Blackbear

Someone recently emailed me for advice believing that the child in question was misdiagnosed with ADHD and I agreed with them. I thought as I find them I'll post some of the other things that can be the causes for ADHD like behavior and any other information I come across that talks about ADHD.

My own firstborn is ADHD and quite the handful, but now as she is getting older and certain behaviors have formed they are wanting to re-test her to see if maybe they had it wrong and she should be diagnosed with High Functioning Aspergers with ADHD symptoms. This would require a different approach at her treatment so I've been reading up again.

Just keep in mind that when you are reading about children with these syndromes that the children are not developmentally disabled (retarded) but this is classified more as a learning disability. Many or most of these children are extremly bright to genius in intelligence but like the person who practices to perfection but still bombs at the performance... they could no more help the fact that they got stage nerves than these kids can help their actions.

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Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.

Blackbear

Hyper kid? Sleep apnea may be the culprit - Kids and parenting - MSNBC.com

By Roni Caryn Rabin
Special to msnbc.com
updated 4:32 a.m. HT, Wed., Feb. 6, 2008
When Benjamin Kidd was in pre-K last year, his teachers marveled at how bright, attentive and well-behaved he was — in the morning.

Later in the day, Ben was a different child. He was fidgety and he couldn’t focus. He couldn’t sit still for a story. And he burst into tears and temper tantrums at the slightest provocation.

After taking him to one specialist after another, his mother, Michelle Kidd, who lives in Hillsborough N.J., finally figured out what the problem was: 5-year-old Ben was exhausted. Doctors who ran an overnight sleep study on him last fall said he was suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep disorder associated with middle age but not uncommon in preschoolers, where it can lead to behavior easily mistaken for hyperactivity — even though it’s actually caused by fatigue.

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“You know how it is when you let your kid stay up too late, and they’re bouncing off the walls and don’t listen?” says Kidd, who had consulted physicians at the Somerset Medical Center’s Sleep for Life Center in Hillsborough. “It was a lot of that.”

Obstructive sleep apnea affects 2 percent of children and has made headlines in recent years because it's more common in obese youth. Still, experts say, it's often overlooked by doctors. Ben Kidd, who’s tall and gangly for his age, doesn’t fit the typical profile for sleep apnea, which may be why doctors didn’t identify the problem earlier. Pediatricians are supposed to screen all children for snoring, which is a red flag for apnea, but many fail to do so. And experts fear some children are being inappropriately diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and medicated, while the underlying sleep problem goes untreated.

“Lots of studies suggest that kids with sleep apnea are more likely to be hyperactive, impulsive and inattentive," says Dr. Judith Owens, associate professor of pediatrics at Brown University Medical School, and co-author of "Take Charge of Your Child's Sleep."

"It affects behavior and mood, so these kids can look a lot like a kid with ADHD,” she says.

At the same time, the more experts learn about sleep apnea, the more concerned they become. Left untreated, sleep apnea may affect parts of the brain involved in learning, taking a toll on cognitive function and academic performance, and shaving points off a child’s IQ.

Sleep apnea also seems to play a role in childhood obesity, since children who don’t get enough rest are less physically active. The sleep disorder has been linked to depression, too.

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Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.

*Brown Eyed Gurl*

thats really interesting..all three of my kids are add or adhd...silas has weird coughing fits during the night ever sice he was a baby..but the doctor has never really paid attention to that mostly pointing out the fact that he does have asthma..hmm

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Blackbear

Well mine got tested twice for the 3 year evaluation for EIP and the native hospital and while one found her to not have Asperbergers, the other said she barely qualified for it.... so I told them they need to get together and discuss their findings with each other so we an figure out what's going on with this kid. Unfortunately I think she's getting ready to hit puberty... all the signs but one are there for it happening. And up here it's been happening in girls as young as 8 now.

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Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.

Margy

Blackbear, thanks for this thread! I have 3 kids, all 3 were at first diagnosed with ADD/ADHD...(girls ADD, boy ADHD), but later they found out that just my boy got ADHD. Girls had a surgery on their ears then. Good that I decided to NOT agree to the usual medication... and my son who definitely has ADHD, is very intelligent etc... but his teachers just say: He has ADHD? Sure, every kid has that -ha ha. ...Seems to be "in". Well...I think ther's a need to really test on different things too. And sometimes I think that some are kind of happy their kid is diagnosed ADHD, for they have an excuse when they don't function the way they'd like them to....or their neighbors, grannies, teachers.... I know so many kids on "drugs" - and I bet some of them are having exactly those problems you posted - but no ADHD - and would need a very different treatment - or just more attention...
I have ADD (without H) too and I cope with it without any medication, which is very hard sometimes. Once I was told maybe it's all because of my C-PTSD, but since my son got it too.... oh well.... I guess more and better testings are needed.
Great info Blackbear!

I forgot to post that my son has Pseudo Croup, and I'll definitely get him tested now whether he has apnoe while he's sleeping...

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WocusWoman

Sometimes kids are just kids. Sometimes mistakes are made and no one wants to accept responsibility. Sometimes professionals do un-ethical things such as writing down a diagnosis, so that the bill will get covered by medicaid or private insurance. I really believe IHS is a poor excuse for medical needs; I myself constantly have to be on top of things when my kids and I use their services, because they suck so bad. Prayers out to you Blackbear and you children; all you can do is just be the best momma you can be and hang in there, the creator will keep watch over you:)

tsuj510

I read something recently that attributed unidentified cases of hypervigilance in kids who are at risk for PTSS and/or who have survived severe trauma. All the classic hallmarks of ADD/ADHD were there.

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Because of our treaty status, the distinction of being 'Cherokee' is a status of citizenship, not a racial issue.

*Brown Eyed Gurl*

my son silas has to go for testing to be formally given the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD as he is 6 now and in Kindergarten...im gonna be more picky this time tho....cant be possible to have all 3 kids diagnosed with it well id like to think that anyways

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Margy

Yes, that's what I was told too. If you find what you read, would you please post it here? That would be cool!!!!

Oh well, I keep my fingers crossed for you....

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timmy tiger

Awesome BB this thread is a big help. I didn't see it before, but I just noticed it the other day and am so very glad that you put it up. Thank you.

Gache

Many ADHD is misdiagnosed, my son for example. ADHD can be misdiagnosed because the kid is sleepy from sleep apnea or a bad bed. It can also be misdiagnosed because your kid is indian. We raise our kids differently than whites do. It can also be misdiagnosed because that kid is intellligent. Remember whites like to put people in categories and they are very poor at accepting someone who is different. Highly intelligent children often get lumped with learning disabilities simply because white society doesn't know how to teach them. 1 out of 3 highschool dropouts is a mentally gifted child.

But those who have ADHD or other learning disabilities can be helped significantly by going to this site and learning about the many ways other parents have helped their kids out
Autism Mercury this organization is also the one that Jenny McCarthy is in. Please read their success stories.

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Margy

Thank you Gache. I often had the impression that my son and me are just a bit different. He IS able to learn things, he IS intelligent, just sometimes there are too many tings getting to him at the same time. Everything at school has to be gotten quick quick quickly, no room for imagination, feeling, understanding.... and we just "work" in a different way. He is almost 10, he is very talented in Kick Box Jitsu, Maths (if his teacher explains things right), telling stories, singing, dancing, taking care of pets, he is a very loving and intelligent boy. It just hurts when a teacher is making comments like...he is too slow, he is always dreaming, he needs to repeat this year- he is too young (but he started 1 year later already),....or even that his IQ seems to be low. But he is VERY intelligent and sensitive too. I think our teachers need schooling here, information....and I don't like that ADD/ADHD diagnosis anyway. What is normal!? I love my boy the way he is. And I think I deserve to be loved the way I am also. We need more time and a break from that fast stressful world now and then. That's all...seems to be all. Less TV, less ads everywhere,... I better stop, I could "vent" forever about this subject. Again thank you Gache for posting this.

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Nashke

The greatest culprit in ADHD, Asperger's, etc is vaccinations. Most vaccines contain aluminum, formaldehyde and other neurotoxins which wreak havoc on the brain and other major organs.

Vaccinated Children Two And A Half Times More Likely To Have Neurological Disorders Like ADHD And Autism, New Survey In California And Oregon Finds

Or how about Genocide by Vaccine Experiment on our native children?
Measles vaccine trial, a covert experiment. Genocide by vaccines