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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
How to have son evaluated for ADHD
My son's pediatrician had me and my son's Kindergarten teacher fill out a
questionnaire and based on the results his teacher doesn't feel he has
ADHD. I disagree. She referred me to behavioral health so that I can
receive parenting classes and he can work with a psychologist. I'm
willing to do this because I'm not a perfect parent. However, my son
isn't acting out or misbehaving and that's isn't why I brought him to
see the pediatrician. He's hyperactive and inattentive, talks
excessively, interrupts (even though he's been told not to millions of
times both at home and school), has trouble focusing, constantly
fidgeting, etc. He has trouble understanding directions to his
assignments which was a red flag for me. His teacher insists he wasn't
completing his homework because he was doing it on purpose. I sat with
him countless times last year and realized he wasn't understanding the
directions to many of his assignments. I understand he was only 5 but it
started to become a problem when he started bringing home assignments
that were supposed to be completed at school and weren't. So then it was
up to me to force him to do his work and explain to him the directions.
Often time I had to have him redo the entire assignment on the ones
that said "is this your best work," or "finish and complete." This
caused a lot of friction between me and my son. He felt I was being mean
and couldn't understand why he had to redo his work (which was
incorrect) when he had done it already at school. I'm not sure why his
teacher assumes it's his fault or that he's purposely refusing to do his
work. Why didn't she make him fix his mistakes at school instead of not
dealing with it and just sending it home for me to see? Is there a way
my son can get evaluated for ADHD at a clinic? Is this how a school age
child gets diagnosed with ADHD, by having parent and teacher complete a
questionnaire? A teacher can't diagnose ADHD.She can suspect it yes, but
sometimes it's not just the hyperactivity that signals there's a
problem. I am 99% positive he has it based on the symptoms associated
with ADHD. It seems like until the school starts complaining about him
and he starts doing poorly in class, that's when he'll get a proper
diagnoses. I would rather not wait until he starts failing school
because what good would that do when it could have been prevented? Any
input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Re: How to have son evaluated for ADHD
first of all, a lot of teachers push parents to medicating their children, so be thankful this teacher isn't so quick to give a dx that is way overused.
You can push to have the school (probably in 1st grade) do an evaluation, but it will be brief.
A good evaluation from a local psychologist will probably cost 1000-2000 but they are very thorough and make a lot of reccommendations. Chances are you''ll need to pay out of pocket for it but may have some luck getting part of it reimbursed through health insurance.
As a childless responder, please take my advice for what it is. But did you ever approach the teacher and discuss these issues with her? I'd suggest you approach his teacher from a very objective parental standpoint: ask for help, advice, maybe even share your ADHD thoughts and seek her opinion?
We have some ADHD concerns w/ my 4yo nephew, so I'm definitely sypmpathetic (as sypmp as a non-parent can be) to your plight. Wishing you the best of luck and PATIENCE!!
First and foremostly, have his eyes examined and his hearing checked. Perhaps he is having problems hearing or seeing.
Have a conference with a teacher also; perhaps he and the teacher aren't a good fit. Consulting with the child study team is a good idea too.
Was he an early reader and early talker? Perhaps he is bored and that's why the quality of his work isn't the greatest.
He's old enough to earn an age-friendly allowance. If he finishes an assignment on time and correctly, give him a reward: he can watch a bit more TV or he can stay up a bit later on Friday or Saturday night. Little monetary rewards (maybe a buck for each week he stays on track) might be worthwhile giving for motivation.
Do everything you can before you have your son labeled with ADHD or a learning disability. Medication can interfere with the quality of his life also.
As a teacher of students with special needsI can confirm that surveys for parents and teachers to complete are fairly common as part of the diagnostic process for ADD/ADHD. The school cannot diagnose ADD/ADHD - each state is different, but typically it is required for the student to have a medical diagnosis for the student to receive special education services for either disorder.
You can request that your son be assessed for special education from the school district. He does not have to be failing for you to make this request. Each district will have a different process. Depending on where you are they may require you to get a diagnosis from a doctor.
I recommend you make an appointment with the teacher to discuss what she is seeing in the classroom. It may be that he is refusing to complete the work. It may be that she is trying to deal with the issue at school unsuccessfully and thinks you will be more successful since you know your son better. There are issues your son's teacher will see at school that you will not see at home and vice versa. When I have a student who is struggling I like to meet with the parent so that we can move forward as a team to help the student be more successful.
Your district's department of special education or counseling can provide you with resources in the community that may be helpful to you and your son. There can be a rush to medicate (I've seen it from all sides) - there are many treatment options and not all require medication. It's important to find what works best for your son whether he does or does not have ADD/ADHD.
Best of luck!
first of all, a lot of teachers push parents to medicating their children,
ugh
First of all, a proper diagnosis of ADD or ADHD requires a number of symptoms in more than one setting, i.e., home and school, or home and daycare, or home and after-school activities. Displaying symptoms of ADD/ADHD just at home would by definition not be ADHD.
You could contact the school to see if your district has a psychologist who can evaluate your child for ADD/ADHD, but I wouldn't accept an evaluation by anyone other than a child psychologist or child psychiatrist. If the school district offers an evaluation by someone else, I would seek a private evaluation, although this may be costly. Although it can work well for many people, medication is not the only treatment of ADD/ADHD, and coaching can be of great benefit.
One thing you mentioned (your child's difficulty understanding the directions to his assignments) makes me wonder whether this is something other than ADD/ADHD, but of course a good evaluation would also assess for dyslexia, learning disability, etc. Best of luck.
psychologists are the ones who diagnosis. So relax. The teacher is doing the right thing. She is not allowed to make such a diagnosis.
Yes, you know your child better but she has more to compare your child to. Often, we do know a bit better than the parents because we know better what is "normal."
But anywho, try to relax. I have ADHD. Its not the end of the world. And there is ZERO rush at that age to get a diagnosis. Go see the psychologist and see what he says.
I'm not trying to be flippant, but he sounds like a 5 year old boy. I know it can be frustrating to deal with all the fidgeting, interruptions and inattentiveness, but it's pretty normal at this age, especially for boys.
If you have serious concerns, take him to a child psychologist who specialises in testing for the diagnosis...and then trust what she says.
I agree with the PPs to also have more discussion with his teacher, and listen, don't be defensive! I have so many friends that are teachers, and one of their biggest struggles they talk about are when they try to tell parents what the issues are, and ideas to help, and the parent won't listen and gets defensive.
Make it a team effort to help your son!