Question about addhd

[MelissaBrown]

I am having a problem explaining addhd to my child. He is 8 years old and he knows a little about what is going on but he don't know much. Does any one have any pointers for me? Also, does any one know how I should go about explaining to siblings? Thank you

[mothercat]

If it were me ...I would just have Linda do it! ;D ;D ;D

[AnneM]

mothercat has a GOOD point ...!! ;D ;D ;D

Melissa - I am still not sure whether your son is being diagnosed with add or adHd .... If it is add I can particularly relate ... my son (who is 16 and add) has been told and has grown up with the knowledge that he has a hard time concentrating ... Meds (in our case Concerta) has really helped him to do this ... he also was aware that he tended to blurt things out in the classroom ... I remember him saying (before his diagnosis) that he wished he could stop from doing that!! .. Well meds DID help him a lot to stop from doing that !! ...

If he is adHd then meds should also help him with hyperactivity !! ...

The short fuse is also something I think they should all be aware of ... both the add/adhd'er AND the siblings ... in my experience both adhd'ers and add'ers have a "short fuse" ... Maybe the best way to relate it is to the 10 radio stations going on at one time and not being able to tune into any ONE of them ... this could make life frustrating for ANYONE!!

However, meds again should help him tune into ONE of those stations at a time ...

KEEP US POSTED !! GOOD TO SEE YOU HERE!! ...

[milesofsmiles]

Yes, Yes Anne, add the fact that the person feels like they need to instantly impulsively act on the words of each song as they come along. And throw on some ear phones to filter out parental wavelengths, and I think you got it.

Miles

I watched my son this morning as I instructed him to put on his shoes. First he had to pull up his socks perfectly, then he remembered that he left a dvd box in the living room, went there got it. I reminded him to put on the shoes again, he went into the kitchen where they were, by that time forgot what he was in there for, he started to read the dvd box, I reminded him again, he sat down, started reading the box again. GET THE SHOES ON!!!! and he responded, why are you upset? He did not wait for an answer, and went back to his box. I took the shoes and tossed them in the car along with him (without the dvd box)

[Linda]

Stop it miles... ;D ;D ;D You have taken me back to when Paul was that age. Sometimes the memories flood back. Guess what though..believe it or not..things get better as they get older.

[Amsmom]

miles, you should have said hi while you were at our house this morning!! ;D ;D ;D
you described my ds perfectly!!!!

[kstquilter]

one thing that has really stuck with my daughter is the commercial for Strattera for adult add. someone else has the remote control and changes the stations all the time. the tv and remote might be a way for kids to understand.
i was told when dd was first diagnosed that there is a filter in their brain that doesn't work. so when they hear papers rustle behind them, they turn around and the birds chirp out the window they look, and noise in the hall makes them look up. in a person without adhd, that filter helps other kids not notice all those small noises and distruptions.
one of her biggest problems at your son's age was keeping up with too many verbal directions at once at school. when the teacher said to close a book, get out the next book and open it to page 22, she got behind. she was busy closing the book and putting it away and missed the rest of the instructions.
maybe some of this will make sense to your kids. if you start your son on meds, the other kids will notice the difference right away. then they may not care why, just make sure he takes the meds!
good luck!
karen

[MelissaBrown]

:)Hi everyone Thank you all for your input! It was very helpful and Linda sent me a email with a good sight that explained how to explain everything to the kids.