Entering the World of ADHD

As some of you know Cole my oldest had a VERY hard time focusing and just getting his hyperness to a easy level.  We have tried the herbal way, the diet way the just let life be way.  We've been trying and trying and nothing has been a permanent solution.   Now I know this is a controversial topic.  I have had so many comments made to me by parents or people who don't have kids but still have an opinion also.  Let me say you have no idea until you walk a mile in a parents shoes who is dealing with a child that just doesn't fit in.

Cole recently came home in tears because his best friend told him he can no longer hang out with him because his parents say Cole is a bad kid because he gets in trouble in school.  He's not a bad kid he just doesn't always make the right decision or think before he speaks (THIS is a big one).  He tells me mom my head hurt it feels like so many things are going on at once and I don't know what to do.    

Life has been hard I have tried to avoid the whole medication route thinking it would just be drugging my kid.  Finally in a new school and the behavior increasing we went to see a doctor to see what they think.  They had his teacher take a test and Cole scored very high in the ADHD category.  She also said he has a kind heart, does apologize, does not steal or hurt people but he does have a hard time telling the truth and concentrating.

We started medicine on Wednesday.  I got a great report the first night from the teacher she saw night and day in his behavior.  Sadly the medicine wore off early which did give the tutor a run for her money.  She really is a treasure, and she handles him better then I ever can when he get's sassy.  Thursday was a rougher day but the teacher said it is at least better behavior then usual.  So we are moving forward.  

I must say that this has been a long hard decision to come to.  We didn't just say oh our kid is a problem let's drug him up.  This has been a year of asking for help, with the housework, to the tutor to this behavior.  

As a mother I can't stand to see my son hurt or not able to do things like other kids because he can't control himself to be allowed into these places.  We are taking one step at a time and all I can say is we are doing what we think is the best move for him.  I asked him how he feels after a few days.  He said his brain didn't hurt the last two days!

When Cole told me he felt like his brain was moving this

cartoon made me think of what he must feel like.

My heart went out to him.

Please be nice no mean comments, I had to think hard to share this but I hope that maybe I can touch someone else who may be going through this hard decision also.

Behavior & Homework Reward System

As most of you know my oldest that is 8 as brilliant as he may be can really give me and his teachers a run for our money.  He is a great kid but sitting still and focusing is not always something he can do.  We have tried many things over the years.  I am the parent that goes into the class every night talks to his teacher finds out what he has to do (what he didn't do in class) and makes sure his backpack has everything before we leave.  One nice thing about a small private school is it's easy to stay on top of these things.  

NOW homework and his willingness to do things has been a challenge.  For the last few weeks we have tried out a new system and for the most part it is working.  It's not perfect but I think more of it becoming routine the better we get.  Instead of earning money we earn what is called a fluffy (I found pom pom's at the dollar store).  We earn fluffies for getting up nice, having a good day in school, getting a good grade, bringing home all our homework, being done with homework before 6pm etc on and on.  We then have to PAY with fluffies for items we want like 1 1/2 hours of TV/Electronics cost you 5 fluffies (this is a max per school day), YMCA camp (done monthly) cost 50 fluffies.  We can also LOOSE fluffies for any bad grade, bad day at school, not cleaning our room etc on and on.

So here is what I have set up, I think it turned out pretty good and he likes that he gets to see what he has and then he also see's what he needs to do.

What you Need:

Picture Frame 11x17 (found at Ross $11.99) 
Homework Chart (Dollar Tree $1)
Stickers (Dollar Tree $1 Each Packet)
Foam Letters (Dollar Tree $1)
School Themed Paper Decorations (Dollar Tree $1)
Dry Eraser (Dollar Tree 3 Pack $1)
Fish Bowl or Container (I had one but you can find one cheap $5 or so)

I took a blank chart found at the dollar tree and mapped out the days on one side and the task above (I did this using a permanent marker, since it will behind the glass and will stay).  I also added the rewards on the bottom with the cost (enlarge the picture if you want to see how I set it up).  I added some foam letters on top for his name and a few fun school themed stickers and paper decorations (found in the teacher section of Dollar Tree).  I then taped this chart down to the white mat that was in the picture frame.  I put it in the picture frame so now you can use a white board marker to keep your tally and then take Windex and wipe it clean each week to start over.  I have a tally at the bottom to say how much the week he earned, how much he used and how much carried over from previous week.  I think the fish bowl or something he can see threw to see how many he has is very helpful also.  I am having my husband hang this up, but like most things it is sitting around waiting for that ... lol.

Super easy and it really has helped us a lot.  I hope it can help one of you too!   Let me know if it works for you.