Mommy ADD

Handwriting Part 2

So, as you know, I have had some issues with my son's handwriting. Well, today he was issued a school AlphaSmart.

This was spurred by a meeting with his ALP teacher (who is amazing, btw) and I decided to just bite the bullet and see what happened if I had him type his assignments.

All I can say is: Wow.

He sitting next to me now, typing up an essay. Besides the anxiety, all goes well. We will see if it continues, but so far it is a hit. I say if you have the chance to try it, go ahead and give it a shot. Can't hurt...I don't think. I'm sure one of our ADHD kids could figure a way to make it hurt, but I digress...

Which is more impt: social skills or grades?

My adhd son has always had trouble socially. Part of it, we suspect, has been caused by the meds he was on. Over the summer we were able to experience no meds and the social difference was pretty amazing. He was much, much happier, he was more social, more active and most importantly, he smiled more.

The downside, of course, was that he was also sometimes a raving lunatic of activity. There were some days that it was a bit much, but for the most part we could handle it.

Towards the end of summer, we opted to put him back on his original medicine. Well, yesterday it gave him a massive headache and made him puke (Had to pull over quick to make sure we didn't have another truck puking incident) - a reaction that we duplicated with his short acting meds over the summer (minus the puke).

So, as my hubs and I ponder what to do with the Princess (short of duct taping her to a wall), we are also wondering what is best for our son.

On one hand, we don't want our son to have a hard time socially. It is already difficult for him since he younger than his classmates and he is gifted, so he already sees things differently than his peers.

On the flip side, we want him to continue to do well academically. I know that meds only facilitate his success, but I'll be honest - they make a biiiiig difference in a classroom situation. If we put him on a lower dose, it means we will all have to employ more behavioral strategies to make up for it and I'm not sure that it will work.

So, what to do? We are thinking about trying a lower dose med to help him during the day. Maybe then this won't impede the social aspect as much? I know grades are important (I mean, I am a teacher too) but he also needs to be social.

Any thoughts?

The back to school routine, pre-game show

So, school starts next week. <sigh> No more sleeping in, no more watching Pokemon (thank GOD for that), no more morning swims. I'm actually not that bummed about summer being over. School needs to start again because my kids NEED the routine of it all.

I'm very worried though. The old man has a tough time focusing enough to get his homework done and now not only will I have to deal with him doing homework, but his sister as well. Since hubby works late, it'll all be up to me.

I spoke with the kids counselor about this last week and we came up with a basic game plan. There are a lot of parts that still don't add up (little things, like how the hell I'm going to feed them too) but I feel better than I did a week ago.

This is also made more difficult because we've had so much trouble with the old man's meds. This means we will have to rely on beh modification strategies more this year, which scares me. 

Here's what we have so far:

1. He needs to wear a watch. My first reaction was that this was a baaaad idea, but now I think it might not be. This will, once he learns how to use it, help him manage his time in class. Assuming he actually looks at his watch, of course.

2. He needs to use a student planner to write down assignments. I have a feeling I will have to have the teacher sign off on these daily. Now, if I could just find a planner geared towards elementary school kids.

3. After school, instead of trying to do his homework at the after school program, we are going to try and find a place for him to go to do homework after school, whether it's a teacher's classroom or the library.

4. If he gets his homework done, then when we get home, he gets to play first and his sister will do her homework first. If he doesn't get his done, he gets the hot seat first. This way, I can keep the kids away from each other while they work. I am also planning to put son in earplugs, since he can't have background noise.

5. Reading for him will occur before he turns his lamp off for bed. This helps his mind slow down a little so he can fall asleep.

So, this is the plan so far. Notice I don't ahve anything about my mornings? That, my friends, is an entirely different post. I am still struggling with a way to get my daughter's meds into her and still have her eat a good breakfast, all without getting her up too early. Phew.

Any tips/suggestions/questions?