The DD and A.D.D.

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May 8, 2012
127
16
NJ
Just curious to see peoples responses...parents along with coaches. I haven't seen anyone post anything on this, so figured I would put it out there. My DD has ADD...we have her on medication to help control it; in regards to school and grades, it has made a HUGE difference since we started 4yrs ago. When she was 9/10 for rec softball it made a huge difference in her game play. She was in it totally, and helped her a lot. Last year we started playing travel softball....though I do believe it still helps her for some things, at the travel level I'm not so sure it allows her to execute like she can. I understand how the meds work for someone who has ADD...its a amphetamine...speed. For someone with ADD though, it actually has the opposite effect...it slows everything down for them and allows them to digest. As I'm sure all of you know, by 12u travel things start to pick up. I think the meds are actually starting to slow her down now...as far as the travel goes. Mostly at 9/10 yrs old, slowing the game down was helpful for her, but the girls are getting faster and stronger now and I don't think she's keeping up with the speed of the game while on the meds. Though she sees and hears everything the coach says, I think the thought process takes too long. We have talked to her Dr. briefly about this, but he doesn't seem to think it should be an issue. Sorry, but just looking at him, I'm not convinced he's ever been involved in athletics beyond maybe some rec sport when young. Though we do value his opinion on her meds and issue, I'm just not convinced from an athletic standpoint that he may be the best option. We have sent her out somewhat recently without meds, and with a half dose to see if it has any effect. Though I believe her game play was improved, other issues arose....like not checking coach or missing signs, which in my opinion negates anything she was able to do on the field without the meds. My question I guess, is what to do?? Looking for some experienced opinions here...have you gone thru this yourself with your own DD? Have you noticed this yourself?? Do the meds slow them down? Have you coached kids like this? What did you do? What worked for you? 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.

Thanks-
 
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Jun 14, 2011
528
0
Field of Dreams
I do not have experience with this but had some thoughts for you (depending on the responses you get on this forum). If you don't get alot of responses- you may find a more concentrated number of parents who are managing ADD in their young athletes (no matter what the sport) on an ADD forum that you can compare notes with. Second, with regard to managing her meds, it seems she would need the medication right now to manage the concentration required during the game to respond to plays in a timely fashion- and also the coaches signals as you said- without being distracted. If you think she is overly fatigued by the meds- are you sure she is sleeping OK? sometimes these meds affect sleep patterns, and what you are seeing is a by-product of that issue. Another thought- if you find the drugs are causing her to slow down- is finding out from your pharmacist whether adjusting her dose schedule or the type of drug that she takes -(long- to shorter acting drug or vice versa ) may help her when she goes to practice, stuff like that. Finally- if your doctor is not listening to your concerns about the drugs and the effect you see on your DD_ find someone with whom you CAN have a discussion about it- and who can explain rationally to you about the effects that these drugs can cause and you can explore options in her management with the MD, so that she can compete at the level you believe she is capable of. Good luck!!
 
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redhotcoach

Out on good behavior
May 8, 2009
4,706
38
Sorry I am going to be short, it's been a long day and I am half awake. Thanks for posting! We are facing adhd with my 7yr old son. We have know he has it for several years, but have adjusted. We are trying to get through as long as possible without medication. Last year his teacher got to know him and how to work with him (he is very kind, just very figity and loud). He is far ahead of all the other kids in reading and math. I think his boredom creates more problems. Last years teacher got him put into advanced learning classes which helped. Also we tried different diets that seemed to help. Now this year his teacher seems to get easily annoyed by him. She knows that what she is teaching isn't at his level, but doesn't seem to care. He reads Harry Potter with me almost nightly, he reads one page, I read the next, yet his current sight word list has words such as "her, the, his", he asks he if he could get all of the words for the year to test, but she doesn't even give him time to test out of his current list.

Sports are a bit frustrating. He is good at baseball when he is paying attention, which isn't very often. DW likes him playing soccer, but he isn't aggressive at all. He is fast, but runs along next to whoever has the ball. Then stops once in a while to make a bowser power up roar or something. Oh well his seems to be having fun.

Sorry to be jumping around, like I said I am pretty tired. Your daughter, maybe talk to her coach and see if he notices. I can tell you I think sometimes an amazon tribe would catch what I am saying better than my 12 yr old players....I'M NOT JOKING! My daughter's principal had a parents talk a couple weeks ago about basically what our kids are going through in middle school (peer pressure and such). He said each grade level the kids have unique traits. He said 7th graders (my dd) all seem to go into the twilight zone, things they could do well in sixth grade they seem to not be able to understand and struggle with. They all seem to have a glazed look in their eyes. He did say they snap out of it by eighth grade. Anyway, I would check with her coach before you decide she is learning it slower then others. I will be interested in reading where this thread goes, especially when I am fully awake.
 
May 7, 2008
8,506
48
Tucson
I run across ADD quite frequently. I will say something to the parent like, "I am losing her attention, half way through my explanation." And then, they tell me. But, the parent is waiting for me to notice it first. I wish that it was the other way around. I had a very good athlete, that at her very first lesson, was just remarkable. At the next lesson, I told her grandmother that she "looks like she has never seen a softball before." The grandmother said that she had gotten up late, and her meds hadn't kicked in, yet.

I have never know an athlete to slow down, or have trouble processing what is said, while they are on the right medication. I have had at least one "flip out" after a game - and in that situation I did not know that he was being medicated until I was told "His meds have worn off."

I want to know. I am a classroom teacher. I can't do my best with the child if I do not know a huge hunk of the story.
 
May 8, 2012
127
16
NJ
thanks for the replies....i will try my best to answer in the order they have come...

MandM...Her issue is not sleep, i make sure we get that. I do believe that in general, its just the effect of the meds. They slow everything down for her, which while just in a school environment works well, i think it may be a negative in something as fast paced as softball can be. It just seems like we take a second or two to process and react...just too much time in a softball game. Off the meds reaction doesn't seem to be an issue, but then sometimes focus does. Seems like its a crazy balancing act to get both as we are right now. I do think i need to maybe check an ADD forum....may provide some insight.

redhotcoach....I was in the same position as you a few years back...We refused to go to the meds despite what we were told. Finally it got to the point where we didn't think she would pass her classes so we tried it...went from d's to c's in one marking period...the c's turned to b's by the next. She's now mostly an A student, though we still struggle a little with math from time to time. It ended up being the best decision we ever made and regret not doing it sooner. Her personality never changed, and she's not a zombie. If i didn't tell you she was on it, you wouldn't ever know. We give her a 8hr pill for school, and she will have one for tournament days. Scrimmages, practices, rec games, and homework we give a 2hr dose. Rest of the time she is without. BTW- im in that 7th grade zone now, so thats something i need to think about i guess.

Amy-Its kinda nice to hear that...that you would want to know. Though i have struggled with myself on discuss/dont discuss, i've always gone with the no discussion. I guess i've always have been afraid that she would end up being treated different..either good or bad, and didn't want that. Believe me, she never goes without her meds for a softball event...the coaches don't know and i think they may be somewhat suprised if i told them. I guess in the end, if she did something wrong, i felt they would just kinda give up..she has add..sit the bench. Though i think they are good people and good coaches, i don't think i give them credit that they have/would have the ability to work around the situation.
 
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Jun 22, 2008
3,731
113
My daughter was diagnosd with mild to moderate ADD when she was in 1st grade, but the doctor refused to medicate her. So, I cant tell you how to deal with the medications, but possibly speaking with your doctor about a lower dosage may be a balance between controlling the symptoms and possibly being slowed athletically.

One thing I can tell you is we never allowed our daughter to use it as an excuse. Many times she has tried to blame things on her ADD and we immediately shut it down. We do not accept it as an excuse and tell her it is something she has to deal with, and will have to deal with her entire life. She was not going to have us around to bail her out as an adult, so we were not going to bail her out as a child. She had a very hard time paying attention to her coaches, especially if they got long winded. One thing I told her to help her pay attention was to always look at the people who were talking. If she wasnt looking at them she would easily start thinking about other things and completely lose what was being said. It must have worked to some extent, she just graduated from college and is now entering her masters program.
 
May 25, 2010
1,070
0
I can only share my story, which isn't even my story, but is instead the story of a family friend who played with my DD.

The parents medicated their DD during the school week. They did not medicate her on weekends when the games were, because they wanted to give her a break from the medication. Often, she would lose focus entirely during games after looking like an all-star in practice two days earlier. She could practice at 3B or SS, but on weekends, she always had to play an outfield position for safety reasons.

Softball be darned, my heart always ached for her and her parents, because they felt she had to be medicated simply to function somewhat normally on a daily basis. And as far as softball is concerned, they seem still so far away from figuring out a formula that will allow her to reach her potential. She's 12 now.

I don't have any advice for you at all, but many other parents are in a similar position. While ADD should not be an excuse for inappropriate behavior, I don't believe it's anything to be ashamed of either. I'm not in your or your DD's shoes. I can say only that I'm deeply empathetic to families dealing with those types of issues and wish you all the best.
 
May 8, 2012
127
16
NJ
comp- we tried our hardest, but it just got to the point where meds were needed. That said, she is on the least amount of meds needed to get the job done. We don't allow the ADD to become an excuse either...as you stated, its something she will have to learn to deal with for the rest of her life. Hoping as we get older and more mature, we will be better equipped to deal with it possibly on her own without meds. The focusing on someones face when they are talking is also something we try to stress. I does help a lot

softsocdad- we struggle for sure. We can function without it, but simple distractions can start to become an issue...someone yelling from the stands, a baby crying, kids throwing a ball around outside of the playing field... For rec, we have enough together to stay infield...for travel, its the outfield. Nothing wrong with that, but it just doesnt seem like we can react fast enough to play infield at a travel level. I would just say that perhaps the infield isn't for us, but i see the same thing in the outfield. Without meds in the outfield, were off at the crack of the bat, only to realize after 2 seconds of running forward, that we need to go back. On the meds we wait a second or two, make a decision, then go for it only to find sometimes we needed another couple of steps to get there after burning time trying to calculate where its going. I would like to think there has to be some middle ground somewhere for us..enough to help focus without slowing us down. Who knows...perhaps we're about as far as we can go ability wise. i just don't think so...not yet. She's very athletic, and has really good speed...I think she still has a lot left in the tank. We're getting ready to start our league age 12 season so i guess we're in the same boat as your friend.
 
Oct 31, 2010
133
0
I don't really have any advice, but thought I would share our story. My son (9 yo) has ADHD, before he was diagnosed we signed him up for t-ball when he was 6, he didn't even know what was going on half the time, totally spaced. We signed him up for basketball at 8, that was better but still a little rough (still not on meds yet). He was diagnosed and we started meds shortly before basketball started last year due to the ADHD effecting his grades. Basketball season went much better unless it was an early morning game. He is on Intuniv which is a time released pill and it seems to really help both in school & sports so I would say your DD is probably better off taking her meds. The only problem we are running into now is that we think his body is building an immunity so I think we are going to have to adjust his dosage.
 
Aug 5, 2012
66
0
Our pitcher (14u) has A.D.D. and in some way, I think it helps her with pitching. She has to force herself to focus really hard and her level of focus is higher than any of our other pitchers. It does mean that she takes a few seconds longer than most pitchers to deliver the pitch, but she's so locked in. It took a little while to get her to learn her back up positions, because she was so focused in on just pitching, but now she's doing everything she needs to do as a pitcher. She's a great kid.
 

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