Hi my name is Joshua, and I have ADD. j/kI have a theory on ADD. I know for a fact that I have ADD, it's not society and my parents taking the short excuse on why I didn't do my homework. I think that in some cases, not all, but some cases that ADD symptoms are not a sign of a learning disability. In fact at times I think they are the opposite. Tell me (if you have ADD or your child has it) if you've heard this before "your son/daughter has so much potential, he/she just doesn't use it." In school I wasn't stupid, hard to teach, or slow. I, while getting D's and F's unfortunately, would usually score higher on all the tests than the kids with A's and B's. I was learning what I was suppost to, I just couldn't (wouldn't) do the homework. It bored me to tears. I think that my parents and teachers were so focused on my grades and finding a disability to explain it, didn't realize that I just wasn't being challenged. Viewing my ADD as a disability they kept me in the least challenging classes and compounded the issue. I regretably did not graduate high school. My parents tried everything they could think of to figure out my PROBLEM. They even scrimped and saved to send me to a psycologist and later a psychiatrist who started perscribing drugs. USE DRUGS AS A LAST RESORT OF MANY, MANY ATTEMPTS. The drugs made my problem worse. Instead of being able to consentrate more I became spaced out. My change in personality totally wierded out my Mom who eventually told me to stop taking it (bless that woman.) Years later I learned to push myself. I now, without a high school diploma (I'm getting it soon) hold one of the more technical jobs in the Marine Corps. My civilian career counterpart earns well over six digits. I started from the bottom, open contract which means they put me where ever they wanted me. I pushed myself through school leaning to challenge myself, ending up in a very good career. But, I often wonder where I'd be if my parents had taught me to challenge myself sooner. Look at all the names in "ADHD heros" posted earlier. ADD doesn't always mean learning disability. Make sure your child isn't being held back before you start trowing drugs at them. Just my opinion. ADD does exist. Just make sure you're not causing the problem, while looking for the cure.
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Point of view and Advice
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Great Post!
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this is me (nice guy) I forgot to logon sorry.
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it sounds like to me you weren't on the right medicine for your ADD... the right medication (and its different for each person) can make a world of difference... but if you are doing fine without it now then there is probably no ned for it. but i agree, having ADD does tend to cause people to "push" themselves... i wasn't medicated until very late in high school and while my grades suffered, not being medicated helped me athletically. because my grades lacked and my self esteem suffered, i found that swimming was soemthing that gave me confidence in myself and i learned to push and push myself. i think that had i not had ADD it wouldn't have been so important for me to push myself so hard. eventually i got really good and eventually ended up getting on scholarship at a division 1 school. but my parents have always said had i been medicated for my ADD sooner, i probably would have never had that drive and desire to improve. and once i was medicated and my grades improved, everything seemed to come together. i still take my medicine now, i am one of those people who even with medicine i lose things constantly and am completely unorgainized. but that just goes to show that the medicines are not a cure, but they can help make life a little easier.
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albeit do you have ADD? you didn't say but i kinda got that impression...while yes you are right many people (including ones that or gifted and or have disabilities) are simply not challenged in school and this is not the only reason why they don't do well. I was also bored often in school however, this is not the reason why i didn't do well at all. the reason why i did poorly in school was because of the difficulty organizing, inattentiveness in class and forgetfullness, which are things that usually accompany ADD. I would often forget my homework, or if i did remember my homework, i'd forget it at home. etc. i'd constantly forget what was discussed in class. i had difficulty in math. it was a constant struggle just to do my work and attend to things, when a "normal" classmate just did this naturally. the reason why doctors use medication to treat ADD/ADHD is because it so effectively treats these symptoms i just discussed. and yes, people with ADD usually are gifted. they tend to be more creative and skilled in certain areas. however the fact remains that while having this giftedness, many children just struggle to get by in school because they have so much difficulty remembering things, organizing, and also with the behavioral issues. And about the autism-- i have worked with children with autism for quite some time, and so has my mother. Very rarely do you see an autistic person with the giftedness in which you are referring to. (when you do, this is more aspergers/savant end of the spectrum-- VERY different from your standard autism, this is a more "high-functioning" form on the autistic spectrum) For most families autism is a devastating neurobiological disorder which affects all areas of their lives, especially communication. These people tend to have retarded/borderline retarded level IQ's and they cannot function normally without someone with them 24 horus a day. This is just how it is with autism... And if there was a medication that controlled their "autistic" symptoms as well as many ADD medicines control peoples "ADD" symptoms parents would kill to get their hands on those medicines.I think that a whole person approach (therapy which addresses behavioral issues/organizational issues/forgetfulness etc, extra help in the schools so that the school is a least restrictive environment for the child, tutoring for difficult subject areas, etc) PLUS medication if necessary would be the best solution. Look at the whole child, not just the ADD symptoms... unfortunately some doctors don't treat ADD that way, which gives them a bad rep about just prescribing ritalin to anyone wiht ADD that walks into their offices....
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Everything in these posts are my daughter. She is very intellegent, although at 11, she is unable to read (at grade level) and feels extreemly bored in school and during homework. Her IQ is low, she's on every "Special Ed plan" a school has to offer. YET She can place a 100 pc puzzel together within an hour, problem solve putting anything together and plays every PS2 game like a master, yet, she can't do 5 math problems, read a page in a book nor comprehend the meaning of an Noun, adverb etc. Is it "challenage" or is it "interest"? All teachers say she is a bright, loving, effectionate child that beams in their classroom, yet we can't get her to "do the work" (or she can't bring herself to focus on the work). My child can't go through school with those characteristics, she NEEDS an education. Yes I've tried medication, Aderol & Riderlin. Neither I care to talk about. My child became a zombie, but the teachers kept saying "She's doing so good", I say BULL, she's quiet and stays in her seat now! Work was (and is) still hard for her. Aderol sent my daughter into convultions after her Dr up'ed her dosage to 56mg a day. I've heard that there is a diet that may help, but I am unable to find any information on it. If ANYONE has ANY advice, please email or reply. My daughter and I both welcome any new information. I also am ADHD, but I have learned to overcome it, and am not medicated and hold a terrific job and am a single mother holding her own! Medication never worked for me neither, I just "pushed forward" and learned to "deal" with it.
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did you just say 56 mg of adderal?? omg. they just put out a non-stimulant drug for ADD (i think its not an antidepressant either but i'd have to check). you may want to check that out...some say that kids with ADD often have high yeast levels in their bodies... and diets low in yeast can help. but i'm not into the whole diet thing... i think in some cases it can help but its certainly not a cure.