Mommy ADD

Three Tips for … Surviving Math Homework

Don't let the headline get to you. For some kids, math comes easy to them. Then there are the rest of us. Not to be stereotypical, but math can pose some special difficulties for our ADHD kids.

ADHD kids have a tendency to have difficulties with math facts, processing word problems and even following the order of operations. Special skills can help ease these troubles.

Here are three tips to help your kids survive and thrive math this year.

1. Make it fun. I know I keep saying this, but make the math fun. Despite common belief, you can make it fun. Let them do math facts online. Download a math game. In fact, you can even buy a math game for the Nintendo DS.

Several websites that may help are www.aplusmath.com, www.funbrain.com, and www.bigbrainz.com (which has a GREAT multiplication game that is free and downloadable).

2.Do what works. Math can be troubling because you have to keep track of all those darn numbers. Here's two ways to keep them in check. One unorthodox method is to take the notebook paper and turn it sideways. Then, when your student writes their numbers, they can keep them all in a row.

If you need a stronger way to keep track of the problems, have your student do their math homework on graph paper. If there isn't enough room, let them write in two boxes per number. Since going to this method, I can actually read my son's homework!

Another tip is to highlight the different operations in different colors. You could make addition green, subtraction yellow, multiplication blue and division pink. This will help remind our kiddos what operation they should be doing.

3. Practice, practice, practice. Unfortunately, the school day just keeps getting more and more busy. This means that there is less and less time for practicing basic math skills. Try to practice math facts 5 minutes a day or 10 minutes every other day. To make it easier, make a game of it. You can play bingo, have a scavenger hunt, play on the computer – whatever it takes.

Make sure they have samples of the exact type of problem they are working on. Modeling is very important with ADHD kids, especially since so many are visual learners.

Math can be fun...or at the worst, much less painful. Math is a necessary skill and all kids need to learn how to work problems effectively. Help take some of the stress out of math homework and become the math hero of your house today!

Do you have an ADHD/ADD educational issue you would like to see addressed? If so, please email me at info@mommyadd.com and I will try to feature it in a new column or on my blog at www.MommyADD.com.

Psych You Mind

So yesterday we had our eval with the psychiatrist. I am still trying to decide how I feel about it. I expected...more. I thought it would me a bit more like a reg couns appt. It wasn't.

It began with us arriving 45 minutes early. We had to drive into Phoenix and since I usually get lost, I allowed for this. I didn't. Then I planned to take them to the cafeteria for a snack, but because of that silly flu, they wouldn't allow it. So we sat.

When we finally got to our first appointment of the day, I was quite flustered. The doctor just stared. Like, he didn't ask any questions or anything. Just. Stared.

I then wondered if I had a bat in the cave or something. After several more uncomfortable seconds I asked where I should begin.

I know mental health professionals have to read people, but it felt... Creepy.

Throughout the appt, the dr had this cough. At the end of the appt he bolted. In hindsight I wonder if he had to go puke or something.
My son's appt was an hour later, so after killing some time we met with the dr again. No coughing this time, but there was still the creepy stare.

It was at this point that I decided I was not going to be intimidated by a doctor. I'm a smart woman. There's no reason for me to feel intimidated.

We received the diagnosis of anxiety, which I have known for forever. We talked about treatment goals and then got our rx's.

Here's where I don't know what to do. He was prescribed Tenex, which is actually a high blood pressure med. He mentioned that the old man already has slightly low BP (which of course freaks me the hell out) and that he shouldn't stand up too quickly cause he could pass out.

O_o.

Um ok. Way to burst my bubble. There wasn't enough talking. I would have preferred a different medication and of yet have not decided if I will give it to him yet. I wanted more from this appointment.

<Sigh> I will post more of an update when I process a little more and I'm not typing it on my Blackberry. :)

Phew. That's all I can say. Phew.

Well, my kids and I have officially survived one quarter of the school year. It wasn't easy. In fact, there were many times that I didn't think we would survive. There were tears. Sometimes they were even my kids.

But we did it. And now we have to do it three more times. o_O

I learned a lot during the quarter. Here's a few:

• I need to make sure I have realistic expectations. I am coming to accept the fact that while I know my son is a genius, it's ok if he gets some B's every now and then. C's are not acceptable, and he should have mostly A's, but some B's are the end of the world. I realize that it's not worth the extra hour (or more) of homework time each night to have him at straight A's.

• I need help. This is a tough journey I'm on and I can't do it alone. I have been relying on my husband a lot around the house and he has stepped it up. I have been relying on teachers to keep me in the loop with homework and for the most part it is going well. I rely on my friends who also have ADHD kiddos to tell me that what I am going through is normal, even though it sucks.

• I need to relax. Just because this is a difficult and stressful doesn't mean I am a bad mom. Just because we have to medicate our kids and do behavior plans and such doesn't mean it's my fault.

Basically I need to go from this:

To this:

(And for the record, I do not mean that I need to go from a stressed out white woman to a zen-like pile of rocks. It's metaphorical, peeps).

So, I will take a deep breath, take the kids to the park over break and get organized for the next big push. Let's see if I can keep this one less stressful. :)