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Newly diagnosed 17 yo with ADHD ODD Possible Depression
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<blockquote data-quote="Babbs" data-source="post: 300153" data-attributes="member: 3820"><p>Iamwipedouttoo-</p><p>It annoys me to no end to hear about yet another student who "could earn A's and B's if they just applied themselves." Do teachers really think that smart students want to fail? That her life wouldn't be easier if she could just "apply herself?" gggggrrrr</p><p></p><p>One major point to remember is that the hallmark of executive functioning problems is the inability to organize, problem solve, initiate and follow through on tasks.</p><p></p><p>My difficult child is 4th grade and this kind of **** is written all over his kindergarten and 1st grade report cards - before I got him on medications and into behavioral managment therapy training. Teachers just don't get how hard it is for our kids to pull it together and get stuff done. I know that your daughter would be much happier if she could just sit down and get stuff done.</p><p></p><p>30 mg of Vyvanse is a very very very low dose. My 4th grader is on 50mg and I know of many high schoolers who are on 75-120mg. Have you asked her how her brain feels before and after the medications? Sometimes bringing it to the child's attention helps - difficult child will come tell me the "woodpeckers are flying around his brain" when medications get skipped. </p><p></p><p>When it comes to being able to organize materials, something to remember - if your brain is working its hardest to focus and pay attention to the correct information, lots of information gets lost in the process. Basic organizational tasks will need to be taught, retaught, and reinforced for her - yes, the average highschooler can do it independently, but she has a neurological reason for not being able to do these tasks. This is the same reason why rewards don't work - they haven't been immediate enough and frequent enough. The long term delayed gratification and organization needed to earn the car last year was way beyond her ability. It's akin to telling a student on crutches that if he runs a 5 minute mile he'll get a car. </p><p></p><p>A good place to start is to break down tasks for her into smaller components and have some sort of visual aid for her to see that the task is slowly being completed - many of our kids are very visual and abstract concepts like time management are just beyond their abilities at this point. They do better when they can actually see something progressing - and when rewards are immediate and given when the task is completed.</p><p></p><p>CHADD has a great resource for parents and teachers - there's a book that's available through their website for around $13 called "CHADD The Educator's Manual on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder". I buy one every year and gift it to my difficult child's teacher in September - I've learned that I have to be the one educating his teachers since most school districts won't. The book covers everything from how AD/HD impacts kids educationally to how to best help support them from pre-school to college years and also has sections on social skills and peer releationship help.</p><p></p><p>I think the hardest shift for many parents is realizing that many of the behaviors which drive us crazy are due to our difficult children' disabilities and to see the behavior through a disability context. This doesn't mean that adverse behaviors are ok, it doesn't let the child off the "hook" for the behavior - it means having a better understanding of why the behavior happened and how the child may need something different in the environment to help support them so that the behavior doesn't reoccur or gets slowly extinguished.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Babbs, post: 300153, member: 3820"] Iamwipedouttoo- It annoys me to no end to hear about yet another student who "could earn A's and B's if they just applied themselves." Do teachers really think that smart students want to fail? That her life wouldn't be easier if she could just "apply herself?" gggggrrrr One major point to remember is that the hallmark of executive functioning problems is the inability to organize, problem solve, initiate and follow through on tasks. My difficult child is 4th grade and this kind of **** is written all over his kindergarten and 1st grade report cards - before I got him on medications and into behavioral managment therapy training. Teachers just don't get how hard it is for our kids to pull it together and get stuff done. I know that your daughter would be much happier if she could just sit down and get stuff done. 30 mg of Vyvanse is a very very very low dose. My 4th grader is on 50mg and I know of many high schoolers who are on 75-120mg. Have you asked her how her brain feels before and after the medications? Sometimes bringing it to the child's attention helps - difficult child will come tell me the "woodpeckers are flying around his brain" when medications get skipped. When it comes to being able to organize materials, something to remember - if your brain is working its hardest to focus and pay attention to the correct information, lots of information gets lost in the process. Basic organizational tasks will need to be taught, retaught, and reinforced for her - yes, the average highschooler can do it independently, but she has a neurological reason for not being able to do these tasks. This is the same reason why rewards don't work - they haven't been immediate enough and frequent enough. The long term delayed gratification and organization needed to earn the car last year was way beyond her ability. It's akin to telling a student on crutches that if he runs a 5 minute mile he'll get a car. A good place to start is to break down tasks for her into smaller components and have some sort of visual aid for her to see that the task is slowly being completed - many of our kids are very visual and abstract concepts like time management are just beyond their abilities at this point. They do better when they can actually see something progressing - and when rewards are immediate and given when the task is completed. CHADD has a great resource for parents and teachers - there's a book that's available through their website for around $13 called "CHADD The Educator's Manual on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder". I buy one every year and gift it to my difficult child's teacher in September - I've learned that I have to be the one educating his teachers since most school districts won't. The book covers everything from how AD/HD impacts kids educationally to how to best help support them from pre-school to college years and also has sections on social skills and peer releationship help. I think the hardest shift for many parents is realizing that many of the behaviors which drive us crazy are due to our difficult children' disabilities and to see the behavior through a disability context. This doesn't mean that adverse behaviors are ok, it doesn't let the child off the "hook" for the behavior - it means having a better understanding of why the behavior happened and how the child may need something different in the environment to help support them so that the behavior doesn't reoccur or gets slowly extinguished. [/QUOTE]
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