Anyone know about non-hyperactive ADD?

[BusynMember]

My twelve year old daughter is in seventh grade and struggling to keep C's. She has learning disabilities and everyone says she doesn't have ADHD. I'm not sure what ADHD even entails. SHe tells me she has trouble keeping her mind on school when the teacher is talking, then needs to go for extra help to catch up on what is missed. I had this problem too. It's not fun.
Does this sound like ADD? She isn't hyperactive or a behavior problem. I don't want to touch stimulants because my older daughter was addicted to them and she got most of her drugs from kids who were "diagnosed" with ADHD. I just don't like the addiction potential.
What interventions do you feel are good for possible ADD? Does it sound like ADD? She's a very "spacy" kid, forgets her work at home (then calls me begging me to bring it) misplaces things, swears her cell phone is in her room but it's in the car, etc. She's not very organized. How can I help her?

 

[jbrain]

Hi MWM,
both my dtrs were diagnosed with the inattentive type ADHD. My older dtr thinks it was an accurate diagnosis for her but thinks she outgrew it. She couldn't concentrate in school--she was not a behavior problem, just sat there daydreaming. She was very disorganized with everything.

My younger dtr was very spacy and we thought the ADHD diagnosis made sense--she even read a book about teen girls with ADHD and it seemed to fit. But she and her therapist decided it really wasn't adhd, it was her dissociating due to trauma caused by my older dtr. She also is very disorganized, loses things easily, has trouble concentrating, etc.

I think many other disorders can look like ADHD. I understand your hesitation in using the medications. My older dtr started selling her adderal and concerta at school. My younger dtr didn't like the way the stimulants made her feel and they didn't help.

I think my son truly does have ADHD. He did fine in school til he hit high school and then he couldn't concentrate. I feel bad because I thought he just wasn't trying and I was so caught up with difficult child 1 that I didn't look more closely at what was going on. When he was in college he was diagnosed with it and he said Concerta really helped but now he just relies on lots of caffeine--he can't concentrate without it.

Well, I probably haven't helped much but probably others will come along soon who will!

Hugs,
Jane

 

[AnnieO]

Very similar to difficult child 1. I understand your being hesitant about medications for it. That may not be it.

She needs to learn coping mechanisms with or without medications however. Natural consequences. We will bring a forgotten item to school once per school year per child. difficult child 1 almost failed 7th grade due to this. But the fact is, they have to deal with it in the long run too. Also, difficult child 1 doesn't WANT to be organized. So we're working on that. With difficult child 2, it's just a struggle to remind him to put stuff in backpack, put backpack in the same place each night. Eventually it's a habit. We hope.

 

[house of cards]

Has she ever been evaluated for an audio processing disorder? Does this teacher speak at a faster rate then teachers in the past. Just another direction to think of, for what it is worth.

 

[DammitJanet]

MWM...the behavior you describe sounds a lot like what Jamie had but he also had hyperactivity with his. He didnt have behavior problems he was just in constant motion. He had problems with daydreaming, losing things, organization, being messy, concentrating, things like that. It has gotten better but he still has his moments.

I truly dont think you have to worry about addiction to ADD medications. Really. If you need them for a disorder you arent going to get addicted to them. Jamie only took his medications during the week unless he had a ball game on the weekend, he had no problems. When it came time to stop his medications, there was no problem. We didnt have to wean him down or anything.

 

[Josie]

difficult child 2 is not diagnosis'ed with ADD but I have thought she has had it for a long time. I recently had a neuropsychologist exam done on her and her official diagnosis is cognitive disorder - not otherwise specified. However, I have been told that she would appear in the classroom as a child with ADD. I think the only reason she didn't get that label was that I took her to a neuropsychologist that specializes in Lyme Disease and other brain injuries so he used that diagnosis instead.

I am taking her to a tutoring place that works on study skills for kids with ADHD. The director of this center told me that ADHD/ADD are really a description of symptoms with many different causes.

My daughter's neuropsychologist exam revealed weaknesses in visual comprehension, slow processing speed, and working memory when interrupted as well as other areas. Some of the suggestions were teaching her note-taking skills and active listening skills, having the teachers give her copies of their class notes several days before class so she could pre-study, and teaching her to read out loud to herself to add auditory comprehension to her reading.

I don't know if most kids with ADD have the same weaknesses as my daughter's. Has your daughter ever had a neuropsychologist exam? Whether they call it ADD or not, it might uncover areas that you could then address. If this isn't possible, I can look for more details from my daughter's report to share if you are interested. I would think some of the weaknesses would be similar in kids with the same symptoms.

 

[BusynMember]

She DOES have an auditory processing disorder. Would this cause ADD symptoms? So far everyone who has evaluated her says she doesn't have ADD.
For a kid who doesn't have ADD, she's awfully spacey
I am very worried about misuse of ADHD drugs. I can't help it since my other daughter didn't even take the medications, but she abused them. They are very "hot" on the street. Plus this daughter is adopted and her birthfather is a drug addict. I'm afraid she has a predisposition to addiction so I don't want to start. She's almost thirteen...in my opinion a bad age to introduce stimulants. And I haven't heard of Straterra really helping anyone much. I'd prefer she stay drug free. She is doing well in life, except that her grades could be a lot better. She is Learning Disability (LD) and gets extra help...sometimes it's not enough. And, then, being almost thirteen and the most social kid I've had yet, she often has her mind on things other than school too...

 

[DammitJanet]

You do realize there is a daytrana patch right? Not too easy to abuse that one.

 

[justour2boys]

My 9 yr old (4th grade) DS has Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) (auditory processing disorder) and it "looks" alot like ADD/ADHD... but it is not. The are no medications that can assist Auditory Processing Disorders (APD). There are medications that can help with any co-morbid diagnosis which in turn can help Auditory Processing Disorders (APD).

Meaning if she has anxiety on top of Auditory Processing Disorders (APD), a medication might help relieve some of the anxiety, therefore it would be easier to focus.

Does she have an IEP or 504 plan?

My DS has a 504 plan which is pretty detailed as far as classroom supports/modifications. Plus he has a field FM system in the classromm and that not only helps him, but the whole class.

There are some therapies that can help with Auditory Processing Disorders (APD).

As a side note, I have one of each, an Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) DS and an ADHD DS... and my Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) DS is the most disorganized person I know! My ADHD DS is actually very organized! Go figure!

 

[BusynMember]

N. has an IEP. She has had one since third grade because she couldn't figure out how to put sounds together and was a non-reader. She has almost caught up to grade level, but still struggles in school.
I hadn't thought of the Daytrana patch. I guess I"m afraid of moodswings. SHe's not a moody kid and I don't want to change that. I really don't want to deal with medications unless it is absolutely necessary. Did that with my son and he was a mess on them. She is still pulling C's (with supports). It gets harder as she gets older.
Thanks for the tip. I'll talk to the Spec. Ed Director about this.

 

[Wiped Out]

My easy child has been diagnosis'd with ADD. No hyper. In 8th grade she told us she felt she could never concentrate in school or at home to do her work. She says the stimulants really help her focus. The thing is she is completely organized with her school stuff but her room is never organized.

 

[house of cards]

If the teacher spoke too fast for her to follow, she would be unable to follow the conversation, grow bored and day dream. Does the teacher know she has a Auditory Processing Disorders (APD)?

 

[SRL]

Check into supports for Executive Function Disorder.

 

[BusynMember]

Thanks, all.
Actually, I do think she may be having trouble following because of her auditory processing problems. The teachers all know about it, but she is mainstreamed, however has supports in place to get extra help (which she utilizes).
So maybe that's it.
She did see a neuropsychologist. Nobody thinks she has ADD. But I've been through so many wrong diagnoses, I almost trust myself more than the professionals

 

[robinm1922]

Hi CD,
My difficult child was just diagnosis'd with AD-HD but I don't this the H is present with her. She didn't start having problems until she hit middle school and it became a huge issue in high school. We just got a 504 in place for her and I really hope it helps her out.
Her psychiatrist put her on wellbutrin (for depression but has a stimulant in it) which is being used to treat depression and AD-HD, she is also on Celexa. She started this almost 4 weeks ago and I am finally starting to see results, I hope it helps her focus in class.
The psychiatrist also mentioned Strattera which is a non stimulant but suppose to help with AD-HD, you may want to check into that.
It is amazing how much your difficult child sounds like mine in fact other than the Auditory Processing Disorders (APD). It sounds almost as if you were talking about my difficult child.
Best of luck it is so hard seeing them struggle. After a while they just give up!
Robin