Rant for the Day (keep it clean)

[Grimm]

I don't know if I should post this, but I will in case it might help. Ok, so our son was JUST like that. AND he was NOT spoiled, and he was in a private Christian school at that time. He was careless, hyper, didn't behave, it was so bad that we were actually thinking about sending him to some military type boarding school. He constantly got in trouble at school also, like tipping over his chair because he just couldn't sit still and behave. We tried lots of exercise but that only helped temporary. He was actually kicked out of the private school and we had to put him in public school which was no improvement. I got called to see the principle after 3 days.... So I took him to my psychiatrist ( I had one for my anxiety issues ) and he was diagnosed with ADHD. He scored 100% on the test....

Put on medication ( vivance) and he improved 100%. He stopped taking the medication after he graduated from highschool and is now a Senior in civil engineering at a good university , plus helps a lot around here. He still is a little scatterbrained occasionally ( like left the ice cream out the other day) but so far as an adult the only thing he did wrong was get that speeding ticket ( after 10 years of driving ticket free)

I know most people are totally against ADHD medication and think it's all in their heads but in his case it wasn't . It's like people at the church we used to go to telling me to pray harder and confess more sins to get rid of my anxiety...it doesn't work. Sometimes you need medical help to fix mental problems .

I am glad that worked for your son!

Roo's school behavior was not wanting to do the busy work but to sit in a corner to read. She did not feel safe in the classroom so she did odd things like hide under her desk to feel better. She was not understood by the teachers nor did they give 2 shits about her or how to help her. She was bullied by other kids because she was a year younger than them because she skipped a grade. She should have been several grades higher but it "would not be productive for her socially to be with kids several years older than her". But the crotch-demons she was in class with were abusive and the school did nothing to them because they were 'minorities'. The schools refuse to suspend or expel children of color from school even if they violate the zero tolerance bully policy.

Roo has a diagnosis of ADHD. BUT we were ordered to get her tested by the public school. I took her to a place that tests and not recommended by the school but as soon as they heard it was issues in the classroom they were all over the fact she 'has' ADHD. Most places that test get kickbacks from public schools when a child is diagnosed. Public schools get federal funding for every child diagnosed so they can accommodate the child's learning needs. These learning needs are written out as a 504 plan. The schools HAVE to give the student a 504 if they have a diagnosis. The public school we sent Roo to REFUSED to give her a 504. I refused to medicate my child if we did not get a 504 for her. Did I mention public schools also get funding for every student taking ADHD meds?! Where are any of these funds now that we homeschool!?

Roo's behavior is not the ADHD but sheer disrespect for my husband, my home, her sister and myself. She does not act this way to my parents in any way. She has them wrapped around her finger that she is a victim. They are soooo scammed they give her things she is not allowed to have and tell her to hide them from us. This behavior switch did not happen until the second year of public school when the school started telling her that she was a victim and her parents can't make her do chores. That we need to give her everything she wants and we are not allowed to discipline her at all. They told her CPS will punish her mean parents and make sure she gets what she wants.

Because of this she has learned to lie in a major way to try and get removed by CPS. She told them I threw her from a moving car on a dirt road. No where near the truth. She told them I killed her cat to make her cry. Not true. We had a cat
(mine) who was old die in her sleep under my bed but I did not kill her or put her down. She told them I beat her with a baseball bat. Yes, I have a bat but it is under my bed for protection.

She steals. Everything and anything. From everyone.

The destructive behavior is out of spite and anger rather than random carelessness. If you tell her to pick up the hangers on the floor she will break them then throw them away. This means she then has to use her own money to buy more when she has no hangers for her clothes. Her reasoning is she doesn't want to pick them up and put them in her closet so break them and she doesn't have to deal with them again... until she has to buy more!

 

[sonya123]

But the crotch-demons she was in class with were abusive and the school did nothing to them because they were 'minorities'. The schools refuse to suspend or expel children of color from school even if they violate the zero tolerance bully policy.

This happened to my daughter when she first went to public elementary school. She was constantly tormented by this ghetto trash kids they bussed in from another neighborhood. Principle didn't do anything about it either. So we put her in a private Christian school and things got better. She went back to public in highschool ( the private only went through middle)

So sorry you have to deal with all that.

Maybe try meds and see if it helps? I don't remember the school being involved in our son's medication . I don't remember any 504 either but we were in Florida, so maybe rules are different? I did put it on his health form that he is taking medication.
His behavior change was instantaneous. He cleaned his room. Something he never did voluntary before. He got straight As after that in middle school. It was almost shocking to see the change in him. The side effects at first were that he lost some weight and had some problem sleeping. But that got better after a while. Oh and he doesn't lie. He would look me straight in the eye and tell me the unpleasant truth all the time.

 

[zannej]

What is a 504?

Sonya, I'm glad the meds worked for your son. My brother was diagnosed with ADHD because he didn't want to do his homework. I don't believe he actually had it, but it was when they were first diagnosing pretty much every kid with it. He could pay attention if he wanted to and he could focus, but he didn't want to. The meds didn't help and made him feel awful. I don't remember what they gave him, but he hated it .He would actually hide the pills instead of taking them because he hated them. My mom wanted him to have the ADHD rather than admit that he was raised to be lazy. If he didn't do his homework, she would sometimes do it for him. He learned that any unpleasant task could be avoided so long as he refused and someone else would do it.

He also ate all of mom's burritos because he forgot that he ate all of the ones we bought before and thought the new pack was his and ate every last one of them in a space of 3 days. Mom was pretty pissed off about it. At least he apologized when he realized. He's gotten a little bit more considerate. Although, he hasn't fed the cats in a few weeks and most of them are his. He won't even bring the cat food bags in. And he never cleans litterboxes.

The house is being overrun with roaches that we've never had before. Don't know where they came from but they are all over mom's desk and the kitchen. They spread throughout the living room. They are starting to come into my room but not many bc I don't keep food or trash in here. I need to find the diatomaceous earth and spread it all over. Can't use anything not safe for pets. I've tried "pet safe" roach spray and it didn't do much. It also stinks and gives me a headache.

Anyone know of good pet-safe way to get rid or roaches? I'm planning to do major cleanup-- get all the paper junk put in plastic bins, wipe every surface & wall with disinfectant, vacuum, and then spread the diatomaceous earth. We need to do something bc they are climbing inside Mom's computer.

 

[Pearl]

What is a 504?

Sonya, I'm glad the meds worked for your son. My brother was diagnosed with ADHD because he didn't want to do his homework. I don't believe he actually had it, but it was when they were first diagnosing pretty much every kid with it. He could pay attention if he wanted to and he could focus, but he didn't want to. The meds didn't help and made him feel awful. I don't remember what they gave him, but he hated it .He would actually hide the pills instead of taking them because he hated them. My mom wanted him to have the ADHD rather than admit that he was raised to be lazy. If he didn't do his homework, she would sometimes do it for him. He learned that any unpleasant task could be avoided so long as he refused and someone else would do it.

He also ate all of mom's burritos because he forgot that he ate all of the ones we bought before and thought the new pack was his and ate every last one of them in a space of 3 days. Mom was pretty pissed off about it. At least he apologized when he realized. He's gotten a little bit more considerate. Although, he hasn't fed the cats in a few weeks and most of them are his. He won't even bring the cat food bags in. And he never cleans litterboxes.

The house is being overrun with roaches that we've never had before. Don't know where they came from but they are all over mom's desk and the kitchen. They spread throughout the living room. They are starting to come into my room but not many bc I don't keep food or trash in here. I need to find the diatomaceous earth and spread it all over. Can't use anything not safe for pets. I've tried "pet safe" roach spray and it didn't do much. It also stinks and gives me a headache.

Anyone know of good pet-safe way to get rid or roaches? I'm planning to do major cleanup-- get all the paper junk put in plastic bins, wipe every surface & wall with disinfectant, vacuum, and then spread the diatomaceous earth. We need to do something bc they are climbing inside Mom's computer.

Diatomaceous earth is the safest thing I can think of!! Boric acid powder is safe too!!

 

[havasu]

As many are aware, I have booked a 14 day trip this summer, from Barcelona to Venice. We just received notice that Venice no longer allows ships into their seaport, so our final destination is Chioppia, 90 miles south of Venice. I refuse to take a bus at least 6 times (90 minutes each) and fly out of Venice) so we decided to cancel. Our money back guarantee with Viking Cruises, is going to cost us $2,000, since they have a $100 per person cancellation, and the trip insurance we are not even using, is non-refundable, which is another $900 each. Well, we are cancelling, but not giving up my money that quick. I have written a formal letter to their president for breech of contract (my papers say Barcelona to Venice, not Barcelona to Chioppia). I will also file a claim with my credit card company to receive a full refund.

 

[Wingnut]

That's a drag... my brother lives in Padua (or Padova), near Venice. He lives there with his Italian wife. My family spent 5 years in Greece (1968-1973), in a semi-rural northern suburb of Athens... some of the best years of my life. Life was so much different then, ya know? I have another brother who lives in Germany with HIS wife, and I also have relatives in England... but I don't believe I'll ever return to Europe, not with all the vaxxer BS going on nowadays. No way I take a jab of some evil concoction just to go back to someplace I've already been... that ain't gonna happen. Besides, I'd like to remember Europe as it was in THOSE days, I know it has gone downhill since the late '60s and early '70s.

 

[havasu]

Speaking of Vaxed, now, since O'biden made all NATO and Ally countries, follow CDC guidelines, they can change requirements at a moment's notice. We were told a initial VAX card was the only requirement, but many on "Trip Advisor" are saying that unless you comply with the specific countrie's requirements, they can refuse to allow you off the ship at any given time, especially since boosters (which I refuse) need to be jabbed 14 days prior to departure. This trip is (er, was) the big trip of our lives, but it is ruined. That's ok. Mama doesn't want us to spend any money except in the good ol' USA. We may jump in the car and just drive east, until we reach Florida. Then visit friends and family in Georgia, Maine, Missouri, Kentucky (maybe have a sarsaparilla with JIm @phideaux , visit friends and family in Tennessee, and take a month or two on the road, really seeing our beautiful country.

 

[Bacpacker]

We'll give me a shout if you are coming thru Tennessee. Maybe we could hold a quick powwow somewhere

 

[Cascadian]

About 8 years ago my wife and I took our 07 truck with a nice cab over camper from California to Maine and back. We took 30 days and saw everyone we "wanted" to and most of the places. I wish we had spent more than a day at Niagara falls. We did sort of a southern route leaving and a northern route coming back. During summer so no weather issues. We really enjoyed it, but I think if we had a shovel one of us might not have made it out of the Dakotas. It is a lot of time together.

 

[zannej]

Havasu, that sucks. Since they were the ones who breached the contract by changing one of the destinations, then they should have to refund everything. I hope you get all your $ back.

 

[Grimm]

What is a 504?

Sonya, I'm glad the meds worked for your son. My brother was diagnosed with ADHD because he didn't want to do his homework. I don't believe he actually had it, but it was when they were first diagnosing pretty much every kid with it. He could pay attention if he wanted to and he could focus, but he didn't want to. The meds didn't help and made him feel awful. I don't remember what they gave him, but he hated it .He would actually hide the pills instead of taking them because he hated them. My mom wanted him to have the ADHD rather than admit that he was raised to be lazy. If he didn't do his homework, she would sometimes do it for him. He learned that any unpleasant task could be avoided so long as he refused and someone else would do it.

He also ate all of mom's burritos because he forgot that he ate all of the ones we bought before and thought the new pack was his and ate every last one of them in a space of 3 days. Mom was pretty pissed off about it. At least he apologized when he realized. He's gotten a little bit more considerate. Although, he hasn't fed the cats in a few weeks and most of them are his. He won't even bring the cat food bags in. And he never cleans litterboxes.

The house is being overrun with roaches that we've never had before. Don't know where they came from but they are all over mom's desk and the kitchen. They spread throughout the living room. They are starting to come into my room but not many bc I don't keep food or trash in here. I need to find the diatomaceous earth and spread it all over. Can't use anything not safe for pets. I've tried "pet safe" roach spray and it didn't do much. It also stinks and gives me a headache.

Anyone know of good pet-safe way to get rid or roaches? I'm planning to do major cleanup-- get all the paper junk put in plastic bins, wipe every surface & wall with disinfectant, vacuum, and then spread the diatomaceous earth. We need to do something bc they are climbing inside Mom's computer.

A 504 is a personalized learning plan for students with learning disabilities or learning hardships such as ADHD. It is required by law here in California. My mom is a retired public school teacher so I had the inside tract on how all this works.

 

[Grimm]

This happened to my daughter when she first went to public elementary school. She was constantly tormented by this ghetto trash kids they bussed in from another neighborhood. Principle didn't do anything about it either. So we put her in a private Christian school and things got better. She went back to public in highschool ( the private only went through middle)

So sorry you have to deal with all that.

Maybe try meds and see if it helps? I don't remember the school being involved in our son's medication . I don't remember any 504 either but we were in Florida, so maybe rules are different? I did put it on his health form that he is taking medication.
His behavior change was instantaneous. He cleaned his room. Something he never did voluntary before. He got straight As after that in middle school. It was almost shocking to see the change in him. The side effects at first were that he lost some weight and had some problem sleeping. But that got better after a while. Oh and he doesn't lie. He would look me straight in the eye and tell me the unpleasant truth all the time.

Here in California public schools that have students required to take medication like for ADHD have to have a registered nurse on staff during class hours to allow the children to take their meds at school. They get extra funding to hire this nurse and keep them on staff full time. Most schools want this funding because they can use it for other things if they can prove the students don't take the meds on campus. That means the funds are free for pay increases etc.

My mom's former district would scam the feds for all the funds they could get for these things then the super gave herself a huge pay raise. Funny seeing how the teachers were given unapproved pay cuts...

 

[Weedygarden]

All this talk about children being diagnosed with ADHD, how schools push to get students diagnosed, etc., etc., etc. is just strange. In the schools I worked in, there has never been a push for this. In fact, when you realize there is a student who has some concerning behaviors, it takes 6 months of documentation to even begin considering anything. This has been done so that children cannot just be given a label willy-nilly because someone decided they didn't like a child for one reason or another. I have been on the intervention teams where teachers come in with concerns about children, their students. Questions, lots of questions are asked. Lots of ideas and suggestions are given. Lots of observations are done by many people. Parents are interviewed. Medical background for the children is considered, going back to mother's pregnancy with the child. Was everything normal, or were there concerns?

The one thing that I always felt so good about what just how professionally and thoroughly children were looked at and how many other interventions were tried to help the children whose teachers brought them up to us. I had such high regard for my teammates on these intervention teams. Now, teachers, that was another story. I have seen teachers who needed a different profession. Some of them got new professions with no choice of their own. I have seen several teachers over the years who did not like to deal with male students. They did their best to have as few of them as they could. I've seen this a few times, with different teachers.

I've also seen a few parents who were in serious denial about their children, their behaviors and needs, but this is fairly rare. I do have a friend whose child was not given a proper evaluation when it was suggested there was a problem. She invited me to go to meetings with her, and I was appalled at some of the things I heard that were done. Different people, different schools, different ideas. Not the same kinds of intervention teams that I was on. Some want to sweep things away, or not do their due diligence about them.

I once had a student in first grade, who on the very first day, the red flags went up and the alarm bells were ringing in my head about her. She had been in preschool and kindergarden, but could not write or read her name, let alone a bunch of other basic stuff. I told my principal on the first day that this child was very concerning. I was reminded of the long process of evaluating children. We couldn't even begin that process for months, because we had to try all kinds of things with her and document, document, document. I knew that. Eventually, the school psychologist did an IQ test on this child, and it was determined that her IQ was around 45. She was never going to be able to read or write. She did not have the mental capacity for it. A normal IQ is 85 to 115, with the average IQ being 100. So for months, I worked with this child on what she could do. But where was the concern about this child before first grade? Where were the previous teachers and what were they doing? I was told that the child was often sent to the back of the room to play, while the rest were working on skills. Someone or several of them should have lost their licenses because of this. Mother was never talked to, or so she said. No one ever suggested to her that there was a concern. Mother came to me the first day I met her and told me her child was going to Harvard. Nope, she was not. Child was going to a self contained classroom where very special needs children were worked with. Child was never going to be in regular school.

My adult child has ADD. She was diagnosed at around 19 years of age, when she took herself to the doctor and suggested to him that she might have ADD because she wanted to do things like write papers for school, but could not stay focused to do that. Not one of her teachers, some of my colleagues, ever mentioned to me that they suspected she might have ADD. She was often in trouble for talking too much though. She still talks about that. She had some really assinine and horrible teachers, imho. I actually tried to get her teachers changed, and only succeeded at that once. The person I had to talk to about that was the narcissistic wife of her narcissistic teacher. Good times, not!

Daughter filled out the forms, and got diagnosed. And then got the meds that go with it. Ritalin was the first one she was prescribed. She took it when she had a looming deadline that she wanted to meet, but if she took them as prescribed, she would have a raging headache in a couple days. Why? Because children are often overprescribed the amount of meds they need. She was prescribed 20 mg. Then she went back and was prescribed something else, I think it was Adderall the second time. Overprescribed. This went on for her for years. Finally, she was on a new insurance and decided, like she is want to do, to find the best psychiatrist in the whole area, the person who is known for being the best for dealing with ADD. The person she found is the BEST!
Law says anyone who gets these meds has to see a psych person every 3 months. After her initial intake with this new dr., it is suggested to her that she has been overprescribed meds, overmedicated. Dr. cuts her dosage in half and suggests that it is important to take them at the same time EVERY day. Alarm set on phone now is a reminder to take those meds, which now do not give her headaches. They also keep her on an even keel. Daughter has such gratitude that finally someone is giving her the help she needs.
I've seen the children who are overprescribed medication. I know I would hate being made to take something that made me feel weird, zombie like. I believe that the problem there is over-medicating too many children, people.
But I have dealt with a couple of children in my many years of teaching, who were a nightmare if they didn't have their meds. They created the kind of classroom environment that no one should have to deal with, adults or children. They were absolutely exhausting to deal with. One family soon learned that without their daughter's meds, she was a nightmare at home as well. After battling with them about her needs, they came to the realization that they never wanted to be home with her if she didn't have her meds. They didn't realize that it was her ADD that created so many problems for the whole family.
One thing that daughter learned is that if someone has ADD or ADHD, one of their parents does as well. Was it her dad, or is it me? Hmmmmm. Neither of us were ever evaluated.

ADD--there are 7 different types of ADD. Dr. Amen’s 7 Types of ADHD - Smart Kids

 

[Peanut]

Anyone else being invaded by stink bugs? Since the cold spell last week I've killed 4 or 5 bugs each day. Hadn't seen one since summer. A few lady bugs showed up too, annoying but they don't stink.

These aren't the stink bugs I normally see either. I usually see green stinkers. These are a mottled grey color.

 

[Grimm]

One thing that daughter learned is that if someone has ADD or ADHD, one of their parents does as well. Was it her dad, or is it me? Hmmmmm. Neither of us were ever evaluated.

ADD--there are 7 different types of ADD. Dr. Amen’s 7 Types of ADHD - Smart Kids

Interesting about this. K and I both are from the generation when ADD and ADHD was the label put on the kids who were troublemakers. We have talked about this before and both of us were evaluated as kids at some point. I was in grade school and K was in middle school. Neither of us were diagnosed.

Roo is extremely high functioning on the spectrum. She was a 2 vessel cord baby which is one of the big markers for a possible child being on the spectrum. They normally don't say anything about this to moms with female babies but the stats show most 2 vessel cord boys are diagnosed Autistic within the toddler years. Boys present so differently than girls do on the spectrum. Most girls are not diagnosed til late in life because people don't know what to look for with girls and it is ingrained in us to "fit in at all costs".

As for the school district Roo was going to... They did the required Gate program testing and not one child in the entire district qualified for the program but they advertise the program on the district website! Funny how no one was smart enough for it but they claim they offer it.

Not to mention her second grade teacher was more concerned with getting to her second job as a waitress than being there for the students and parents who had questions or needed help. I could never get an appointment with her before or after school to discuss what was going on. But when she took her concerns to the admins in the school to complain about me not being involved she was able to be there for meetings. Glad I had email receipts through their class dojo app showing her lack of communication.

 

[Weedygarden]

Not to mention her second grade teacher was more concerned with getting to her second job as a waitress than being there for the students and parents who had questions or needed help. I could never get an appointment with her before or after school to discuss what was going on. But when she took her concerns to the admins in the school to complain about me not being involved she was able to be there for meetings. Glad I had email receipts through their class dojo app showing her lack of communication.

I have worked with too many teachers who arrive at the last possible moment, and leave as soon as they can. I know people who were also always taking all their vacation or sick days as soon as they qualified for them. When I left, I left behind many sick days that I never used, 40 something, and I had tried hard to use up as many as I could, because I knew I was leaving.
I was usually first in and last out. All of that did not make me a better teacher per se, I just need more times sometimes to get things well thought out and planned. I do know that many do not take their job as seriously as they could. I've worked with people who slipped out the back door to go get another Starbucks or even to get their hair done! They did it because they could and thought they could get away with it. I do know that this stuff does catch up to people. It is not like administration is totally in the dark, but how they choose to handle it is different. I worked with a woman who would leave during lunch hour to run errands, and she was never on time to anything. One time, the principal met her while she was sneaking back in, at least a half hour late, and who knows the outcome. I don't, just that she was caught.

It is possible that this teacher had huge college debts, while I went to college mostly on scholarships and graduated with very, very little debt? Most of my life I have worked more than one job, but for me, it was usually tutoring at the school, after the school day.

 

[Weedygarden]

https://www.smartkidswithld.org/getting-help/adhd/7-types-adhd/

Dr. Amen’s 7 Types of ADHD​

By Eve Kessler, Esq.
Research by Dr. Daniel Amen shows that ADHD is not a single or simple condition • There are seven distinct types of ADHD, each one requiring a particular treatment • Amen’s studies show that when the type of ADHD is treated properly, the results are effective

---

ADHD is not a one-size-fits-all diagnosis, and no one knows that better than Dr. Daniel G. Amen. Amen, a psychiatrist and brain imaging specialist, has been studying ADHD for more than two decades, and what he’s learned is challenging conventional wisdom about the condition that affects 5 to10% of the population. Some describe his findings as ground-breaking, while others are more skeptical. Either way, Amen has captured the attention of experts and parents alike.

REDEFINING ADHD​

Using diagnostic techniques, including non-invasive SPECT scans to study blood flow and brain activity patterns, Amen has found that attention deficit issues are more complex than previously thought; and that, in fact, there are seven different types of ADHD, each with its own symptoms and treatment options.

Amen’s work shows that when treatment is targeted to the type of ADHD that a person has, the results can be impressive.​

Before-and-after imaging indicates that effective treatments can improve brain function dramatically, not by making ADHD sufferers into different people, but by removing barriers that prevent them from being the people they already are. Amen believes that it is often possible to change the course of a person’s life by giving them the proper treatments.

TYPES OF ADHD​

Amen lays out his research in his best-selling book, Healing ADD: The Breakthrough Program That Allows You to See and Heal the 7 Types of ADD. The book explores how ADHD impacts many areas of the brain and the three neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and GABA. The affected brain areas are the prefrontal cortex and cerebellum, which control executive functions of concentration, attention span, judgment, organization, planning and impulse control; the anterior cingulate, which helps the brain shift gears and detect errors; the temporal lobes, which involve memory, learning, emotional reactions, mood stability and visual processing; the basal ganglia, large structures deep in the brain that help produce the neurotransmitter dopamine; and the limbic system, which sets emotional tone and bonding.
Following is a summary of Amen’s 7 types of ADD along with his proposals for treatment.
1. Classic ADD
Symptoms: Inattentive, distractible, hyperactive, disorganized and impulsive. Normal brain activity at rest; decreased brain activity during concentrated tasks.
Cause: Dopamine deficiency; decreased blood flow in prefrontal cortex and cerebellum, as well as basal ganglia, which helps produce dopamine.
Treatment: Stimulant medications, such as Ritalin, Adderall, Vyvance or Concerta, or stimulating supplements, such as rhodiola, green tea, ginseng, as well as the amino acid L-tyrosine, which is a building block of dopamine; extra physical activity; fish oil that is higher in EPA than in DHA.
2. Inattentive ADD
Symptoms: Short attention span, distractible, disorganized, procrastinates, may daydream and be introverted; not hyperactive or impulsive; impacts girls as much or more than boys.
Cause: Dopamine deficiency; low activity in the prefrontal cortex.
Treatment: Stimulant medications, such as Adderall, Vyvance or Concerta, or stimulating supplements, such as amino acid L-tyrosine; high-protein, lower-carbohydrate diet; regular exercise.
3. Over-Focused ADD
Symptoms: Core symptoms of Classic ADD, plus trouble shifting attention, going from thought-to-thought or task-to-task; getting stuck in negative thought patterns or behaviors.
Cause: Dopamine and serotonin deficiencies; over-activity in anterior cingulate gyrus, which makes flexibility difficult.
Treatment: Supplements, such as L-tryptophan, 5-HTP (dietary supplement used as antidepressant), saffron, and inositol (naturally occurring nutrient used to boost alertness, focus, mood and mental clarity); otherwise anti-depressants Effexor, Pristique, or Cymbalta; avoid high-protein diet, which may trigger mean behavior. Neurofeedback.
4. Temporal Lobe ADD
Symptoms: Core symptoms of Classic ADD, as well as learning, memory, and behavioral problems, such as quick anger, aggression, and mild paranoia.
Cause: Abnormalities in the temporal lobe; decreased activity in prefrontal cortex.
Treatment: Amino acid GABA (gamma-aminobutryic acid) to calm neural activity and inhibit nerve cells from over-firing or firing erratically; magnesium to help with anxiety and irritability; anti-convulsant medications to help with mood stability; gingko or vinpocetine to help with learning and memory problems.
5. Limbic ADD
Symptoms: Core symptoms of Classic ADD, as well as chronic low-level sadness (not depression): moodiness, low energy, frequent feelings of helplessness or excessive guilt, and chronic low self-esteem.
Cause: Too much activity in the limbic part of the brain (the mood control center); decreased prefrontal cortex activity, whether concentrating on a task or at rest.
Treatment: Supplements DL-phenylalanine (DLPA), L-tryosine, and SAMe (s-adenosyl-methionine); anti-depressants Wellbutrin or Imipramine; exercise; fish oil and diet modifications.
6. Ring of Fire ADD (“ADD plus”)
Symptoms: Sensitivity to noise, light, touch; periods of mean, nasty behavior; unpredictable behavior; speaking fast; anxiety and fearfulness.
Cause: A ring of hyperactivity around the brain (the entire brain is overactive, with too much activity across the cerebral cortex and other areas).
Treatment: Stimulants alone may make symptoms worse. Begin with an elimination diet. If an allergy is suspected, neurotransmitters GABA and serotonin are boosted through supplements, such as GABA, 5-HTP, and L-tyrosine, and medication, if necessary. For medications, begin with anticonvulsants and the blood pressure drugs guanfacine and clonidine, which calm overall hyperactivity.
7. Anxious ADD
Symptoms: Core symptoms of Classic ADD, as well as being anxious and tense, having physical stress symptoms like headaches and stomachaches, predicting the worst, freezing in anxiety-provoking situations, especially if being judged.
Cause: High activity in basil ganglia (the opposite of most types of ADD, where there is low activity).
Treatment: Promote relaxation and increase dopamine and GABA levels. ADD stimulants, taken alone make patients more anxious. Begin with a range of “calming” supplements, such as L-theanine, relora, magnesium, and holy basil. Tricyclic antidepressants Imipramine or Desipramine to lower anxiety, depending on the individual. Neurofeedback to decrease symptoms of anxiety, especially to calm the prefrontal cortex.
The information in this article comes from Dr. Daniel G. Amen’s book Healing ADD: The Breakthrough Program That Allows You to See and Heal the 7 Types of ADD (Penguin Group, 2013), and an article in ADDitude Magazine, The Seven Types of ADD – and How to Treat Each One.

 

[Pearl]

As many are aware, I have booked a 14 day trip this summer, from Barcelona to Venice. We just received notice that Venice no longer allows ships into their seaport, so our final destination is Chioppia, 90 miles south of Venice. I refuse to take a bus at least 6 times (90 minutes each) and fly out of Venice) so we decided to cancel. Our money back guarantee with Viking Cruises, is going to cost us $2,000, since they have a $100 per person cancellation, and the trip insurance we are not even using, is non-refundable, which is another $900 each. Well, we are cancelling, but not giving up my money that quick. I have written a formal letter to their president for breech of contract (my papers say Barcelona to Venice, not Barcelona to Chioppia). I will also file a claim with my credit card company to receive a full refund.

You will get a refund, don't give up!!

 

[Pearl]

this talk about children being diagnosed with ADHD, how schools push to get students diagnosed, etc., etc., etc. is just strange. In the schools I worked in, there has never been a push for this. In fact, when you realize there is a student who has some concerning behaviors, it takes 6 months of documentation to even begin considering anything. This has been done so that children cannot just be given a label willy-nilly because someone decided they didn't like a child for one reason or another. I have been on the intervention teams where teachers come in with concerns about children, their students. Questions, lots of questions are asked. Lots of ideas and suggestions are given. Lots of observations are done by many people. Parents are interviewed. Medical background for the children is considered, going back to mother's pregnancy with the child. Was everything normal, or were there concerns?

The one thing that I always felt so good about what just how professionally and thoroughly children were looked at and how many other interventions were tried to help the children whose teachers brought them up to us. I had such high regard for my teammates on these intervention teams. Now, teachers, that was another story. I have seen teachers who needed a different profession. Some of them got new professions with no choice of their own. I have seen several teachers over the years who did not like to deal with male students. They did their best to have as few of them as they could. I've seen this a few times, with different teachers.

I've also seen a few parents who were in serious denial about their children, their behaviors and needs, but this is fairly rare. I do have a friend whose child was not given a proper evaluation when it was suggested there was a problem. She invited me to go to meetings with her, and I was appalled at some of the things I heard that were done. Different people, different schools, different ideas. Not the same kinds of intervention teams that I was on. Some want to sweep things away, or not do their due diligence about them.

I once had a student in first grade, who on the very first day, the red flags went up and the alarm bells were ringing in my head about her. She had been in preschool and kindergarden, but could not write or read her name, let alone a bunch of other basic stuff. I told my principal on the first day that this child was very concerning. I was reminded of the long process of evaluating children. We couldn't even begin that process for months, because we had to try all kinds of things with her and document, document, document. I knew that. Eventually, the school psychologist did an IQ test on this child, and it was determined that her IQ was around 45. She was never going to be able to read or write. She did not have the mental capacity for it. A normal IQ is 85 to 115, with the average IQ being 100. So for months, I worked with this child on what she could do. But where was the concern about this child before first grade? Where were the previous teachers and what were they doing? I was told that the child was often sent to the back of the room to play, while the rest were working on skills. Someone or several of them should have lost their licenses because of this. Mother was never talked to, or so she said. No one ever suggested to her that there was a concern. Mother came to me the first day I met her and told me her child was going to Harvard. Nope, she was not. Child was going to a self contained classroom where very special needs children were worked with. Child was never going to be in regular school.

My adult child who has ADD. She was diagnosed at around 19 years of age, when she took herself to the doctor and suggested to him that she might have ADD because she wanted to do things like write papers for school, but could not stay focused to do that. Not one of her teachers, some of my colleagues, ever mentioned to me that they suspected she might have ADD. She was often in trouble for talking too much though. She still talks about that. She had some really assinine and horrible teachers, imho. I actually tried to get her teachers changed, and only succeeded at that once. The person I had to talk to about that was the narcissistic wife of her narcissistic teacher. Good times, not!

Daughter filled out the forms, and got diagnosed. And then got the meds that go with it. Ritalin was the first one she was prescribed. She took it when she had a looming deadline that she wanted to meet, but if she took them as prescribed, she would have a raging headache in a couple days. Why? Because children are often overprescribed the amount of meds they need. She was prescribed 20 mg. Then she went back and was prescribed something else, I think it was Adderall the second time. Overprescribed. This went on for her for years. Finally, she was on a new insurance and decided, like she is want to do, to find the best psychiatrist in the whole area, the person who is known for being the best for dealing with ADD. The person she found is the BEST!
Law says anyone who gets these meds has to see a psych person every 3 months. After her initial intake with this new dr., it is suggested to her that she has been overprescribed meds, overmedicated. Dr. cuts her dosage in half and suggests that it is important to take them at the same time EVERY day. Alarm set on phone now is a reminder to take those meds, which now do not give her headaches. They also keep her on an even keel. Daughter has such gratitude that finally someone is giving her the help she needs.
I've seen the children who are overprescribed medication. I know I would hate being made to take something that made me feel weird, zombie like. I believe that the problem there is over-medicating too many children, people.
But I have dealt with a couple of children in my many years of teaching, who were a nightmare if they didn't have their meds. They created the kind of classroom environment that no one should have to deal with, adults or children. They were absolutely exhausting to deal with. One family soon learned that without their daughter's meds, she was a nightmare at home as well. After battling with them about her needs, they came to the realization that they never wanted to be home with her if she didn't have her meds. They didn't realize that it was her ADD that created so many problems for the whole family.
One thing that daughter learned is that if someone has ADD or ADHD, one of their parents does as well. Was it her dad, or is it me? Hmmmmm. Neither of us were ever evaluated.

ADD--there are 7 different types of ADD. Dr. Amen’s 7 Types of ADHD - Smart Kids

Thank you!

 

[backlash]

Anyone else being invaded by stink bugs? Since the cold spell last week I've killed 4 or 5 bugs each day. Hadn't seen one since summer. A few lady bugs showed up too, annoying but they don't stink.

These aren't the stink bugs I normally see either. I usually see green stinkers. These are a mottled grey color.

View attachment 102227

Still too cold here for bugs.

 

[Weedygarden]

Still too cold here for bugs.

Here as well. When I was out chipping ice today, I didn't see any.

 

[dademoss]

Anyone else being invaded by stink bugs? Since the cold spell last week I've killed 4 or 5 bugs each day. Hadn't seen one since summer. A few lady bugs showed up too, annoying but they don't stink.

These aren't the stink bugs I normally see either. I usually see green stinkers. These are a mottled grey color.

View attachment 102227

They will be along come spring, stinky little rat (redacted)

 

[Amish Heart]

Came home from my favorite cousins house this evening, opened the door and the skunk smell hit me. It sprayed by the door on our back deck and fumes wafted in. Ugh.

 

[Weedygarden]

Came home from my favorite cousins house this evening, opened the door and the skunk smell hit me. It sprayed by the door on our back deck and fumes wafted in. Ugh.

Yuck! Your sure it wasn't grandson's pot? They can have a similar smell.

 

[Supervisor42]

ADHD is not a one-size-fits-all diagnosis, and no one knows that better than Dr. Daniel G. Amen. Amen, a psychiatrist and brain imaging specialist, has been studying ADHD for more than two decades, and what he’s learned is challenging conventional wisdom about the condition that affects 5 to10% of the population. ..
1. Classic ADD
Symptoms: Inattentive, distractible, hyperactive, disorganized and impulsive. Normal brain activity at rest; decreased brain activity during concentrated tasks.

I have to weigh on this because a lot of us others got this tag hung on them.
If I only had a dime for every report-card I had to take home that said: "Super daydreams in class", I would be rich today .
I will never forget when I was in the 8th-grade and the teacher made it all the way back to my desk and I was totally 'not paying attention'.
She grabbed me and my notebook and took us to the principal's office.
The principal looked at my notebook and it said:
"The pulley on the motor is 3" in diameter, the pulley on the jackshaft is 12" in diameter, and the sprocket going to the back wheel has X-number of teeth, the drive wheel has a sprocket with 3X as many teeth and the wheel is 26" in diameter. If the engine turns at 3600rpm, how many miles-per-hour will the quadcycle you are building go?"

Yes, I got a whipping for "not paying attention".
BTW, every person here should be able to solve that math problem with only a pencil and paper.... this 14y/o "ADD" kid did.
P.s: 12 bonus point for anyone that can post the correct answer.

 

[zannej]

I'm completely against corporal punishment in schools bc of teachers who aren't qualified to be around children much less be allowed to hit them. I saw it horribly abused in my public schools here. I probably mentioned the teacher who beat an entire class of 1st graders with a paddle bc she was in a bad mood. And other teachers did nothing. When I asked one why no one did anything about it she told me that she didn't give a crap about the students, whether or not they actually learned, what was happening to them, etc. All she cared about was collecting her paycheck and getting her food stamps. Teachers get paid so little here they qualify for food stamps. When they changed the rules so only principles could hit kids, the teacher who beat the whole class managed to get a job as a principle at the middle school & continued beating kids for no valid reason. Don't think she's there anymore though. But the wrong kind of people get these jobs to gain access to victims.

I was also in the generation where they started over-diagnosing ADHD. But, as Weedygarden said, different areas have different systems. It may be overdiagnosed in one area but under-diagnosed in others. Ritalin! That is what my brother was taking. He said it made him feel nauseous and like a zombie. Didn't stop him from eating everything in sight though.

Supervisor, it sucks that you got hit for "not paying attention" when you were. My mom used to look out the window a lot in class and the teacher would call on her to catch her out but she was listening and would answer correctly. Not sure where those listening skills went bc she never listened to much when I was growing up. She could never keep something straight if we told her what happened bc she didn't pay enough attention to what we were saying to remember. When I was in college, my electronic engineering professor said my computer science teacher was a student of his years earlier. Said the cs professor would sit with a book reading during a lecture. He'd call on him to ask a question and the guy would answer correctly without ever looking up from his book.

I had to look up the 2 vessel cord thing. Never heard of that before.

Sad about the girl with the very low IQ. Poor thing couldn't help it and the mother had unreasonable expectations.

So, I've griped about the drama with my friends and how two friends dumped their narcissist partners and got together. The male ex was mad that I wouldn't tell him if they were in a relationship or not so he lied and told them that I told him they were to try to turn them against me. It backfired (and I'd already told them what I said to him so they knew). He then got on his knees and begged his ex to take him back but she refused. He whined that all his progress was for nothing and accused her of stealing his best friend. Major manipulation and guilt-trip bs. It only made her more disgusted with him though. He tried to drag me into his drama and now he's pissy about it. It's his loss, IMO. I'm still willing to help him fix up his trailer but he will be too angry and butthurt over his relationship ending bc he was an awful partner for so long.

Upside is the toddler said his first sentence and is doing better now that people are interacting with him. He's still drastically behind but hopefully he can catch up at least a little before preK starts. His 10-yr-old sister has been helping. She's been over there bc she's not safe with her mom if the mom's bf isn't home. In a surprise twist, the boyfriend of the most recent female ex for my friend is now cool with my friend & no longer wants to fight him. So, other than the male ex of the new gf, everyone is cool with each other for the most part. New gf hates the old gf (for good reason) but will be nice to her.

All this drama is exhausting though. One of these days I'm going to make a reddit post about the whole mess. Friend will be called Matt bc he's a doormat. His 1st ex will be Jabba the slut (Jts for short), 2nd ex will be Herpes. Not sure on names for the others. I'll have to come up with something creative.

 

[Amish Heart]

Weedy, nah, not pot that time. They take off on Sundays all day long, and maybe home around 9 pm. When he is smoking pot or whatever he's smoking upstairs, I usually smell aftershave. Because he'll spray it all over, then it wafts downstairs, then husband has breathing problems.

 

[backlash]

My old bathroom scale broke so I bought a new one yesterday.
I gained 9 pounds.
My diet was going so well too.
I'll keep at it and get back where I was.

 

[Weedygarden]

I'm completely against corporal punishment in schools bc of teachers who aren't qualified to be around children much less be allowed to hit them. I saw it horribly abused in my public schools here. I probably mentioned the teacher who beat an entire class of 1st graders with a paddle bc she was in a bad mood. And other teachers did nothing. When I asked one why no one did anything about it she told me that she didn't give a crap about the students, whether or not they actually learned, what was happening to them, etc. All she cared about was collecting her paycheck and getting her food stamps. Teachers get paid so little here they qualify for food stamps. When they changed the rules so only principles could hit kids, the teacher who beat the whole class managed to get a job as a principle at the middle school & continued beating kids for no valid reason. Don't think she's there anymore though. But the wrong kind of people get these jobs to gain access to victims.

I was also in the generation where they started over-diagnosing ADHD. But, as Weedygarden said, different areas have different systems. It may be overdiagnosed in one area but under-diagnosed in others. Ritalin! That is what my brother was taking. He said it made him feel nauseous and like a zombie. Didn't stop him from eating everything in sight though.

Supervisor, it sucks that you got hit for "not paying attention" when you were. My mom used to look out the window a lot in class and the teacher would call on her to catch her out but she was listening and would answer correctly. Not sure where those listening skills went bc she never listened to much when I was growing up. She could never keep something straight if we told her what happened bc she didn't pay enough attention to what we were saying to remember. When I was in college, my electronic engineering professor said my computer science teacher was a student of his years earlier. Said the cs professor would sit with a book reading during a lecture. He'd call on him to ask a question and the guy would answer correctly without ever looking up from his book.

I don't know what schools still use corporal punishment. It is illegal and I have never seen it in any schools I worked in.

I do know a teacher who had a student who wouldn't get in line for her, and she physically pushed the girl. Girl's head hit the chalkboard. Mother of the girl took the teacher to court. I have no idea of the outcome. This girl had been my student and I knew she had rough mornings at home. She was always late. If I didn't take a few minutes and have some one on one time with her, she was off and uncooperative all day. She needed to know someone cared about her, especially after what she typically experienced at home. She needed to feel safe at school in order to be cooperative.

My classmates, many of whom I went to school with from kindergarten through h.s., remember one teacher we had in 8th grade. People still remember a student, Joe, whose head was slammed into a chalk board, repeatedly. I have absolutely no memory of what Joe did to receive that and perhaps none of us really did. I remember that the student was an odd guy. He had lived for a while in Germany and his mother, a German, was married to a man who was not his father.

I'd bet that male students were much more likely to be physically punished than female students.

 

[Pearl]

My old bathroom scale broke so I bought a new one yesterday.
I gained 9 pounds.
My diet was going so well too.
I'll keep at it and get back where I was.

The new scale is off NINE POUNDS?