The DD and A.D.D.

Great topic!! I was planning on someday posting a thread about this subject, but just like
poeple hesitating to tell coaches and teachers, I was afraid to bring it up. Just a little
background about my situation. I never believed in ADD or ADHD until witnessing it first hand,
and after learning about it, realized that a few of my friends growing up have/had it and
were never diagnosed.

I have been with my girlfriend approx 5 years, her daughter which I call my DD here, has ADHD.
When we first started hanging out, I could tell DD was a little "different" then most kids her age.
She was a little shy around me at first, so it stayed hidden for a while. Six months or so into things,
I could tell something was very wrong. I could tell she was a very smart kid, but couldn't stay focused
on 1 thing for more than 10 seconds. She would lay on her stomach watching tv for an hour at a time
with her legs whipping in circles the whole time. When something wasn't occupying her time, her mouth
would never stop moving.

It got to a point where I had to bring ear plugs home from work to wear in the house because she was
so annoying. It was very hard for me to talk to mom about it, not wanting to hurt any feelings and such.

Finally, a few of her teachers told mom that DD was having problems staying focused in school. Between
the teachers calling and DD wandering over to the neighbors and deciding they needed a fresh coat of mud
on their garage door, mom finally caved in and got her tested. Once she was diagnosed it took a while to get
the correct meds and dosage, but what a difference. She is a very smart kid and has a great heart, but
definately has some personality issues and is a little nieve and immature compared to her classmates.

We tried and failed at letting her teachers know about it, so for the most part we don't say anything and
she seems to be doing fine at school. DD has told her last hour teacher this year on her own because she
can tell her meds start to wear off in the afternoon.

As far as sports go, we have always let her coaches know and they have all dealt with it very well. She
definately needs to be ridden harder than most girls in practices, but has always performed well.

I have not noticed a difference in reaction time on or off meds for her, but she definately focuses better
in games than in practice. She is a pitcher, so we struggle with focus occasionally during lessons or one on
one practice with her team catcher. She is a little chatty in group pitching, but stays more focused.
In her 3 years of B club ball, she was always in the top 3 in batting, so her hand/eye coordination seems
fine.

Last year (2nd year12U), I thought she had an advantage with the meds, she would absolutely never get
rattled. It might have been just her focusing more on every pitch rather than the game situation.

This year was a little different, first year 14U. She started out the year horrible, very nervous in the batter's
box. Went 0 for her first 12 or 14 AB's. She was complaining about ball and strike calls from blue, and I saw
her cry for the first time ever when she wasn't injured. She struck out with 2 on and 2 outs in a 1 run game.
Walked back to the dugout with tears in her eyes complaining about her arm hurting from getting hit by a
pitch in the previous game (an obvious cover up). We had the talk about having no control about blue's
calls and having to make adjustments, and she needed to be more confident at the plate.

Fast forward to the end of the season. She had a great year of pitching against some decent competition,
a lot of heartbreaking 1 run losses. A huge win against a team in the A club she is playing for next year,
and ended up with the highest batting average on her team.

Sorry such a long post, but I figuredI'd share my experience hoping to make other people comfortable
about sharing their stories.

I can say for a fact that she plays better medicated than not.

Got to get to our game soon, but great stories. I know with us, I don't mind a med, but does it stop with just one?

I am not a doctor, just a teacher. But when parents (like a nephew in law) say something about not wanting to medicate, I ask if they would deny the child insulin if they were diabetic? I agree that the problem is tedious and balancing the right meds to the child is very difficult. With a lot of my classroom students the right medication gave them the ability to actually enjoy school and not be in trouble for disrupting class or losing out on half of the lesson, because they are sitting out in the hall. (We don't really do that, anymore.)

Awesome thread! My DD is pitching for a 12u TB team and I thought I was the only one dealing with this issue. My DD pitches 6 days a week and has A.d.d. Wife and Myself definitely notice if she didnt take her med's prior to practice or games. While on her med she has focus, can look you in the eye and assign meaning while listening to instructions, her play is super. Without Med's she cannot focus at all and is a different player. We figured out she had A.D.D while playing 8u. She was a terrible player and more importantly a "C" student. The week she started her Med's we noticed a VAST improvement in her play and also in her school work. We have NEVER noticed her while on Med's to be lethargic or tired, lazy or slower. Maybe if this is the case with your DD you should look at the type of med she is on. My 24 year old also had A.D.D and she initially was put on a med that made her lethargic and we had her Doc change her medication. (she just graduated college). A.D.D is a REAL issue and the medication has REALLY helped both my girls. For the folks on the fence with this Med issue, I had a Doctor explain it to me like this: "If your daughter was a diabetic would you deny her insulin?" Good luck with you DD!!

Amy in AZ. said:

I am not a doctor, just a teacher. But when parents (like a nephew in law) say something about not wanting to medicate, I ask if they would deny the child insulin if they were diabetic? I agree that the problem is tedious and balancing the right meds to the child is very difficult. With a lot of my classroom students the right medication gave them the ability to actually enjoy school and not be in trouble for disrupting class or losing out on half of the lesson, because they are sitting out in the hall. (We don't really do that, anymore.)

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That is almost the same exact question my son's doctor asked me when I asked about not giving him the meds when he's not in school. I asked that when she said she was going to give him meds, needless to say once he started taking them it made such a wonderful difference at home. I have a nephew that we see the same signs in (he's 5) and his mom isn't wanting to get him checked, yet. When he visits us, it's a reminder of how far my son has come since he started meds.

My only wish is that all teachers would communicate more with parents of ADHD kids. My son's teacher keeps sending home G's on his behavior folder, yet I just found out yesterday that he has been moved twice since school started (4 weeks) because of excessive talking and inability to stay still/seated. I found this out when I went to meet with the principle and his space teacher, so I guess I will be making another trip to his school to speak to his teacher about HOW important it is for her to communicate those things to me. Don't sugar coat behavior things, it only makes the kids suffer more if parents don't know what's really going on.

grounded said:

Btw-since my DD is a bit embarrassed by her condition now, it has never been talked about openly with the coach. She feels they will think she's dumb, so doesn't want it discussed.

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As a coach, I don't require parents to tell me anything about their family's personal business, but I do tell them I'd appreciate knowing if there's any pertinent information that could help me to better work with their player. I fully respect their privacy, so there's no pressure to inform me of anything they don't want to. And if they do choose to confide in me, then the information is held in strictest confidence. It's up to them if they want to inform other members of the coaching staff or to talk to other parents on the team who might say things like "She doesn't look like herself today" with no harmful intent whatsoever.

I think it's correct for you to respect your DD's wishes.

Amy in AZ. said:

I am not a doctor, just a teacher. But when parents (like a nephew in law) say something about not wanting to medicate, I ask if they would deny the child insulin if they were diabetic? I agree that the problem is tedious and balancing the right meds to the child is very difficult. With a lot of my classroom students the right medication gave them the ability to actually enjoy school and not be in trouble for disrupting class or losing out on half of the lesson, because they are sitting out in the hall. (We don't really do that, anymore.)

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Psych drugs can and are extremely dangerous!

A couple good and sometimes sad documentaries: Medicating our children.
Medicating Kids | FRONTLINE | PBS

And The drugging of our children.
The Drugging of Our Children | Watch Free Documentary Online

There are the experiences of several families on both of these. The doctors straight up say they don't know what is going to happen to the kids on the drugs. It is experimenting with drugs and doses. Many many kids start on one drug, then another is added to get better erfects, then one is added to counter the side effects and on and on. My nephew was giving a pysch drug in 3rd grade because of bed wetting. While taking it, he developed turrets that lasted through high school.
If a kid needs it that is a fine, I don't judge anyone that meds their kids...we are on the brink of doing it, but are exercising all our options first. What I will not do it dope him to make a teacher's job easier, we will homeschool before that happens.

My cousin had one of the most severe cases I've ever seen. My auntie kept telling my mum and grandma how he just never, ever stopped. I was minding him one day while the adults went out shopping and I'd never seen anything like it. He was 2 and couldn't stop running because of the excess energy he had. But he wanted to so badly he was crying but he kept saying 'Lauren, can't stop, can't stop' I was crying with him and being young and stupid ended up just holding him in a bear hug and crying with him, which is what my family came home to. That's when my mum and grandma realised how bad it actually was with him and encourged my auntie to go to the doctor where he got diagnosed. It took them a while but they got the dosage right and worked on him with his diet (poor kid is 21 and can't have real chocolate!) to find out his triggers.

He went onto play state soccer and never had an issue with reaction time. If she's slow on reaction time I doubt it's as a result of the meds. Since you clearly know more than your years of medical training doctor, I would recommend getting a second opinion. I'm not quite sure what a doctor can say to explain to you that it's not the medication.

Ultimatly, are you prepared to risk your daughter's mental wellbeing for a game?

"Years of medical trained doctor"-L

Psych drugs weren't prescribed to kids heavily until the last dozen or so years. I would guess most psychiatrists went to med school before that. New pysch drugs are coming out every year. Do you know how these "years of medically trained doctors" are trained in the use of these drugs that can and have caused pyschosis, violence, and suicide? I do. Maybe, Maybe they go to a couple hour seminar: if not, maybe they read a publication about it. Who has the training seminar? Who sends out the publication? The companies that make billions of dollars selling the drugs.

Last year, DS, 6 at the time, had a sinus infection. We went to the drug store to fill the rx the doctor sent in. After watching the pharmicists taking quite awhile, standing and talking in a group, 2 came back to me and my son...."we are not comfortable filling this script. Here is the required FDA "black box warning" that was put on this drug. The drug manufacturer also has right on their fact sheet here "this drug is for adults, do not use under the age of 18." We would never give this drug to our children."
Thanks medically trained doctor! Going to give my son a drug the FDA says he shouldn't take, and the drug maker says he shouldn't take.

Just make sure you take the responsibility to ask questions and do all you know research before you believe that a dr knows everything.

RHC- that is not exactly accurate information- but more of a sweeping generalization. That being said, you raise a very good point for the poster- which is that there are many resources available on-line from which one can find out about a drug that has been prescribed, its dosing recommendations and its common and uncommon side effects - this type of information is available from sources that are impartial (read- not the manufacturer). Don't think because you do not have a medical background that these sources are not helpful, as many of them are written for the consumers. This will help you in your discussions with the prescriber, and in hopefully working together with him/her, to find the best management plan that will let your DD accomplish her goals.