I have a Yr 4 daughter (aged 10) who late last year got diagnosed with a writing learning difficulty and ADHD (the inattentive type). She is a beautifully behaved, smart, hard worker who up until now has pretty much faked her way through exams and coursework as she is academically on target for her age. But she has been telling me lately that she really can't focus properly and her inability to concentrate is making school work so exhausting and hard going. I can see that the mental fatigue required just to get through the school day is taking it's toll on her. She goes to an amazing school with a fabulous scaffolding of learning support but I'm feeling that despite the wonderful assistance, it's still not enough.
I have an appointment booked with her Paediatrician as I want to talk to him about potential medication or other ways in which I can help her. But my husband and I have no knowledge in this area so feel a bit overwhelmed, confused, overprotective, lost.
She has no behavioural problems at all and is not remotely hyperactive. Her problem is inattention which she hides very well almost to to the point where you wouldn't even know she had it outside of a school setting.
I was hoping that I could get some advice from parents who are in the same boat and can give me any information. Is medication a route that you are glad you went down or if not, why not? Did it change your child's personality/nature? If the Paed does suggest meds, have I messed things up for my daughter by not doing it a few years ago when the signs of struggle first appeared?
Although I feel a bit apprehensive about medication and have been putting off even the conversation about it, I'd hate for her to reach year 10/11/12 and hate me for not doing more to help make school a bit easier for her. So any advice you can offer will be much appreciated :)
Thanks so much!
4 Replies
Oh god,
If my daughter wasn’t on her meds I would have no hair by now.
The difference in her is amazing!!
She can concentrate when on them. The difference is noticeable.
I do not let myself run out of her meds for my own sanity. We tried coffee, we tried no sugar, no additives, no gluten, dairy free, all sorts of things before we resorted to meds.
It was our last resort. I have friends who child is exactly like my daughter and Not medicated.... it’s chaos in their house. They must like it because they aren’t willing to try meds at all.
I have started my son on medication in the last 6 months.
Medication was, and still is, a huge decision for me. I'm always looking at something else more natural to try. The reason being, as you described your daughter, with inattentive type ADHD my sons behaviour, to an outsider, looks like that of a typical 9yr old boy. But his inability to stay focused at school in particular was what had me worried. At this point he is still achieving average grades, something I hope he continues doing. Personally I think it's better to start in primary school before they hit puberty.
But, back to the medication, 2 weeks after starting... I sat my son down and asked him how he felt, how has school been, is he understanding everything? His response was "omg yes it's been great, I can listen to my teacher now and not interrupt!"
Diet does play a major role too, so many foods that we think could be healthy are what sets ADHD off.
Natural supplements are worth ago, I got no where with cheap ones from Coles, they are full of sugar.
Not something I've implemented but another mother from school is using half medication + half cbd oil. personally I think this is something I think would work better with a hyperactive child rather then inattentive child.
Additude is a great source for info on everything ADHD - it is American but I feel I've learnt more from this website then my paediatrician.
Sorry if I've got off track there.......
I have this too. In primary school i found it hard to get my head around new things and listen to instructions, i kind of winged it like your daughter and I always seemed to copy what everyone else was doing 🙊. I was very well behaved though and I don't remember ever getting into trouble. Then came high school. Complete change, I turned into a little turd. Disrupting class, wagging, smart mouth. I really don't know what happened. I dropped out at the start of year 10 and I don't think I learnt anything in High school. I can't think of one thing I actually grasped. Except for what a metaphor is, I remember learning about that and feeling quite proud of myself. So yeah, I was never medicated because we didn't even know I had ADHD until I was an adult, my advice would be to seriously look at medication for high school at least. She will need it!
Speech path find a good one that does literacy. They can make a world of difference with written communication. If you can get an OT Speech team that is amazing