Parenting An Awesome Child Who Has ADHD
I know I am not alone in this journey. I’m pretty sure by now we all know someone who has a kid with ADHD. And I also know we all have an OPINION on it, and that it’s not all the same.
Here is our story. This is just the beginning. There will be more posts on this subject.
I noticed at a very young age that Paul showed signs of ADHD. He’s a twin and maybe seeing the difference between them helped me see it so early.
Looking back now at my oldest during grade school I am pretty certain that he has it also but went undetected. I will say he had some great teachers that worked with him and that is probably why we didn’t really go down that avenue with him. That and we were super young and didn’t really know a lot about it.
If you are wondering where they get it from, that would be me. I’ve never been officially diagnosed, but I was sent to get tested years ago and couldn’t get it done because it was out of network, and at the time we couldn’t afford a $1,000 appointment. After many years of dealing with it I’ve learned some strategies to use.
Back to Paul
He was so full of energy. But it was so much more than that he couldn’t sit still. He was very spontaneous. I would always describe it as he didn’t have the ability to think of the next step (consequences) but always had immediate regret. He was always jumping, spinning, and running into things. He was nonstop. I know he is a boy and that’s what boys do. His brother also loved to jump, spin, and run.
This was different
He also had issues with textures and loud places. Clothes are a big deal. They can’t be tight, itchy, or stiff. Going from pants to shorts or vice versus was a huge ordeal. He loved to be wrapped up in his blanket. When he was younger I would hold him with his blanket completely covering him up and that would help him to reset.
It was all these other little things that added up to me starting to research. I came across a website that had a checklist. I printed it out and gave it to his daycare teachers and they each filled it out. There was also a checklist for me to fill out. All of this was sent to his doctor and they scheduled him to see a psychiatrist.
She observed him and said that she didn’t normally diagnose this early (he was 4) but that he definitely had ADHD. I decided to go the medicine route. But I made it very clear that if it changed his personality I would stop them. It took about 5 different medications to find the right one. Since he was on medicine he would have to be seen every 3 months. They check his weight and make sure that they aren’t experiencing negative side effects. He has never lost weight but he is slow to gain weight. After about a year and a half, we had to switch from seeing her to just going to his pediatrician. (Thanks insurance)
I couldn’t have done it without great teachers
Teachers make a big difference in how the child will succeed. We’ve had some that really worked with him and some that thought his medicine wasn’t working, because he would still do things to get in trouble. He’s still a kid. We got so lucky when his first-grade teacher moved up with the class to second grade. She really understood him. He is now finishing up 5th grade and has been in the gifted program since 1st grade.
We do not give him medication on the weekends or during school breaks. It truly is used to help him focus at school and not “make him behave”
I did cut out sugar and things in the beginning but couldn’t tell a difference. As I am on my own health journey I am learning so much more about brain and gut connection. I do have a goal to change some things in his diet to one day hopefully get him off the medicine. But this will be done over time so as to not overwhelm him.
Check out my post about Michael’s stuttering Yes He Stutters, And It’s Ok
Keepin’ it real,
Magan Outlaw