ADHD Conversation

[Guest guest]

FOREWARNING.....LONG E-MAIL...SORRY!...I dont post often but reading

some of the posts about ADHD. We've had one of those " learn as you

go " experiences I wanted to share on the subject.

Just wanted to tell everyone interested in their HOH child possibly

having ADHD, our experience with our son, who has bilateral

fluctuating loss with LVAS. He is and always will be a talker. He

started talking MUCH earlier than others his age. He does jump from

one activity to the next. He does sometimes have problems in certain

situations controlling himself. He is now 10.

When he was 5 we found out he had a mild bilateral hearing loss that

remained stable. Nobody mentioned aiding him at that time. We had

numerous teachers suggest he had ADHD throughout Kindergarten and

First Grade. We were really hard on him trying to get him to

" behave " . Half way through First grade we gave in and went to a

psychiatrist who asked a few questions, watched him for a couple of

minutes and was happy to write out a prescription. We put him on

Adderall. WE NEVER TOLD THE SCHOOL. We wanted to see if we continued

to get the ADHD comments we had in the past or see if his behavior

changed. Well, the comments went from his " bad " talking out in class

to " he still has problems talking but now he won't do his work " and

" he just stares out the window instead of doing his work " . We could

also see some of the " zest for life " he had disappear. So...back to

the doctor we went. He switched him to Concerta. Tried that for 2-3

months and nothing changed in school but he cried so easy over

everything when at home. Back to the doctor a third time and he put

him on Straterra. This seemed to help him focus some but geez...it

made him so moody and irrational. He would get mad and stomp and just

stand and scream. Through all this....He STILL talked all the time!

One day, he said he wanted to die and through a fit scratching himself

(NOTHING like his personality). Well, that done it for me. Off the

meds he went. So after about a year and a half trying three different

meds, we decided...never again.

It was now the summer after 2nd grade and then for 3rd grade, we put

him in a private school. The teacher there was a retired public

school teacher. Therefore, in our opinion, she had the usual public

school thoughts. (Sorry to the teachers out there...I know some are

great ones, which we found out later, but we just had some bad

experiences up until now - example: his K teacher had 25 kids in the

class and she said 8 needed medication...awful high percentage for one

class). It just seemed to us that teachers thought the kids all

needed to act the same...quiet and always willing to follow

directions....not allowing them to have their own personality.

Therefore, we were back to where we were before the meds...complaining

about him talking in class and not following directions and not

responding when she talked to him. But, being in a private school,

there was a little more patience and the medication pressure wasnt

there as we had in the public school.

About five months into 3rd grade (January) after school started I

noticed not hearing the coaches well when he was playing

basketball. We were getting his hearing tested every 6 months and he

wasnt due for another test for 2-3 months but we called and had him

tested and sure enough, he had a HUGE drop in his hearing. Aids were

still not ordered...now I know that I should have pushed that more but

I was clueless. Our ENT did numerous tests and eventually sent us out

of state to another doctor. This is when we found out he had LVAS.

It was now late MARCH! His third grade teacher was still in denial he

had a hearing problem. It was all just a behavior problem. Now, dont

get me wrong. They all said he was a good kid, very polite, thinks of

others, etc. but he still talked too much and didnt listen, therefore

disrupted the class. Oh...and all this time he always made A's and

B's until now. He was bring home a few C's and D's as well. We wasnt

sure if it was the private school being harder or his hearing. NOW we

know it was his hearing. ADHD wasnt EVER mentioned until the end of

the year in a casual conversation with the teacher....of course he

went probably 6-7 months not aided with a pretty moderate loss.

(Still kicking myself, & the doctors, in the head!!!)

We FINALLY got his aids over the summer. Can you believe it took from

March to August to get him Aids? Makes me really mad now. I was

still somewhat in the dark about hearing loss and thought he could

probably still hear ok and at least we would have them to start 4th

grade in. Boy, now I think of all he missed that summer. Anyway, to

shorten the story at this point...we did get his aids for 4th grade.

We had a wonderful and very cooperative and compassionate teacher. It

took quite a bit of adjusting to his aids but he AND us realized the

benefit. His grades went back up and his behavior got SO much better.

He still talked but not as much.

He is in 5th grade now and back in public school (private just got too

expensive with another child starting Kindergarten). Again...we still

get the teachers saying he likes to talk (too much) and he is a social

butterfly (but that will help him later on in life) but at the same

time, we are hearing a LOT of good and positive things. Grades are

good. He is paying attention. He is controlling himself (most of the

time). But, most importantly, ADHD....NOT MENTIONED !!!! The kicker

for us now is ... because he has LVAS, his hearing fluctuates. He is

currently on an upswing. His hearing is now where it was when he was

back in Kindergarten (when they started the ADHD thing). NOW they are

saying the loss IS bad enough for aids. Why didnt they suggest this

back in Kindergarten? Us, as parents now know what to watch/listen

for. We can tell the difference in him with and without aids even at

this mild loss. And yes...he does need them. We are at the point

where we can usually tell ourselves when he has a drop in his hearing.

And something weve been paying more attention to....he seems to " act

up " more when he ISN'T wearing his aids than when he is. Hummmm!!!

Now, I know there are some kids that need medication, but I also know

of some that are being medicated currently in his 5th grade class that

are being medicated to make teachers and parents lives easier. My

only advise to the one who started this conversation (sorry cant

remember who...my email got too long) is to follow your instinct and

also to get more than one professional opinion. I ALWAYS felt my son

didnt need medicated but thought I was just in denial so we tried it.

What I now know....yeah, it is his personality to be the way he is

but I truly think most of the problems we had were hearing related.

He just couldnt hear well so he just tuned things out. Plus he talked

SO loud. He even whispered loud. He didnt even realize how loud he

was. He doesnt do that anymore. That is the first thing the

Principal noticed when we returned to public school.

Does he have ADHD? I cant say for sure yes or no but I do know the

medications didnt work and after he got his aids, things really

changed. Now...I still wonder...did this change come with age or

aids? Maybe both? Did he " outgrow " the ADHD? Did he really ever

have it? Just because he likes to talk and can be a little " spazzy "

at times, does he still have it? All I know is he brought home his

midterm with A's and one B. He has a good teacher again this year.

She is strict but he really likes her. Oh...and the biggest

accomplishment I have seen this year ... RESPONSIBILITY!!! He is

actually remembering to bring things home, etc. He is still a mess

at home.....but we are working on that.

One other point...my son acts EXACTLY like my older brother in so many

ways...who also talked too much, and could be a little squirmy, but

was a good kid. My brother is now a CPA with his own Accounting Firm.

I know ADHD is hereditary...but my brother turned out just fine

without medication.

Anyway, I just wanted to share our experience. I know everyone is

different and I am not saying that all kids do not need medicated

because I know some does and it really does help. Again, this is just

our experience...we tried both ways. We decided it best without meds.

Of course, I realize a lot of your kids already have their aids so

the situation is different, but they are all HOH. My son still acts

up with his aids on in certain situations...normally when he isnt

hearing well due to background noise or whatever.

SORRY I GOT SO WINDED!!!

Tammy

ton, WV

, 10 bilat lvas

Chad, 5

[Guest guest]

hej all... okay.. i did not read the whole conversation, so if you

have already covered this sorry! Just wanted to add that Listen-up

has a pdf chart of similarities btwn hearing loss and ADHD

http://www.listen-up.org/haid/mild.htm

what really got me tho was the last 3 things on our district's list

of gifted and talented traits were " Is highly self-

critical " , " Already knows " , and " I want to do it my way " which can

also be in line with some of the hearing loss/add stuff...

of course most of the other things on that list don't fall in

line... but it was interesting to me.

Kellie

mom to Lydia (11, 5th grade, GT, BL mod/severe loss, allergies)

(9, 4th grade, GT, glasses, allergies)

Sara (5, Kinder, DIVA/princess/mywayorthehighway, BL mod loss,

allergies)

[Guest guest]

We had a lengthy delay getting hearing aids also. It took a year and four

audiologists

to get a good audiogram (and we knew at the beginning of that year that

Elias had

a hearing loss), and then it took another 6 months to get the hearing aids

once we had the

audiogram. In our case, the hearing aids were being provided through Early

Intervention.

The wheels of the county health department grind slowly...

Bonnie

>

>

> We FINALLY got his aids over the summer. Can you believe it took from

> March to August to get him Aids? Makes me really mad now. I was

> still somewhat in the dark about hearing loss and thought he could

> probably still hear ok and at least we would have them to start 4th

> grade in. Boy, now I think of all he missed that summer. Anyway, to

> shorten the story at this point...we did get his aids for 4th grade.

> We had a wonderful and very cooperative and compassionate teacher. It

> took quite a bit of adjusting to his aids but he AND us realized the

> benefit. His grades went back up and his behavior got SO much better.

> He still talked but not as much.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I've been reading with interest this thread. I am a child

psychologist and a mom of a hearing impaired child (Andy, 8.5 months

old). I've done much work with ADHD and when Andy was diagnosed, I

went back to my books and articles and did some more research.

Unlike many child psychologists, I am one who believes that ADHD and

ADD are completely overdiagnosed and believe that medications are

used inappropriately. I worked in an ADHD clinic (while in grad

school). I saw about 10 kids per week for 4 years (lots of kids).

Out of all of those kids, I believe that I saw 3 children that

really deserved that diagonosis and benefitted beautifully from

medication and behavioral interventions. Seeing those 3 kids made me

realize how real ADHD is but also made me realize how much it is

abused as a diagnosis. The real injustice though, in my opinion, is

that this overdiagnosis really degrades the integrity of the

disorder. It does exist but people have such a bad " attitude "

against it because so many children are inappopriately diagnosed.

I was taught in graduate school that a child should never be

diagnosed with a disorder unless:

1. it interferes with daily functioning

2. cannot be explained by some other medical condition, or accounted

for by another diagnosis.

For example, if a child has a hearing loss and common side effects

can be inattention, poor school work, etc... Then a diagnosis of

ADHD is not warranted unless the symptoms being displayed are ABOVE

and BEYOND what you would expect for a child with a hearing loss (or

other disorder). Unfortunately, I have found that many other

professionals don't think this way.

Just wanted to throw my two cents in about the issue.

>

> hej all... okay.. i did not read the whole conversation, so if you

> have already covered this sorry! Just wanted to add that Listen-

up

> has a pdf chart of similarities btwn hearing loss and ADHD

> http://www.listen-up.org/haid/mild.htm

>

> what really got me tho was the last 3 things on our district's

list

> of gifted and talented traits were " Is highly self-

> critical " , " Already knows " , and " I want to do it my way " which

can

> also be in line with some of the hearing loss/add stuff...

> of course most of the other things on that list don't fall in

> line... but it was interesting to me.

>

> Kellie

> mom to Lydia (11, 5th grade, GT, BL mod/severe loss, allergies)

> (9, 4th grade, GT, glasses, allergies)

> Sara (5, Kinder, DIVA/princess/mywayorthehighway, BL mod loss,

> allergies)

>

[Guest guest]

I am sooo glad there are psychologists out there who " get it " .

the meds can do such wonders for the ppl who need them, but

so many don't need those meds, but other things to " fix " them. It

must be difficult to sort it all out and to convince the

parents/teachers to take the time to let you and the other docs do

that.

My son's teacher last year wanted him medicated and i declined even

to pursue it. He is truely smart... last IQ was just below 140...

he is (and was) in the GT class, but he was bored out of his skull

last year. So he figited and didn't complete work and got

distracted easily. this year's teacher says there is no way he is

adhd b/c he CAN focus... he just chooses when to, and knows enough

to judge how much he can ignore and still get mostly all As.

His sisters both have hearing loss. His older sister wasn't

diagnosed til she was 5. We tested all 3 kids for hearing loss after

our 3rd was born and failed the screenings at the hospital. Before

that, people were starting to tell me to test our oldest for ADD

too. Not the hyper part, just the lack of attention.

Our son hears just fine, but both girls got hearing aids that summer

and our son got his glasses that spring. Big changes for a mama

all at once!

Kellie

>

> I've been reading with interest this thread. I am a child

> psychologist and a mom of a hearing impaired child (Andy, 8.5

months

> old). I've done much work with ADHD and when Andy was diagnosed, I

> went back to my books and articles and did some more research.

>

> Unlike many child psychologists, I am one who believes that ADHD

and

> ADD are completely overdiagnosed and believe that medications are

> used inappropriately. I worked in an ADHD clinic (while in grad

> school). I saw about 10 kids per week for 4 years (lots of kids).

> Out of all of those kids, I believe that I saw 3 children that

> really deserved that diagonosis and benefitted beautifully from

> medication and behavioral interventions. Seeing those 3 kids made

me

> realize how real ADHD is but also made me realize how much it is

> abused as a diagnosis. The real injustice though, in my opinion,

is

> that this overdiagnosis really degrades the integrity of the

> disorder. It does exist but people have such a bad " attitude "

> against it because so many children are inappopriately diagnosed.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I am sooo glad there are psychologists out there who " get it " .

the meds can do such wonders for the ppl who need them, but

so many don't need those meds, but other things to " fix " them. It

must be difficult to sort it all out and to convince the

parents/teachers to take the time to let you and the other docs do

that.

My son's teacher last year wanted him medicated and i declined even

to pursue it. He is truely smart... last IQ was just below 140...

he is (and was) in the GT class, but he was bored out of his skull

last year. So he figited and didn't complete work and got

distracted easily. this year's teacher says there is no way he is

adhd b/c he CAN focus... he just chooses when to, and knows enough

to judge how much he can ignore and still get mostly all As.

His sisters both have hearing loss. His older sister wasn't

diagnosed til she was 5. We tested all 3 kids for hearing loss after

our 3rd was born and failed the screenings at the hospital. Before

that, people were starting to tell me to test our oldest for ADD

too. Not the hyper part, just the lack of attention.

Our son hears just fine, but both girls got hearing aids that summer

and our son got his glasses that spring. Big changes for a mama

all at once!

Kellie

>

> I've been reading with interest this thread. I am a child

> psychologist and a mom of a hearing impaired child (Andy, 8.5

months

> old). I've done much work with ADHD and when Andy was diagnosed, I

> went back to my books and articles and did some more research.

>

> Unlike many child psychologists, I am one who believes that ADHD

and

> ADD are completely overdiagnosed and believe that medications are

> used inappropriately. I worked in an ADHD clinic (while in grad

> school). I saw about 10 kids per week for 4 years (lots of kids).

> Out of all of those kids, I believe that I saw 3 children that

> really deserved that diagonosis and benefitted beautifully from

> medication and behavioral interventions. Seeing those 3 kids made

me

> realize how real ADHD is but also made me realize how much it is

> abused as a diagnosis. The real injustice though, in my opinion,

is

> that this overdiagnosis really degrades the integrity of the

> disorder. It does exist but people have such a bad " attitude "

> against it because so many children are inappopriately diagnosed.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I am sooo glad there are psychologists out there who " get it " .

the meds can do such wonders for the ppl who need them, but

so many don't need those meds, but other things to " fix " them. It

must be difficult to sort it all out and to convince the

parents/teachers to take the time to let you and the other docs do

that.

My son's teacher last year wanted him medicated and i declined even

to pursue it. He is truely smart... last IQ was just below 140...

he is (and was) in the GT class, but he was bored out of his skull

last year. So he figited and didn't complete work and got

distracted easily. this year's teacher says there is no way he is

adhd b/c he CAN focus... he just chooses when to, and knows enough

to judge how much he can ignore and still get mostly all As.

His sisters both have hearing loss. His older sister wasn't

diagnosed til she was 5. We tested all 3 kids for hearing loss after

our 3rd was born and failed the screenings at the hospital. Before

that, people were starting to tell me to test our oldest for ADD

too. Not the hyper part, just the lack of attention.

Our son hears just fine, but both girls got hearing aids that summer

and our son got his glasses that spring. Big changes for a mama

all at once!

Kellie

>

> I've been reading with interest this thread. I am a child

> psychologist and a mom of a hearing impaired child (Andy, 8.5

months

> old). I've done much work with ADHD and when Andy was diagnosed, I

> went back to my books and articles and did some more research.

>

> Unlike many child psychologists, I am one who believes that ADHD

and

> ADD are completely overdiagnosed and believe that medications are

> used inappropriately. I worked in an ADHD clinic (while in grad

> school). I saw about 10 kids per week for 4 years (lots of kids).

> Out of all of those kids, I believe that I saw 3 children that

> really deserved that diagonosis and benefitted beautifully from

> medication and behavioral interventions. Seeing those 3 kids made

me

> realize how real ADHD is but also made me realize how much it is

> abused as a diagnosis. The real injustice though, in my opinion,

is

> that this overdiagnosis really degrades the integrity of the

> disorder. It does exist but people have such a bad " attitude "

> against it because so many children are inappopriately diagnosed.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Oh yes - , I was going to mention that. Mel Levine is excellent

and really " gets it " with regard to any kid and learning styles.

P wrote:

> It's not limited to that either. There are auditory, vision, and

> memory processing issues that can appear to be attention issues. A

> great book on this is A Mind at a Time, by Mel Levine.

>

>

>

>

>

>> LIST OF DIAGNOSES THAT CAUSE ADHD SYMPTOMS:

>> 1- Hearing Loss

>> 2- ADHD/ADD

>> 3- Depression

>> 4- Bipolar Disorder

>>

>

[Guest guest]

Oh yes - , I was going to mention that. Mel Levine is excellent

and really " gets it " with regard to any kid and learning styles.

P wrote:

> It's not limited to that either. There are auditory, vision, and

> memory processing issues that can appear to be attention issues. A

> great book on this is A Mind at a Time, by Mel Levine.

>

>

>

>

>

>> LIST OF DIAGNOSES THAT CAUSE ADHD SYMPTOMS:

>> 1- Hearing Loss

>> 2- ADHD/ADD

>> 3- Depression

>> 4- Bipolar Disorder

>>

>

[Guest guest]

Oh yes - , I was going to mention that. Mel Levine is excellent

and really " gets it " with regard to any kid and learning styles.

P wrote:

> It's not limited to that either. There are auditory, vision, and

> memory processing issues that can appear to be attention issues. A

> great book on this is A Mind at a Time, by Mel Levine.

>

>

>

>

>

>> LIST OF DIAGNOSES THAT CAUSE ADHD SYMPTOMS:

>> 1- Hearing Loss

>> 2- ADHD/ADD

>> 3- Depression

>> 4- Bipolar Disorder

>>

>