My poor boy has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) He has struggled with it for years although he was not medicated until the end of 2nd grade when things got really bad for him and everyone finally saw what I saw and agreed that he was out of hand. Currently he's on 25 mg of adderral XR (extend release) and I don't want to go any higher because he doesn't gain weight well and his height has slowed down since going on the meds.....however I just received his report card and it is clear that he is struggling socially and in his study habits. He can't get started to save his life, he struggles to complete tasks on time, he doesn't participate well in class discussions, and he doesn't show much effort at all. I think this all comes from him not getting started well so then no matter how hard he tries it initially looks like he's not trying. He has mostly B's for his grades which is fine, honestly I know he's smart enough to do the work, he's just a bit lazy about doing stuff that he deems unnecessary or "stupid". His lack of effort and lack of desire to do the work hurts his grades and I am sure if he put out a greater effort initially he would get better grades overall.
I just worry a lot about his social skills. He does not participate well in class discussions, he doesn't interact well with the other kids. He struggles with basic social skills and gets easily frustrated with the other children. At home he is bitter and angry a lot and he has no clue as to why. I have read on the internet many people saying that adderral caused this kind of thing to happen to their children and I wonder if maybe I should concider changing his meds. Problem is, up until now the adderall was doing great. Suddenly it's not so great and he's struggling. I don't want to cause an issue at school if a different medication didn't work as well which could cause far worse problems. I just don't know what to do! All I can do is hope that I can figure out an answer soon!
2 comments:
I have never taken Max in for an evaluation for what are clearly learning disabilities...but I can totally relate. He slips thru thru cracks because he smiles and behaves in school...but he doesn't pay attention well, things don't sink in quickly, he needs constant attention to get work done. Participate in class discussions? Not happening...he is too afraid to say the wrong thing & then be laughed at. And this year he has a teacher who doesn't seem to like him very much because he's bringing her teaching grade down. Maybe I am doing him a disservice by not getting him to a doc for some medical attention. I've asked for 2 child studies and neither time did they deem it necessary to put him in special ed. Why not? He NEEDS IT! With a diagnosis they would be forced to do an IEP so I guess I need to get him an appt. They gave him an IQ test that says my kid is not smart at all. I'd bet a zillion dollars that had they given him the test verbally he would have passed with flying colors - but why would they waste their time right? Edu-crats SUCK. Max is amazingly artistic & shows musical talent too...I guess you & I just have kids who are way too fabulous for school.
Thanks
I think Orions biggest problem is the fact that his teachers keep telling me he's doing fine when I ask them how he is doing. The last time I asked the teacher about his social life all I got was that he taps his pencil on his desk when he's thinking and it annoys the other children. I did not hear about him not participating in a class discussion or struggling with oral reports....which I wonder about since he has only given 1 and he got top marks on that for a grade. The only comment she had was that he needed to work on speaking louder!
Anyway I'm frustrated and all that, I sent a note in to have her call me and talk to me about what I need to do to help this kid succeed! It's not fair to him that they don't want to work with me to make his education the best it can be.
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