<p>S has always been a good student with great leadership and social skills. His grades show large fluctuations but overall he has never had a serious problem and has always been an A-B student. When he was younger he had lots of energy and difficulty sitting still and it was, at times a huge effort to get him to get through all of his work but he did get through it and did well. In HS he keeps track of his assignments,tests and projects and completes them all on schedule. Looking at his books, his notes and his room, they all look very disorganized so it does amaze me that he somehow keeps track of most things. When he was younger I spoke to his teachers about ADD and they said, maybe he is boarderline, but since it is a functional diagnosis and he was doing well they didn't think it was important to explore. Toward the end of his Soph year he said he thought he had a problem. He said he has difficulty staying focused when he has long reading assignments or when he is taking a long test. If I hadn't struggled with the possiblility when he was younger I probably wouldn't take this seriously, however since he brought it up as a potential problem I'm wondering if it is something we should explore. If you have experience with ADD can you tell me if this sound typical or just typical of having to deal with more and increasingly challenging work. I assume the first step to exploring this is checking with his physician but who is responsible for making this diagnosis. I really don't want him to take meds just because they are requested, however if this is legitimate then I don't want to put him at a disadvantage either.</p>
<p>Get an appointment with your doctor, and explore having him tested for ADHD AND for learning disabilities. </p>
<p>Daughter thought she had issues Freshman year in college, and we decided to do a full battery of “Pyscho Educational” tests. Expensive. Turns out she does not have ADHD/ADD but does have a pretty severe reading comprehension disability.</p>
<p>Your doctor and your high school counseling office should be able to give you names of places/people who are well qualified to administer the tests, and analyze the results.</p>
<p>How my daughter made it through high school and did as well as she did on the SAT tests with the reading comprehension of a 6th grader is beyond me. But she did - she compensated. And it caught up with her in college! So, worth it to do the testing now and find out what is going on.</p>
<p>I would think he wants Ritalin…</p>
<p>I’m sure a whole 30 pages can go on about the legitimacy of ADD and ADHD, all that crap. I bet it will too. I’ll simplify it avoiding medical stuff…</p>
<p>He’ll concentrate better if he takes Ritalin or some other brand. He’ll likely get better grades because of it. On the other hand, it’s a drug, there are probably some side effects. Regardless whether he has ADD, or whatever, that’s the choice you’re looking at. </p>
<p>And seriously, all the people I know who have prescriptions for these things, sell them. ALL. Given, if they didn’t sell them they’d really have no reason to tell others they have them, but I thought that might be relevant.</p>
<p>Agree with the other two repliers. Get it investigated. I’ve seen way more undiagnosed ADD than wrong diagnoses. Motivation to organize is one thing; inability to organize is something else.</p>
<p>Yes, some students can (with a great deal of effort, time, and repetition) compensate and manage to do reasonably well – depending on work load – if they’re truly ADD or ADHD and not medicated. But those are rarely permanent, or even ultimately effective, solutions. </p>
<p>It is not unusual for ADD self-compensations to become ineffective with high school curriculum, when those behaviors sufficed previously. Your questions and your caution are reasonable; go ahead and get it checked out. The evaluation will either confirm or clear him, and thus give you information.</p>
<p>My first reaction was that he wants Ritalin either to help himself study or to sell. No harm in a medical evaluation, though. The sales of these drugs are a huge money maker for teens/college students.</p>
<p>Agree with all posted. Will say this–one of our students (middle school)
has legitimate ADD–was diagnosed because of across the board underachievement on diagnostic tests. It is diagnosed by more than checking boxes–it takes a full spectrum of testing, and IQ, then achievement tests etc, visual motor integration, etc etc.</p>
<p>In this state, the meds–are highly controlled
–meaning the MD monthly writes a paper prescription and it must be picked up monthly by the parent
–and hand carried to a pharmacy.
The meds are kept under lock and key–not on open shelving in the pharmacy
–and I must sign for the 30 tabs each month–producing ID. </p>
<p>It is not a renewing script, and cannot be called in etc…</p>
<p>I DISPENSE it–one tab a day–in the am.
It is a very helpful med for a child who needs it.</p>
<p>Yet a big “in” thing now for teens/college students and a big money maker as already mentioned…</p>
<p>Testing for our student ran about $1500 and was done over 2 days of 4 hrs each along with a pre-testing mtg and 2 follow up meetings.</p>
<p>My H was diagnosed with ADD when he was in his mid-fifties by a dr. when he sought treatment for depression. I can guarantee that he did not seek a diagnosis so that he could sell the drugs; our insurance will not pay for Ritalin, only a generic which he says doesn’t work. It has been very expensive and time-consuming due to the controlled substance regulations but it is well worth it. The diagnosis and treatment probably saved his life and definitely saved our marriage. He was driving me crazy. Between the medication and the knowledge that I have gained from reading about ADD, we are better able to cope with the day-to-day problems of his difficulty with focus. Before the meds, I never saw him read a book. Now he reads 3-4 a week. He had managed to compensate for most of his life (completed a doctorate and taught at the college level for 25+ years) but it was draining all of his energy and affecting his relationships with me and our son. </p>
<p>Your son might not have ADD but if he is asking for help, I think that you should investigate the possibility.</p>
<p>I would talk to the school counselor and his doctor. If he is in a public high school, the battery of tests might be able to be completed by the school psychologist and be paid for courtesy of your tax dollars. It would be great if you could get this all done during the summer. If the school can’t do the testing over the summer, you may want to look into private testing which could allow you to get answers a little more quickly.</p>
<p>Just want to add that ADD is more of a medical diagnosis. In our experience, testing does not necessarily give accurate results. An interview with a specialist would be a good start. There are centers that specialize in ADD/ADHD. There are also centers that try to stay away from drugs, and offer alternatives (diet, exercise, training of different kinds).</p>
<p>There is a behavioral checklist that your doctor will want his teachers to fill out. There is also a parent checklist that you will need to fill out. I don’t know if you can be diagnosed as ADD with just the checklists and your doctor. Maybe you can. I agree with BayAreaCAMom and think it’s best to have the battery of tests completed to check for the possibility of learning disabilities.</p>
<p>There are three components that make up ADD: inattention, distractibility, and impulsivity. If he has ADHD, add hyperactivity in that mix.</p>
<p>Just because he has trouble getting through long assignments isn’t a “tip-off” pointing to a problem. He might need more frequent breaks. Although you pointed out that his notebooks look very disorganized, it is commendable that In HS he keeps track of his assignments,tests and projects and completes them all on schedule.</p>
<p>The DSM IV specifies the diagnosis into two basic areas: Inattention/distractibility OR Hyperactive/Impulsive. Here’s what they specify for inattention:
</p>
<p>While you can ask the school district to test your son, be certain of what is involved. ADD is a brain-based disorder, but accurately determined through observation in various settings. If a psychologist diagnoses your son in a one-on-one setting, this can skew the results. Have teacher mentioned anything? If, on the other hand, you ultimately get extended testing time, college board has very strict criteria when they allow that. It’s possible they may not approve extended time if you ask for it just months before a test.</p>
<p>Drugs are another aspect that may be a sticky point. These are controlled drugs, and while they’re not expensive through a doctor and regular pharmacy, the street value is about $10 a pill. My son’s only college dorm invasion was because kids stole his drugs (not this computer, not his clothes. Just his drugs). ADDERAL is an amphetamine.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Perhaps I’m naive, but couldn’t that be dealt with in a high schooler by having the parent dispense / watch the kid take the pill daily? I fully recognize that’s not possible at college. But having a prescription for something doesn’t have to equal having boatloads of pills around for the selling.</p>
<p>I agree with the above posters who recommend getting a referral to a psychologist or a psychiatrist who specializes in adolescent mental health, especially if your son has expressed a concern about his ability to focus and is willing to seek help. It sounds like he is about to start his junior year, which can be a pretty stressful time. While ADD seems to be the default label that is used in these types of cases, it is possible that other things, such as anxiety, can also cause one to be distracted, lose focus, etc. And, if there is an underlying problem, there may be other ways to address it other than through medication. </p>
<p>Psychologists and psychiatrists who work with adolescents are pretty savvy about identifying drug-seeking behavior, in case this is your son’s primary motivation for seeking help.</p>
<p>Post 13: This generally does happen (at least for my students). Not surprisingly, ADD’ers often forget to take meds. (Naturally.) Often parents have to dispense, just to make sure it’s done. None of my high-school or middle-school students are clever enough multi-taskers (one of the deficiits in ADD) to sell on the side, LOL.</p>
<p>I think the earlier comment is more apropos to the college environment.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your input. What is clear from what everyone has said is that I would be amiss to just blow this off and the place to begin is with his physician. It is physical time anyway so we will open the discussion then. </p>
<p>It is difficult to recognize the boundaries between what is normal and what is a condition that should be treated. Limabeans, thank you for the list describing “inattention”. Looking at that list I can reply yes to many of the items. With regard to getting things in on time or things getting lost he has several supports built into his life. I admit it is normal for me to question him about what needs to get done and when. When he was in elementary school I sought out teachers who would see his behavior as exhuberant rather than disruptive. As I said he is a very social young man and he has a network of supportive friends who he can contact for info and materials if something is lost, they fax handouts to him, if he forgets an assignment he calls for information. I would say though, that this isn’t a one way street and he is also called upon for help and delivers. One example which is so typical occurred recently. In our state there are grade level standardized tests for core subjects. In one subject S has carried a near perfect test average but his preformance on the state test was mediocre. His teacher asked him why that was since it was probably the easiest test he took all year. S said he just didn’t sweat it because it didn’t count in his grade. When I questioned him further he said that these tests are so long and boring he just wants to get it done and definitely doesn’t put in the effort to check his work on these. Careless mistakes have always haunted him. Another thing he mentioned to me during the school yeare was that when possible he tries to sit in the front of the classroom for all of his classes to avoid distractions.</p>
<p>As for having teachers do a checklist, while I can see how this may have worked in elementary school, in fact I think it may have been done, I don’t really think that HS teachers are with him enough or know him well enough to assess his behavior. </p>
<p>As for collegboard accommodations, this hadn’t crossed my mind although it did occur to me that being on meds might help him maintain focus on tests like the SAT if he had a true diagnosis. </p>
<p>I could be naive but I don’t think he is motivated by his business sense on this one, but more by some frustration about his increasing difficulty in some areas, and also by a sense that he could be doing better. He’s also been labeled “gifted and talented” and he expects that kind of performance from himself. Could a teen’s arm be twisted once they had access to the meds? Abosolutely, but then this is something we as parents can control for at least another 2 years. At least from all that I know he does understand how wrong selling his meds would be and we would definitely be reinforcing that point if med were perscribed.</p>
<p>All of the characteristics that point to ADD that I see in him, I have just accepted as that being who he is. It is hard to reconcile this as a true disorder but I am definitely willing to turn it over to experts in the field. We’ll see what the Doc. has to say.</p>
<p>I don’t have any answers for you, but my 24 yr old son was diagnosed with ADD at age 7. He was medicated in lower school, but refused to take meds at age 13. His grades took a huge hit, had been a straight A student but graduated from high school with a 2.8. He did great on tests but pretty much refused to do homework. And if he did the work, he rarely turned it in. His notebooks, which were graded, were a mess! He went to the same prep school from pre-k thru 12th, and they were not very accomodating, even with a 504 plan. When he went to college, the list of accomodations available to him was great, and i was very happy that he would finally get the support that he needed. Well, he refused to go to the disabilities office. He floundered around for a few years, in school but no real focus. Finally, at age 21, he switched to a different major, one that both interests him and challenges him and is doing much better. He still will not accept accomodations and still refuses to medicate, but he knows that he has options if things get out of hand.</p>
<p>If he is diagnosed and prescribed ADD medicine, have him keep it under lock and key at college. This medicine is a hot theft item.</p>
<p>“He said he has difficulty staying focused when he has long reading assignments or when he is taking a long test.”</p>
<p>This is the only symptom you describe. That’s not ADD, that’s normal.</p>
<p>There is a big difference between ADD and ADHD. Teachers seem to notice the ADHD kids pretty easily, and are often “sure” that other kids can’t possibly have ADD - notice the comment you got about it being “functional”. </p>
<p>The testing – particularly the subtests – will identify any issues. From that you and your child’s doctor can decide if medications are worth a trial.</p>
<p>I’m fairly substantially hearing impaired. I frequently encounter people who insist that I can’t really be hearing impaired, because I function so well. Well, I carefully position myself to be able to see and hear speakers as closely as possible, I read lips, I insist on dining at restaurants without significant ambient noise levels, and I often choose to sit at the ends of tables for better sight lines. I’m also better in some frequency ranges than others. So, I cope. But it doesn’t mean that the loss isn’t real. I see a lot of kids who’ve also coped okay despite ADD that doesn’t get diagnosed very early. But then it does, and suddenly after medication some things start to work a lot better. Sometimes lots, lots better.</p>