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Parents of Children with ADD


Hitman21ST

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For parents who have children diagnosed with ADD or ADHD:

My 8 year old daughter has ADD. My wife and I don't like having her on medication, but it is necessary for her to concentrate in school (meaning we have tried letting her go to school without it, but she couldn't stay in her seat, got into other students' stuff, etc). On it, she is keeping her focus and does very well. The dosage is enough to keep her focus during school, but lets her be herself after. My wife and I have decided to not give her the medication over the weekend, since we really don't like giving it to her.

Do you give your children their medications over the weekend? If so, do they perform even better in school since there isn't a "break" in the medication?\

Thanks for your input.

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I don't have any kids, but I do have ADD, and was diagnosed with it when I was 7. I started off with Ritalin, and was told to take it everyday.

If she is clearly doing a lot better with it than without it, then I would keep her on it full time, until you're told otherwise by her doctor. I'm not sure what the repercussions are long term from only taking it 5 out of 7 days, but most medications like that are meant to be taken regularly for weeks, in order fo eventually get the "full effect," so to speak. That's just my take on the matter.

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I don't have any kids, but I do have ADD, and was diagnosed with it when I was 7. I started off with Ritalin, and was told to take it everyday.

If she is clearly doing a lot better with it than without it, then I would keep her on it full time, until you're told otherwise by her doctor. I'm not sure what the repercussions are long term from only taking it 5 out of 7 days, but most medications like that are meant to be taken regularly for weeks, in order fo eventually get the "full effect," so to speak. That's just my take on the matter.

Agree with this. I too have ADD, and take Ritalin every day.
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As a parent, I understand your concern. While my daughter is too young to know whether or not she is ADD or ADHD, there is a high probability that she will eventually be diagnosed as ADD because I have it. My ADD was not as severe as most, however; I still had to overcome challenges in school. Unfortunately, my mother chose to remain ignorant about it and I had to learn to function without medication. Although it is not impossible for a child with ADD to function normally in the classroom, it was extremely difficult. I had to find my own ways to manage my attention.

As an educator, my opinion varies from case to case. Each child is different. If her attention issues are so severe that it impacts daily activities (i.e. she is unable to maintain focus when doing mundane tasks that take 5-10 minutes) then I would suggest staying the course outlined by her doctor. Eventually, your daughter's body will become more accustomed to the medication and things should level out. From what I have learned, as Mr. Sinister and ACW have suggested, her body will have a more difficult time adjusting if she does not follow the prescribed schedule. Regardless of which pattern you decide, you should discuss this with your child's physician. I believe there are ways to adjust the medication accordingly.

Either way, the medication coupled with the use of attention strategies that she should be learning in the classroom (for example: fidgets, checklists, multiple breaks and extended time when engaging in tasks, etc.) will help her brain learn how to cope. My only suggestion would be to educate yourself on the various strategies and help her use them on a daily basis, especially when unmedicated. I know that medication can also impact the emotions of a child. With that said, are you noticing any changes in her personality during the school week versus the weekend when she does not have her medication? If so, how drastically different are they?

Please understand that while I have observed many kids at all levels of the spectrum, I am only a teacher.

---------- Post added November-20th-2011 at 06:59 AM ----------

Because I mentioned strategies for coping... I thought I should supply a good resource. I know this does not answer your original question but I hope this helps.

http://helpguide.org/mental/adhd_add_parenting_strategies.htm

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Although it is not impossible for a child with ADD to function normally in the classroom, it was extremely difficult.
Let me quote this. This is VERY true. If I didn't take Ritalin, I COULD function in class, but boy it would be damn NEAR impossible; my grades would be nowhere as good as they were.
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Let me quote this. This is VERY true. If I didn't take Ritalin, I COULD function in class, but boy it would be damn NEAR impossible; my grades would be nowhere as good as they were.

I can understand. For some of my students... the difference between medicated and unmedicated can be the difference between A's and D's.

I've always wondered how good my grades could've been had I used medication. Plus, the techniques teachers use in the classroom today are very different than they were when I was in school.

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My son is the poster child for ADHD and it is a world of difference when he is on medication. He had an awful 2nd grade before he took medication. He started taking medication in 3rd grade and he's doing very well. He is taking math at a full grade level ahead of his age.

We keep him on medication during the weekends, it keeps me and my wife sane.

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Let me quote this. This is VERY true. If I didn't take Ritalin, I COULD function in class, but boy it would be damn NEAR impossible; my grades would be nowhere as good as they were.

Without my medication, I wouldn't be able to function, period. It is almost like someone is playing snare drums inside your head. You could give me directions, and right after you're finished talking, I wouldn't be able to remember a damn thing you just said

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I'm ADHD, and was medicated from the 3rd grade up to I was 18 years old when I told my parents 'no more'. I went through three different medications (Ritalin, Adderall, and Strattera [non-stimulant]) that all had different effects.

Having said that, you shouldn't be asking us this question, you should be asking your daughter's doctor. Picking days to be off or not is going to throw the body off with the drug levels floating around in her system (coming from experience). Strattera is one that has to be built up in the body, so if you take a day off, it screws up everything.

My parents said I was diagnosed in kindergarten, but waited three years because they didn't want to do it but felt they had no choice in the end (I was certified : ). My dad will tell you to this day that even though he didn't like it, he felt he made the right decision because I'm still alive. There's a good chance that by the time your daughter hits puberty she'll figure out what the drug(s) are doing to her body and she'll start skipping anyway. So, as with most aspects of parenting, you have to stay consistent, imo.

Again, my father never gave me days off because he wanted to believe that the meds were helping to keep me out of trouble and focused on school. I didn't exactly go according to plan, but I'm 23 now, with a year left on my bachelor's and a 3.98 GPA, with no medication, period since I became an adult. I might not have gotten this far if I adn't of taken meds during my childhood.

There are a lot of different variables that can go into this working or not, but again, this is a conversation you should be having with your doctor, imo. He knows better the effects of these drugs on your daughter's body then anyone.

Edit: for those working without meds, you're right in that you have to come up with you're own tricks to make it work. I'm lucky in that even though there are times I just give up and take a break, I don't feel I 'need' the drugs to function. Maybe when I was younger, but not anymore...

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