# Have you had adhd testing done?



## Mrs. Jo (Jun 5, 2007)

I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with getting a diagnosis for adhd and possible treatment. 

Long story short, my 9 year old dd has had problems since she was 3 or 4. It does affect our schooling, our home atmosphere and how we interact. A few days ago our chiropractor mentioned that she may be a high functioning autistic and that makes me concerned now. I'm not convinced of that myself but I wonder if it's something we should be testing for?

She has most of these adhd symptoms: 

Difficulty maintaining and shifting focus
Easily distracted
Disorganized and âmessyâ
Forgetful
Difficulty completing tasks
Daydreamy
Slow to process information and directions (It may even appear that they arenât hearing you)
Careless
Often late (poor time management)
Hyper-talkative 
Verbally impulsive (blurts out, interrupts others)
Easily upset, over-reactive


We are seeing a lot of emotional upsettedness just lately also, and I think part of that is because of homemones that are changing. 

Anyway, we are trying to evaluate if we need to get actual testing done, seek medication for her, or figure out if what we are doing is good enough. 

If you have any experience as to what the testing was like I'd appreciate hearing about it.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Is she in public school or homeschool? If she is in public school, then you will have to make a decision on that. 

But if she is homeschooled, you simply have to find a better curriculum that is hand's on rather than workbook type stuff. Konos is great for kids who are so active, and both Hewitt and Timberdoodle sell great stuff for kinetic learners.

The Hewitt website if offline, so I will put Moore up instead along with timberdoodle
http://www.timberdoodle.com/
http://www.moorefoundation.com/article.php?id=53

One more link to an article about Dr. Moore's way of teaching. It works great for kinetic kids. Instead of seeing kids as having a learning disability or behavioral disability that needs medicated like ADHD, we need to realize they simply learn by doing rather than by sitting and reading/writing. And workbooks/textbooks are just not the best way for them to learn. Learning by doing is better for them.
http://www.moorehomeschooling.com/article.php?id=5


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## Mrs. Jo (Jun 5, 2007)

heck, I forgot to say she was homeschooled. Changing curriculum is something I need to think about. Thanks for that idea. Making dinner so can't respond in length right now.


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## fffarmergirl (Oct 9, 2008)

I agree with Mekasmom. I didn't homeschool, but my son was just like you describe your daughter minus the emotional stuff. His Junior year, I told the principal I was just going to take him out and homeschool him because he was going to fail anyway. He wanted to be a welder so I planned to have him take the GED and then get into the welding program. She said "Just hold your horses. We can put him in the welding program at the ISD." They enrolled him in the welding program and he excelled at it - the instructor said he had a rare natural talent. The rest of his grades came up when he was allowed to work with his hands doing something he loved every day.

He's 20 now. He's still somewhat disorganized but when he gets it in his head to be organized he can be. He's like me - to remember things he has to make lists. If something is important to him, he writes it down.

He's not mentally handicapped or learning disabled. He's of above-average intelligence & excels at math, etc. He just learns differently.

One of his grade school teachers actually had the nerve to try to force me to put him on ritalin. I brought him to doctors who didn't want to prescribe it and she demanded that I keep taking him to different doctors until I found one who would put him on it. I refused to do it and she accused me of child abuse, stating "not giving ritalin to a child who needs it is just as bad as not giving antibiotics to a child with an infection." She wouldn't lay off until I took her before the school board. I'm glad I stuck to my guns. He's who he is and he has to learn to live in the world as himself. If he learned to only be able to cope when taking ritalin, he'd have to continue taking it for his whole life or be forced to learn new coping skills when he stopped taking it.


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## Hobson (Mar 24, 2011)

I have 2 boys one with ADD and the other with ADHD. We took both kids off the meds the teachers said they needed when we switched to homeschooling. I have learned to use the hyperactivity to his advantage. he spells his words with clapping or jumping. We also have the days where he can only manage to do his work in 10 min. sessions. Sometimes I will give him 2-3 different subjects to work on and he will switch back and forth as his attention declines with one thing he can focus on another. Don't know if that will work for your family. I did a lot of trial and error with him. Also EARLY morning is when his attention is best. The other son is an evening learner. Makes it easier for one-on-one time.:grin:


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## Becka (Mar 15, 2008)

My 10 yo dd is just like you described. We've found that SOS (Switched On Schoolhouse) is best for her with homeschool. The doc says she's ADD, but we didn't have her "formally" diagnosed although they gave me the paperwork for it and she has LOTS of the symptoms. We haven't done meds yet, although some days I'm soooo tempted. Friends of ours said to wait until after puberty if at all possible, because the meds have to be re-adjusted during/after that anyway.

She is always in motion. Never stops except to briefly recharge! We bought a small jogging trampoline and she can jump on it while doing spelling words, times tables, etc. It helps with the excess energy and keeps her in one spot for a while.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Here's a link to Konos. As an example, I remember going out to the football field and laying out the dimensions of Noah's Ark for math one day. It was all about measuring. I didn't really do Konos, but my friend did, and we went together one afternoon for the kids to all outline the dimensions. It was great. They also lay out the model of the structure of the inner ear in one lesson for science using household objects. It's a great hand's on curriculum for active kids. And hand's on is much better than textbook/workbook things.
http://www.konos.com/www/overview.html#handson


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

And also as a last bit of information, look into 2 things for Autism/ADHD--
1. Soak her feet in epsom salt everyday for the magnesium. Minerals help kids brains conduct electricity better, and soaking her feet is an easy way to get minerals into her.
[ame]http://www.google.com/search?q=soak+feet+epsom+salt+ADHD+autism&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a#hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&pq=soak%20feet%20epsom%20salt%20adhd%20autism&xhr=t&q=+epsom+salt+ADHD&cp=0&pf=p&sclient=psy&client=firefox-a&hs=VhR&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&source=hp&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=+epsom+salt+ADHD+autism&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=e4d813b43c7d221c&bs=1&biw=1280&bih=598[/ame]

2. Tapping is also very useful to help the brain conduct electricity. It resets the electrical flow to slow and focus the synapses.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=adhd+meridian+tapping&aq=f

Basically the child learns to tap his body in a sequence
top of head with dominant hand
above eyebrows both hands
below eyes on each side of nose both hands
top of lips/below nose center dominant hand
both collar bones (k 27) using both hands

Then flip the hands like they are flipping off water away from the body.
Then the child does the same thing again using the other hand. 

It resets the electrical flow in the brain to help get focus and to stop the unfocused flow of activity/thoughts. 
It's free, so it's worth a try. And it's a lot better than putting a kid on psychiatric drugs. They can tap several times a day if needed, and it won't hurt them.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Please also look into her diet. Eliminate HFCS, red dye and as much processed food as you can. Go for as much hormone free, natural foods as you can.
This is what we did and the result was amazing. 

Our son had most if not all of those symptoms above. We still have a child that is constantly on the go and talks a lot, but he is able to concentrate now and focus. We also use SOS along with extras and he is a year ahead with it.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Those look like great websites makasmom.


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## bajiay (Apr 8, 2008)

I agree with mekasmom. My daughter was thought to be ADHD and had tests done by a psychologist at one point. He said too may people/doctors/teachers use ADHD as an excuse not to find the real problem. It turns out that my daughters brain does not work properly. Her neurotransmitters and other things do not work like they should. Some days, she wakes up, but nobody's home. She is improving but I feel like I have a two year old again sometimes. (She's 14) She also has Cushing's Disease, which adds to the issues. The tapping, known as EFT, does work. My daughter has to do it before school. I also have her crawl before doing schoolwork. Both things do help. When she is hyper, I make her run around the house outside because she will look like she is literally coming out of her skin. It drives me crazy, I can't imagine how she feels. 
Hands on homeschooling is a definite must! It took me a year and a half before I figured this out. It can be done. You just have to learn their way of learning, so that you know how their brain works and you can then teach them. It has been a long process for me but we are finally there. I hope you fare better than I have! Good luck!


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## HOTW (Jul 3, 2007)

My eldest DD who has ALL the "symptoms" of Aspergers recently began trying Valerian root to help her with anxiety and the result has been amazing! I have 3 kids who all exibit classic issues but I ahve dealt with them and refused to "diagnose" them. I feel that the system goes overboard and it is showing in the kids. Too many excuses to not work with the kids and teaching them coping mechanisms. My DS's GF mother tells people he has Aspergers and I tell him well it runs int he faily way too mnay of us are smart and don't give a hoot what others thinks socially..gee so hard to deal with! 

The issue in my mind is a lack of flxibility within the entire system but I will say my kids have done much better SINCE being homeschooled because we adapted to their learning styles


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## ruralmaina (May 21, 2011)

Our daughter has many of the same symptoms and for years we were perplexed with why she did the things she does. 
She's teen now and lost 20 pounds in 4 months and 4 pounds in 20 days. 
They tested for everything medically and special ed testing in the public school showed nothing. She has asked if we can homeschool her for 8th grade. 
She wears glasses and she kept saying the glasses didn;t help after only a few days each time she got new ones. SHe also kept saying she couldn;t see out her eye at times. 
New eye doctor sent her to a visual therapy specialist for a convergence insuficency. We ll come to find out it;s more than that. She has a midline shift. And by his feeling, she may have been born with it or injured very young and gone undiagnosed. 
If you look up midline shift it is when the brain is even slightly off to one side. Which in turn, makes everything that "should be" in front of them "off to one side" SO what you and I see as in front of us, is in reality off to one side.
All the symtpoms your child shows, she shows and finally we have an answer, it's her brain not communicating with her eyes. Unfortunately in our case. Our daughters brain has shut part of her eyesight off. She has weak eyes now and when she gets tired her brain shuts off her sight. It makes her very tired and irritable and because here eyes can;t process things for long her attention span is very short. So some days she can do the public school work other days she bombs it or struggles so bad you would think she has ADHD or aspergers. 
It might be worth having a good eye exam with a complete and through medical with the eye doctor. 
Our teen has a sort of guarded prognosis. They are working on re training her brain where center is. (which I forgot to mention by the brain and visual being off center it can cause their balance to be off and when they try to find something on a shelf. They see everything on the shelf because they can't focus on just one thing sometimes due to sight) If they can retrain her brain where center is, then they can find out which side her eyes are off to and use prisms glasses to bring them back to center and then visual therapy and compensate her brain and sight by being tricked. 
Just a thought for some of you out there struggling. Eye sight and brain are more intertwined than you think. We went 12 years before we got the answer and even now she may have to live with sight issues or loss forever. (this does not show up in the usual eye exam. They said it ususally shows up in stroke patience or brain injured patience. Thankfully we found an eye doctor who listened and did extra tests and refered us to a specialist. 
Hope this helps...


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## Mrs. Jo (Jun 5, 2007)

Well, you have given me a lot of things to think about! 

Personally, I don't feel that she is autistic, but does have adhd. We have not formally tested for it but it is obvious that she has unique problems. What I am concerned about is this: what if she is a child who would benefit from medications and we don't don't do that? Does that do any good for her?
On the other hand, the idea of giving her these drugs is also plainly frightening. I'm afraid of them causing more problems for us as a family and for her. 

I like the the suggestions mekasmom has given. We can certainly try incorporating them into our day. Diet is a natural as we can afford, and food dyes are an issue with her, too but we are aware of that. We already make sure she eats protein in the mornings, and she takes omega 3 fish oils which helps her alot. She takes a amino acid complex called Gaba-Calm which helps her with anxiety issues and her sleep problems, too. 

I recently bought a good book. Homeschooling children with special needs. This has interesting information in it about kids, and about parents. It explains some of what I have been feeling lately.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

How well is your daughter coping? Function is a good way to decide if she needs meds.

My youngest used to slug anybody who bumped into him, AND HE DID IT WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT! It was a knee jerk reaction that he could not control.

It is impossible for a group of boys of that age to be together without somebody being jostled, and this was making social problems for the poor kid. So, he went onto meds. The alternative was to be ostracized by his peer group: young boys will only be understanding for so long!

He is now 17, and recently he tried to get off of the meds but it made his schoolwork so much harder that he decided to go back onto them. I have no idea what the future holds with DS and meds but I think that it will be his decision.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Mrs. Jo said:


> what if she is a child who would benefit from medications and we don't don't do that? Does that do any good for her?


I'm not sure medication is really a benefit for anyone. It doesn't fix issues, it just camouflages them. But that is just my opinion.


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## Mrs. Jo (Jun 5, 2007)

mekasmom: Lately, that is what I have been thinking. My daughter is a very creative person, though she struggles with sometimes with attention span. I've heard that many people say that meds affected that creativity. She would be so upset if that happened...it is important to her. 

Terri: She doesn't seem to be bothered by it so much. She is making slow progress with school and reading ect so she is able to do her work. I can honestly see lots of improvement over the course of the year. 


Anyway, we have gone to our chiropractor and together we are making up a plan about how we can discover what her problems are and a way to find some ways to help her learn to deal with them. We are going to look into allergy testing, and then we'll work from there. 

I'm not making a decision about medications until I research it further and talk to a pediatrician. 

Everyone, your stories and advice has been very beneficial for us. Thanks for sharing with me! ~ Mrs Jo


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## showpigann (Apr 6, 2011)

I have a son that is 7 he was diagnosed with adhd at 4. We tried differant meds found one that kept him calm, but we lost alot of him in the process. He was such a happy boy always playing outside. Then after awhile the meds turned him to a zombie. He never wanted to do anything just sit there. We have found our little boy agian. No meds!! We changed his diet,put him on minerals,and a product called super calm. He is now the happy boy I remember.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I'm in my late 50's and have almost everyone of those symptoms.

What has worked for me is practicing karate. It made a huge difference in all the symptoms. I had to stop training about 7 yrs ago and the symptoms have returned.

I think most martial arts will work....karate, tae kwon do, aikido and maybe even yoga. The key is to be forced to focus on simple things and increase your mind body connection.

I found that it put a shine on the world and increased my awareness of just about everything. I miss it.


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## Mrs. Jo (Jun 5, 2007)

Showpigan, what is supercalm? and what minerals do you mean?

Fishhead, we tried karate for a while but we had to stop due to money issues.They wanted 300$ a month for it.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

We paid $40-$50/month. I'd look around.


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## therunbunch (Oct 5, 2009)

We haven't, but we did the "cup of coffee" per day with our DD and in 3 weeks her symptoms disappeared. Maybe it wasn't ADD/ADHD.. or maybe it was a miracle cure. To each their own. I've also heard excellent things about SOS.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Mrs. Jo said:


> Showpigan, what is supercalm? and what minerals do you mean?
> 
> Fishhead, we tried karate for a while but we had to stop due to money issues.They wanted 300$ a month for it.


Trace minerals or a total mineral supplement is the best. But if you can't get pills or nasty tasting liquid minerals down the child then use Epsom Salt foot baths. Mg is the most important mineral for the problem, and most kids will sit for a foot bath so that the magnesium can soak into their body from that.

Dynamic Trace Minerals are really good, but taste absolutely horrible. You just have to get two or three drops down the kid a day though.
https://www.securedcontent.net/dynamite/New images/multi/tracemineralsbig.jpg


Some more on the importance of trace minerals--
http://www.traceminerals.com/research/balance
http://holistichealthblog.wordpress.com/about/the-importance-of-trace-minerals/


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