and Straterra. None of them seem to work. And most of them he had such horrible side effects I stopped them. We are at the point where our ped. who is the ADHD specialist in our town is referring him to a Pediatric Pshyciatrist who specializes in ADHD. We won't see him for another mos though. Tyler also has problems at school. Though he is learning well, he can't sit still, interrupts the class, and gets aggressive. Also he can't keep focused on his work unless there is someone there pushing him through. Thank goodness he is right along with the class at learning though I don't know how. I will post after we see the specialist.
About meds, beware of them. Make sure if they want to put him on somehing they talk to you about them very thoughroly.
Tyler was diagnosed at the age of 4 1/2.
HTH