5 Yo With Add/adhd?

My 6 year old niece has ADHD. That's what the doctor says. But in this case it's her behavior. She takes the meds in the morning before school and she good up until the afternoon and she started to act up again. So, now they are going to double her dose. It really scares me. I just feel it's kids being kids. It's just an excuse not to deal with the problem. I'm like scared it may interfer with her ability to learn. I'm not sure what kind of meds she is taking and what are the affects of it.

just want to get as much input as possible. im worried if he has to get on meds myself. i just think it is a kid being a kid. btw, im from marrero, LA.

I work in the schools and see this all the time. I don't know the whole story but I am already questioning your son's school. Kids in kindergarten are just getting used to the whole school routine. I work with a lot of kids who have attention problems but not necessarily because they have diagnosable ADHD. I would ask what interventions the teacher does for him. Using a ruler to get his attention isn't the most creative way. It sounds extremely old school. Perhaps he is bored? Are you able to observe the classroom? I would be extremely cautious about meds at this point. Most children who have symptoms indicative of ADHD, demonstrate those symptoms across all settings not just the school setting. Even if you were to go to a doctor, a doctor would ask you what symptoms you see at home. If you don't even have many concerns the doctor would certainly question it as well. My biggest concern is for your child in this classroom. Perhaps it's not the best placement for him. Definitely observe him. If the teacher doesn't let you, take it up to the principal or priest (that's who you would go to, right?).

As for the other child...good grief. Perhaps it is a legit case but how was the diagnosis made. I question any diagnosis that come from a regular family doctor. Good doctors will always refer out. There are many possible causes for adhd symptomolgy that need to be ruled out such as an undx sleep disorder (not just insomnia), diet, specific medical conditions, anxiety, etc... In an ideal world, a doctor would order blood work and go over the physical. The child would eat healthy, go to a sleep doctor to rule that out, and also go to a psychiatrist to do a full comprehensive evaluation. Oh, I would also want to rule out learning disabilities and speech/language disorders as well. Lay people like to jump to the easiest conclusion, which is currently ADHD due to lack of knowledge. The teacher's input is important but her advice regarding meds should be taken with a grain of salt at this point because it is not her area of specialty. Please seek out specialists, not just regular family physicians.

If you don't get anywhere with the school, I would consider a different placement. I am not a big fan of moving kids in the middle of the school year but certain unique cases warrant it. I have seen kids with high needs be very successful with certain teachers in the regular education classroom. I have also seen kids who have never had problems just fall apart in other teachers classrooms because of specific factors regarding teaching style, etc....

There are a few kindergarten teachers who frequent this forum. Perhaps they could respond.

I teach kindergarten in Louisiana.
First of all he is in kindergarten, why are they in desk? Also, kindergarten doesn't have grades. It's either S,N,U or M,P. Also, she can not tell you that you need to go to the doctor. If a teacher tells a parent that they need to bring their kid to the doctor for ADD/ADHD, the school board is liable for ALL of the doctor bills. I know it's a Catholic school, so I don't know how that works. We are warned against this. I would NEVER tell a parent to go see a doctor b/c I thought the child had a problem.
Where are you from?

ADHD characteristics are typical for a child his age until age 7.
You should suggest to her to make modifications in her classroom to accomodate your child.
When does he turn 6?

The teacher sounds very old school to me. If his attention would be that bad it would interfer with his learning and he wouldn't be doing so well.

I'm from Marrero, on the Westbank of New Orleans. I just put A's and B's to be simple about it, but on his progress report to be exact he had 1- e and the rest g's. Over here it goes e, g, s, u, i, excellent, good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory, and incomplete. Remember its a catholic school, it is different, and they would never pay for doctor visits for my child. He turns 6 on may first, 2008. I think she might not be challenging him enough & she's getting up in age.

Wow! That's great. All three of you are from LA.

I have a niece in private Christian school, and I know that they have different rules than that of a public school. In my opinion, the public schools are much more strict than the private schools. So I believe you when you say that they wouldn't pay for the bills. The teachers are not under the same rules as the teachers in public school.

I also feel that doctors have a tendency to diagnose kids to quickly with ADHD. I have a friend who has a 7 year old daughter and she is diagnosed with ADHD and she is on Aderal twice a day. I think thats ridiculous considering that some stupid adults abuse this drug to get high, the same with Ridalin. I watched two of my cousins that have ADHD be pumped full of drugs about 10 years ago before they realized all of the nasty affects they have. My cousin stopped their drugs because she felt that they were harming her kids and she said it was the scariest time of her life. She watched her kids go through withdrawl that would compare with someone withdrawling from Heroin. Scary!

I personally would never put my kids on those drugs. I say that now because I don't have any kids. My husband however was diagnosed with ADD when he was younger, but has no signs of it now. So who knows about the future.

Drugs should never be a first resort.

If you ask me, i think the teacher has some issues within herself. If your son is really doing great in school, then who cares if he's daydreaming every once in a while.
Just tell his teacher that you're doing what's best for your son and not what's best for his teacher.

There are actual neurological/attention tests that can be done to diagnose adhd that have nothing to do with behavior- although looking at behavior is an important part of a rounded diagnosis. Some kids really do need medication. To anyone who's questioning it, I'd seek out this kind of testing. It means taking your kid to a real psychologist who specializes in this kind of thing, not a regular doctor. They aren't licensed to really make this kind of decision.

Had a psychologist give him a $4k test today. Nothing wrong other than his asthma meds having the side affects they do. Thank you all for your input.

It's all typical up at age 7, teachers need to remember that.

Asthma meds can really make a child look ADHD. I am glad it has been sorted through. Your child must have been on albuteral or something very similar.