ADHD / ADD Support Group
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and attention deficit disorder (ADD) are more common than you might think. It is a syndrome that exhibits symptoms such as hyperactivity, forgetfulness, mood shifts, poor impulse control, and distractibility. Join others who suffer from these conditions and share your experiences.
I have a 13 year old daughter who at the age of 5 was diagnosed with high functioning autism. We later found out at the age of 10 that she has Turners Syndrome. The doctors told us the autism was probably misdiagnosed and many of her issues were due to TS.
In elementary school her teacher did a kind of checklist for ADHD and concluded the possibility of her having that was very high. I never had her professionally evaluated because I figured I didn't need a label telling me she had a hard time paying attention. We already knew that.
Over the years and especially more recently, I have realized many other things can go along with ADHD. She is getting close to entering high school and I worry about her future. Will she be able to hold down a job? Will she even attempt college? School is difficult. Will she live with us forever? I constantly have to tell her in the mornings....go get dressed, get your shoes on, brush your teeth...we are going to be late. I feel I shouldn't still be doing this at 13.
Can someone tell me if a diagnosis will actually help anything? Her self esteem has already taken a hit form the TS. I don't know what to do. Thanks for listening.
In elementary school her teacher did a kind of checklist for ADHD and concluded the possibility of her having that was very high. I never had her professionally evaluated because I figured I didn't need a label telling me she had a hard time paying attention. We already knew that.
Over the years and especially more recently, I have realized many other things can go along with ADHD. She is getting close to entering high school and I worry about her future. Will she be able to hold down a job? Will she even attempt college? School is difficult. Will she live with us forever? I constantly have to tell her in the mornings....go get dressed, get your shoes on, brush your teeth...we are going to be late. I feel I shouldn't still be doing this at 13.
Can someone tell me if a diagnosis will actually help anything? Her self esteem has already taken a hit form the TS. I don't know what to do. Thanks for listening.
I had my son diagnosed at 4 and put on medication. I had been arguing something was wrong since he was 2. I don't know that having your daughter diagnosed will help her, I don't know if it helped my son, but for me it was a relief I wasn't a bad parent he had a medical condition and I had an explanation for his behavior. It gave me more patience and I went to therapy, read books and gained a better understanding of how he thought and felt.
Our years have had a lot of ups and downs, maybe more downs that up. Junior High years were really really rough. The best thing that happened to us was we moved his Junior year of high school. He got to start over with everyone except family. We didn't tell the school or the teachers he had ADHD and he held it together so well in public most never guessed. (Home life was a different story as after holding it in all day when he let loose...) He turned into a straight A student, made new friends, although none of them lasted more than 6 months at a time...He started college and we dipped again, but he is a senior and will graduate this year with a degree in elementary education and is moving out in May. He has a wonderful girl whose father is bipolar so she understands and has stuck with him for 2 years now.
He still struggles, so do we as his family and I worry how he will handle a regular job, bills, life with his girl, but he tested at the top of the charts for ADHD (he was professionally tested) and I cannot see him as anything other than a success story. There is hope for the future. Whatever you decide don't give up.
I used to run a support group for parents of emotionally /mentally disturbed parents..and I did 5 yrs volunteer work with parents of newly diagnosed kids.. educating them on meds..coping mechanisms, link n referral for community resources.... one thing i encountered a lot were parents who said " my son/daughter is adhd , or is autistic, or bipolar...n so on" ... n I would just keep telling them ."no, your daughter / son HAS adhd." till they stopped saying it. labels kinda suck but they help us to better identify what their needs are to make them more functional and happy and successful in their future. not just to categorize them and isolate them