My 8-year old son (yes, I know, not a girl, but anyway) just started on Adderall XR, and we can't believe the difference we see in his ability to focus and control his impulsivity. Now, if we can only get him to go to sleep at a reasonable hour.

DolphinChicaDDD - Thanks for the input. I'm exploring the process for getting an IEP, but not sure that she would qualify. I would never interrupt teaching time to talk to a teacher - I know they have a tight schedule to adhere too. We have a conference on Monday, and I think she will do what she can to help, but also understand that she has limitations on what she can do. I want to advocate for my child, yet don't want to alienate the teacher at the same time. There is a fine line there at times, and I just want to help my daughter. Great suggestions on the index cards - I'm filling them out now. The "broken record" of "time on task" is good too - I'll start doing that as well.

James - how bout writing my school system and telling them homework is not necessary for the gifted - lol! I agree with what you are saying, but I guess they do it to reinforce what they are doing in class. I'm pming you!

MysticCat81 - Of course boys are allowed in the discussion, and thanks for sharing about your son!

I'm going to take a hard look at the meds too. Maybe we will try it to see if there is a big difference - we can always take her off if necessary!

I read something today that makes a little bit of sense - if she has been zoned out for the past three years in school, and only payed attention to things that interested her, she may have missed big chunks of vital information - and this may be why she is behind.

That's the approach we took -- we can always stop meds if they aren't working or are causing too many other problems.

Perhaps the best part of watching him the last few weeks is to see what it is doing for his self-image. He was really starting to see himself as the "why bother trying, I'm going to get in trouble/fail at the task anyway no matter how hard I try" kid. Now he's starting to see himself as the kid who really can do a great job. Lots of great re-enforcement from the teacher really has helped as well. (When we went to talk with her, she told us she is ADD and takes medication that helps immeasurably, so I think she feels a special empathy for kids who struggle with ADD/ADHD.)

Best of luck AXO_Mom. I know what a struggle it is to figure out the best way to help your kid.

Well, I started to take the Focalin XR again, last week. This time I am having no bad reactions with my anxiety, and it is helping out immensley. Now if only there were more hours in the day for me to get all this work done.

Which has now happened. We had to stop the Adderall XR because of the disturbing side effects we were seeing -- not just insomnia and loss of appetite, but pretty severe anxiety, sullenness, and more.

Glad to hear this, because Strattera is what we're trying now. It's been less than a week, so we haven't seen any real result yet.

I'm passing along a email that was forwarded to me by someone in my ADD yahoo group.

-----Original Message-----
From: CHADD National [mailto:chadd_national@CHADD.ORG]
Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2006 4:13 PM
Subject: President's Budget Eliminates AD/HD National Resource Center - Your Calls and Emails Needed

An important resource to millions living with AD/HD is on the chopping block, and your help is urgently needed.

The National Resource Center on AD/HD (NRC), funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the nation’s best source of science-based information for the public on AD/HD, could lose its funding if Congress approves President Bush’s proposed budget cuts.

What you can do:

On March 15th, a key Appropriations subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a hearing on the 2007 budget for the CDC.

Contact your US Representative and Senators today before this hearing and voice your opposition to shutting down the NRC.

We’ve made contacting your U.S. Representative and Senators as easy as 1-2-3…

1) Go to http://capwiz.com/chadd/issues/alert...530756&type=CO

2) Scroll down and fill out the form

3) Click Send Message


Thanks for raising your voice!

Paul J. Seifert

CHADD Director of Public Policy

8181 Professional Place, Suite 150

Landover, MD 20785

Ph: 301-306-7070, ext 109

Fx: 301-306-7090

Cell: 301-219-4719

E-mail: Paul_Seifert@chadd.org