My 9 yr old daughter has been having difficulty in school since Kg. Now in 3rd grade, she is facing retention. She has been screened for LD's and none were identified. Her problems persist, and I contacted the school...they suggested an ADD eval with her Dr.

DD does have some inattentive tendencies, but only at school. SHe is very organized and functional at home. Her school work is not good - she receives a lot of tutoring and extra help and is not reaching the necessary milestones. She has friends and is socially adept. She is in no way hyperactive.

Her teacher and I filled out the survey, and I spoke with her Dr. Dr. said she "could" be ADD - but diagnosis is never easy nor certain. DD was a preemie and ADD is common for former preemies? Now I have an Rx for concerta - and am still not sure if she is ADD.

Should I give her the meds and see what happens - that's the Dr and school's advice. I am just not sure. I want so bad to get an answer for her struggles - could it be as simple as a pill?

Thanks for your help...I am so confused.

Edited to Add: Just went for Auditory Processing testing - findings indicated a slight deficiency in the left ear (not hearing, processing). Are these 2 realted? competing? Could it be one or the other? both?

hello nice to see you on the site well the pills can help a great deal better to wait till they have a better to tell what it might be yet as to the 2 ears... competing i not hard anything to serjest that has the doc said anything to you....you aslo say she....do not have ld an so far they not shore yet???? speaking ofve deficiency in foods might be something to look at...vit b6 b12 zince that kinder thing they could have look there as well though blood tests not nice i know but it might give some anwers so your saying she not hpyerativce and,,,her school works going down witch part pfve her school work is suffering this might give clues .....have you condered that there might be bullying at school....that might be something to look into its not allso so clsaer to see as you might think so shes happy with her frinds an socially adept id say if in dount about weather shes has add an adhd id for now till you know more keep off the pi;ls for a bit time till you know more there very helpfull on this site miss sunshine a teacher shed be perfected to ask some these quitons shes meet meany with it and meany other LD so have a look out for her and iam shore she help happy to chat anytime and i wishs yu all the best luck in the world dorm

Welcome to the forums justjill!:) DD does have some inattentive tendencies, but only at school. SHe is very organized and functional at home. Her school work is not good - she receives a lot of tutoring and extra help and is not reaching the necessary milestones. She has friends and is socially adept. She is in no way hyperactive.

Her teacher and I filled out the survey, and I spoke with her Dr. Dr. said she "could" be ADD - but diagnosis is never easy nor certain. DD was a preemie and ADD is common for former preemies? Now I have an Rx for concerta - and am still not sure if she is ADD. I am the mother of a premmie too. And yes premature birth is a definate risk factor for ADHD. My eight year old daughter is ADHD and dyslexic.

Should I give her the meds and see what happens - that's the Dr and school's advice. I am just not sure. I want so bad to get an answer for her struggles - could it be as simple as a pill?I take Concerta and knew right away that it was making a difference for me. It might be less obvious for an inattentive ADDer. Since your doctor felt it was safe to prescribe -- the risk is pretty low. You should know right away if it helps, changes nothing, or makes her buzz around the place. If nothing changes the dose might be too low or she might respond best to another medication. If she buzzes around the place the dose is either too high or the diagnosis ought to be looked at again. Are there any other ADDers in the family tree?

Thanks for your help...I am so confused.

Edited to Add: Just went for Auditory Processing testing - findings indicated a slight deficiency in the left ear (not hearing, processing). Are these 2 realted? competing? Could it be one or the other? both?Those two conditions are very closely related. Some people think they may be the same thing others think that they just overlap a lot.

You might want to read about ADD in girls. There is a book at www.addwarehouse.com (http://www.addwarehouse.com) called Understanding Girls with AD/HD by Nadeau, Littman, and Quinn or the local bookstore probably has Women with Attention Deficit Disorder which also describes how ADD shows up earlier in life by Sari Solden. There are also good articles at www.schwablearning.com (http://www.schwablearning.com) on all kinds of ADD topics.

Take care,
Scattered

ADHD is all about a fundamental inability to control mental focus.
One of the characteristics is that the harder you try to focus, the harder it gets
and a person with ADHD can end up in a mental gridlock rather easily if stressed or in a rapidly changing environment.

It is not surprising your child does better at home. Home is a nice comfy controlled environment. On the other hand, school is more dynamic, and stressful in that it constantly creates demands to complete numerous mental tasks requiring the ability to focus.

Yes, many people with ADHD were premature babies. I was premature and had a traumatic birth. Mostly, ADHD seems to have a genetic link, but other biological factors (like premature/traumatic birth) seem to add up too.

It can be as simple as a pill. In the long term it is more complex. She will eventually need to be evaluated by a professional. She will need to learn to understand her condition and she will have to learn to cope with it all her life. Medications are not a cure, but the right medications can make a huge difference.

You might give the concerta a try and see what happens. If it is not ADHD, what is it ? There is definitely something going on and it looks a bit like ADHD if I go by your words.

Auditory processing problems might indicate that something is going on. About 20% of persons who have adhd, have hypersensitiivities, including hypersensiitivity to sound.

I have sensory problems. Partly due to damaged hearing, partly due to adhd. It causes a lot of stress for me at times.

I know that some people claim that hearing problems in children can cause ADHD like symptoms.

I can tell you for a fact that sensory problems can make a child so distracted that the child might appear to have adhd.

Make sure the doc knows about the auditory processing problem when you go for the evaluation.

In the short term, treat the condition, but do go for an evaluation by a professional as soon as is reasonably possible.

ME :D


My 9 yr old daughter has been having difficulty in school since Kg. Now in 3rd grade, she is facing retention. She has been screened for LD's and none were identified. Her problems persist, and I contacted the school...they suggested an ADD eval with her Dr.

DD does have some inattentive tendencies, but only at school. SHe is very organized and functional at home. Her school work is not good - she receives a lot of tutoring and extra help and is not reaching the necessary milestones. She has friends and is socially adept. She is in no way hyperactive.

Her teacher and I filled out the survey, and I spoke with her Dr. Dr. said she "could" be ADD - but diagnosis is never easy nor certain. DD was a preemie and ADD is common for former preemies? Now I have an Rx for concerta - and am still not sure if she is ADD.

Should I give her the meds and see what happens - that's the Dr and school's advice. I am just not sure. I want so bad to get an answer for her struggles - could it be as simple as a pill?

Thanks for your help...I am so confused.

Edited to Add: Just went for Auditory Processing testing - findings indicated a slight deficiency in the left ear (not hearing, processing). Are these 2 realted? competing? Could it be one or the other? both?