Food Coloring and ADHD

When Skittles was in preschool, I remember his teacher telling me there was something wrong with him and he needed to be medicated. I am sure she did not word it like that but that was what I took away from that conversation. I knew he was ADHD. I had known it since he was born, before he was born probably. I also knew I did not want to medicate him for various reasons. Primarily because rather than masking symptoms of ADHD, I wanted to find the cause. 

I joined an online group of moms of ADHD kids. Some of these moms shared with me this radical idea that the cause of ADHD is what we eat. I looked into it further. Like all moms I weighed the pros and cons of trying out a new diet. Pros where that this diet is harmless because it does not remove any essential foods from the child's diet. All the food groups are still met daily. They can still have candy. It does not cost any extra money to try. The cons were, I would have to start reading ingredient labels. 

I learned the things that I need to avoid using the Feingold diet. If you can afford to buy the kit, do it, it will save you a lot of hassle. I could not afford to buy the book and I did not want to spend money on something that might not work so I wrote down the ingredients to look for and I started reading labels. Here is what I look for, 

FD&C colors; red 40, red lake, yellow 5, yellow 6, yellow lake, etc
Artificial flavors
BHA, BHT, and TBHQ 

 The first month was the hardest. Here is a tip, if you can get away with NOT bringing the kids, leave them at home. It is hard enough to shop when you are not reading every label. You have to check EVERYTHING unless it is organic. You would NOT believe the things that have dye in them!!! WHITE ICING has red and blue dye!!!! WHY?!?! I spent an hour longer in the store on my first trip than I usually would. That is why as a time saver, I do recommend getting the Feingold program if you can spare the money. 

I know there are skeptics out there. I know that you may be one of them. All I can tell you is that since I put my own child on the diet 6 years ago, he has been a changed child. When he does eat something with dye or preservatives in them, HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS because he looses all control. After being on the diet about 2 months, I let him have a purple lollipop given to him by a sweet bank teller. He literally ran around in circles in the yard for hours talking 1000 WPM. The last time he had dye, he literally started running across the living room head first into the couch repeatedly. I thought he was going to break his neck. 

Skittles is not the only person on the diet. Although I do not deny my other children candy and food off the diet, our home is dye and preservative free. This is Skittles home and he should be able to eat anything in his own kitchen. Also if you have an older child who is missing out on the foods they grew up with and are now suddenly denied, it is not fair to keep them around or eat them in front of him. Honestly after being on this diet for just a few months, I can TASTE the difference in dyed foods. It is pretty gross. Lots of red dye tastes like metal. When they use juices and natural flavorings, food just tastes better. Trust me or if you don't want to take my word for it, try it out. It is worth it.  

• Twizzler is still working on his copywork for language. Skittles had to write a narration about a painting.
• Twizzler is still earning about using coins in math. Skittles started a lesson on money today also. Hershey sorted out little and big leaves. Then he watched a Leap Frog video about big, medium, and little. 
• We read about Chinese family values and the boys drew descriptive pictures of what they read. 
• Our science assignment was to look up the definition of the words undergrowth and crevice. It helped to look up pictures in Google images as examples. 

         

Brain Training

When I was picking out lectures before the FPEA convention, I was not sure about this one. I thought it would be a 50 minute long sales pitch for the Brain Trainers products. I am pretty desperate though and I wanted to see what they had to say. The session turned out to be one of the best I went to. The speaker gave me a ton of ideas on things to do to help my 7yo increase his processing speed and learn more efficiently. Here are my notes from the lecture. 

She explained that the synapses in our brain are like Christmas lights. Anyone who has ever strung up last year's Christmas lights can attest to this. You go to plug in the lights and the whole strand doesn't work because there is one light bulb out. So you have to go through the whole strand and check every bulb. Our brain functions similarly. If one bulb is out along a pathway, the information cannot make it through. So when we are trying to teach our children something but they can not process it is like a light bulb is out. So we need to get all the light bulbs working, er, uh, synapses firing. 

There are certain skills that we need in order to learn. 

• Processing speed- The ability to handle incoming information with ease of speed.
• Working Memory- The ability to store and retrieve information.
• Visual processing- The ability to accurately picture, manipulate, organize, comprehend, and think with visual information. 
• Logic and reasoning- The ability to recognize connections. 
• Auditory analysis- The ability to effortlessly blend, segment, discriminate, and analyze speech sounds with a spoken pattern. 
• Rapid Naming Recognition- The ability to name an object quickly. Ever asked, "can you pass me the.... umm....." snapping your fingers, smacking your head, "You know the..." UGH! You just start pointing to the salt. Yes? You need to work on rapid naming and recognition. 
• Word attack- The ability to decode or sound out and pronounce unknown words. Also the ability to encode sounds to spell them out. 

She gave ideas for activities to do everyday that will help wake up our brains. 

• Cross the mid-line- When making circles draw them counter clockwise. It helps improve handwriting and it works your brain a little harder by connecting the 2 hemispheres. 
• Phonics- When teaching vowels, instead of teaching a,e,i,o,u. Teach the sounds they make and teach them in this order i,e,o,a,u. When you make the vowels short sounds in that order while looking in the mirror you can see your mouth slowly move from tight and thin to open and wide. 
• Finger taps- When spelling out a word or counting, tap fingers to thumb, back and forth. Adding muscle movement helps memory. 
• Black light and highlighter- A fun multi-sensory way to study math facts possibly spelling words too. 
• Nun Math- She came up with that title not me. She said she went to catholic school and they learned their math facts by copying them, writing them, and saying them aloud. The more of your brain you use the more likely you are to ignite brain activity.
• Sounding it out- Start with the sounds not the letter names. Slow down when pronouncing new words. You might say, "ss, ll, ee, puh." instead of "S.L.E.E.P."
• Sound game- After sounding things out for a while. You can play games like, "What is 'drive' with out the 'ruh' sound?" DIVE 
• Memory games- "I went to the beach and I brought an 'apple'" The next person has to think of the next word in the alphabet and remember the previous ones. "I went to the beach and I brought an apple and a ball." I went to the beach and I brought an apple, a ball and a car." ETC...
• Arrows- Print out or draw out a sheet with a few rows of arrows pointing in different directions. Read across the rows saying the directions of the arrows. When it is easy to read through the arrows, read through them as if they were turned 1/4 of the way. So, north becomes east, south becomes west, &etc. You can do this with numbers too. After you can read through all the numbers quickly, try adding one, then subtracting one & etc. You can even do this with a pre-schooler by making the rows of different colored shapes. First have them name the colors, then have them name the shapes. 
• Online Metronome- This is a free online metronome. Try the above game along with the beat of the metronome. You can also recite math facts and spell spelling words to the rhythm. You can adjust the speed.   
• Simon- This game is great for recall. She didn't mention it but I am sure that "bop-it" would be good too. 
• Gardens of Time- This game is also free on Facebook. She said that it is great for increasing processing speed. I have not played it yet but I might let my 7yo try it out. 
• Lumosity- A free brain training site. Set up your own personal training account. 

Add in some fun, dopamine release helps to lock in skills. The more fun you make your lessons the more likely they will retain the information. 

If I got any of this stuff wrong, please feel free to correct me. I did not go to school for cognitive therapy, I only took notes during a 50 minute lecture. But I have, thus far, found them useful and I hope you do too. 

Loving the Difficult Child

I noticed a theme in my favorite blogs this week. So while it is purely coincidental that I am blogging this... I think it is entirely appropriate. Especially since today I have been dealing with some VERY difficult children. 

When I was mapping out what lectures I wanted to go to at the FPEA convention, I circled the lectures I was interested in for each hour... When I read, Loving and Teaching the Difficult Child by Beverly Bradley, I circled the title 3 times! As you may know, I have a difficult child. 

The most important thing that I got from her whole speech was, "Pray." This is where we all need to begin in dealing with our difficult child! "Pray first thing in the morning. Pray for understanding. Pray for help." Go to God first because He understands what it is like to deal with a difficult child, after all, He has been dealing with us since He created us! 

The first thing we need to do, is understand. Understand their behaviors and tendencies. Understand their diagnosis. I know that in my personal experience, ever since I understood my son's diagnosis', it has been easier for me to cope with his behaviors. 

We also need to understand what they need. I once told a fellow homeschool mom/occupational therapist about my short lessons. I explained to her that if they finish early they are allowed to play until the timer goes off. She asked me, what happens if the don't finish early? I told her we move on. She explained that my son had different needs. He NEEDS to get up and move. Especially after 20 minutes of seat work. Now we take a "play break" after each lesson. 

ADHD children are impulsive. 1 Corinthians 10:24 says "Nobody should seek his own good, but that of others." That is a great verse for my son to know but it is good for us as well. We need to ask ourselves, "Will this benefit anyone else?" In other words discipline for them not you! Teach them that being kind is always a benefit. Oh and this part I REALLY loved and am going to implement at home and in the classes I teach; When Beverly needs to change her children's behavior, she holds up 2 fingers, like a peace sign. Her children know those 2 fingers represents the greatest commandments. 

Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

ADHD kids are known for their inability to focus. I get very frustrated when I have had to repeat myself several times because my 7yo can not focus on what I am saying. Beverly said these children have a hard time tuning things out and focusing. If your voice isn't safe, your kids will tune you out. Children will attend and focus better when they feel safe. Stay calm and don't over explain yourself. Simply state was is required and in my experience try to maintain eye contact. I point to my eyes. If I am wearing my glasses I tap my fingers onto my glasses. I also ask them to repeat what I just said. 

All children need consistency but none more than children with special needs. Keep your expectations simple and clear. Also keep them stable! You can't keep changing the rules on the poor child. Set a routine. Make sure you have planned appropriately for time. Don't fuss at your kids all the way out the door because you did not allow for enough time in the morning routine. I am so glad she didn't ask people to raise hands when she said that because I would have had to, would you?

Be sure that you have planned some form of physical exercise during the day; trampoline, playground, pool, &etc. 

They need tactile stimulation. ADHD kids fidget because they need to, they are not trying to annoy you. Allow them to doodle, wiggle, bounce, or whatever they need to do in order to listen. 

They need to see progress. Failure is common. You need to encourage the smallest success! 

They need to own their responsibilities. Say something like, "I believe you want to do the right thing." Appreciate them! 

Some kids need transition time. Give them a 5 minute warning. 

They may need to avoid stimulating situations. Today I tried to take my 7yo to the museum. I thought it would be fun for us. I knew that he was having a rough day already and I thought he would benefit from getting out. It was overwhelming for him. He was unable to control himself. It turned out to be a miserable experience for the whole family. I am not saying that we will never go to the museum again but I need to respect the fact that some days he just can't handle that situation. 

Some ADHD kids need help falling asleep, not mine, but some. Actually my 5yo is the one who could stay up all night if I let him. Beverly recommended listening to learning CDs. I just found this AWESOME site today that has free audio books to download. If you have an MP3 player in your child's room they can listen to a story as they doze off to sleep. 

They need an appropriate teaching style. This is why we homeschool. Auditory, visual, kinesthetic,... Use all these methods in your teaching style and school will be much more fun. 

They need you to help them discover their strengths. Everyone has them! 

They need you to choose your battles. 

They need you to be someone who believes in them!!! 

My not so Wordless Wednesday

Today should be Wordless Wednesday but I have been wordless since Saturday and it is time to update my blog. 

I went to the Learning Rx and began talking about a plan of action for Skittles. The price is unreal!!! I understand that it is a great resource and the results are guaranteed but I am not a millionaire. We are currently working on a plan to get him the cognitive training he needs. The evaluator at the Learning Rx also seemed to think my son was exhibiting signs of Aspergers and possibly Sensory Integration Dysfuntion. 

I took him to a psychologist to get an official diagnosis. No big surprise, he was officially diagnosed with ADHD.  The doctor seemed to be trying really hard to sell me on the idea of medication. I am not buying it yet though. He also said that he saw signs of Aspergers and Sensory Integration Disorder but he wants to concentrate on treating his ADHD before he makes those diagnosis. We have to get some blood work and an EKG and meet back with him in a couple weeks. 

In the meantime, I have changed his diet a little more. I put him on the Feingold diet. I am reading ingredient labels even more than I ever did before. I can't believe all the junk that they put in kids food!!! I am especially angry that a lot of the foods that participate the Education Box Tops, are full of unnatural and potentially harmful ingredients!!!! We are having a contest to raise money for our homeschool group with box tops. We are not doing to well. It looks like I am going to have to go stock up on paper products to keep up with the group. 

We are also still giving him the vitamin supplements I mentioned before. They really do make a marked difference in his behavior! On Easter Sunday, he sat still as a stone and was able to focus on our church's entire Easter program. That is incredibly impressive especially considering he had eaten some of his Easter chocolate before we left the house, he knew we were heading to Nana's for an egg hunt after church, and the big one... we were heading to DISNEY WORLD after Easter dinner! Do you know any kids who could sit still with all of that going on? He did! 

We are continuing with the behavioral therapist who we meet with again next Wednesday. I am also looking into getting him some occupational therapy. I am really hoping to get some financial assistance for all of these therapists. Especially the cognitive therapy which is the most expensive so far. 

I truly believe it is a matter of prayer. I know I am on the right track. I have never doubted for a moment that God has great things in store for this little boy! There is not one diagnosis they could ever deliver to me that I don't believe he can overcome! After all... I was told he would not survive on more than one occasion and he sure showed them! 

ADHD

I originally posted this on 4/12/2011

I have decided to blog my adventures in homeschooling an ADHD child. Skittles has always been hyper. When I say, "always", I mean ALWAYS! I think he was created hyper. I remember when I went to the doctor for my first ultrasound, my Mom, Dad, and brother came with me because my husband was stationed out of state at the time. At only 16 weeks, you could see this little guy just could NOT stop moving. My Mom looked at me and said, "Oh no, he is ADHD." I told her she couldn't possibly render that kind of diagnosis in the womb. Besides, my unborn baby was perfect. 

One of these days I promise to blog about Skittle's rough start. But for now I will try to make a long story short. When I was 21 weeks pregnant, my water broke. Most women go into labor within 24 hours of their water breaking. I was told I was having a "late miscarriage". My husband and I mourned our unborn child and prepared to give him back to God.  But I did not go into labor and my strong willed, unborn child fought for his life. He fought through 7 more weeks of bed rest, while I laid flat on my back like a human incubator. There is a reason God created an amniotic sac, it is a barrier. Ours was broken. So, at 27 weeks, I got an infection.... (we got an infection) and I went into labor. He fought for 3 more months in the NICU. 

I think ADHD kids have a zest for life. They are strong willed and determined. 1/3 of preemies have ADHD. I don't think the correlation between these behaviors and preemies is a coincidence. I don't think that his 1000 gram birth weight caused his ADHD. I think his strong will, determination, and stubbornness saved his life. There have been many days when I call my mom crying. It is hard to parent an ADHD child but my mom reminds me it is better than the alternative and that might have been not having him at all.

Being a parent of an ADHD child is very lonely. I have struggled with feeling like a failure as a mom. I have cried myself to sleep. I have felt rejected and seen my son loose friends. So often it is viewed as a behavior problem. Many people with good intentions have given me parenting advice and don't get me wrong, most parenting advice has been very helpful. Sometimes though, it just hurts. Sometimes it feels like the person is saying, "I could do a better job raising him than you can."  I know it is not intended that way and I don't mean that I don't want advice but not everyone understands what we are going through. They probably don't realize how severe his behavior is. It is not just that he is wiggly and distracted. He is impulsive, clumsy, over dramatic, anxious, all of these things can pose a danger to himself and those around him. He physically can't stop moving. Sometimes, I look into the eyes of my exhausted child and they seem to say, "help". If you are the Mom of an ADHD child I am sure you understand.

When he was 4, we eliminated dyes like Red #40, Yellow #5 and Yellow #6. This has helped immensely! Some people thought I was nuts when I started this diet but now the FDA is beginning to recognize the link. If you don't have time to read through all my links I will share my favorite quote from this article, 

No one knows what the FDA committee will decide, but the research so far "doesn't appear to be conclusive evidence that food additives actually cause ADHD," says Kate Ulbricht, cofounder of the Natural Standard Research Collaboration, an independent research group based in Somerville, Massachusetts. "Some research suggests that they may be linked to exacerbated symptoms in people who already have ADHD."

I couldn't agree more. I don't think dye causes ADHD. Twizzler can eat dye soaked food all day and it does not affect him at all but when Skittles has only one cookie with dye in it, he literally runs in circles until he gives himself an asthma attack. I don't think the dye caused his ADHD, but it certainly "exacerbates" the symptoms. 

I put off getting a diagnosis for 7 years because I am not ready to medicate my child. ADHD medications are notorious for their side effects and I was not sure that a doctor would offer any other solution. As much as I dislike the idea of medicating my child, I have to acknowledge that, as it is, we are both miserable. I spend my whole day redirecting, reprimanding, and punishing. I hate putting him in a timeout for a behavior that I KNOW he can't control. Afterwards, I go sit in my bathroom and cry. What a miserable childhood, to have a mother constantly harping on you and punishing you for things you can't control. I finally came to the conclusion that something had to change.

So I made an appointment with his pediatrician. I told her, he has never been diagnosed but ADHD is common in my family and I see all the symptoms in him. I explained to her that I am not interested in medicating him. It's not that I am against medication but I don't think it is a long term solution. I want to exhaust every other option first. She praised the fact that we homeschool. "It is so much easier to tailor a learning environment towards an ADHD child at home than in a public school." She gave me some great ideas too. Eliminating distractions by putting him in a boring room. I set him up at my desk in the corner of my room and he does much better there.

We made an appointment with a counselor too. I was so happy to find someone who could see us together. I want to learn how to help him. It was also reassuring to have someone tell me that is was not my failures as a parent. ADHD is an actual medical condition. He showed me these amazing pictures of brain scans. ADHD is not a made up illness, concocted by drug companies to increase sales. It is real and it is happening in my child's brain.

So now we are moving on to treatment. Like I said, I am not interested in putting my child on drugs that dull the senses. I especially don't want him to need medication for the long term. However, I realize he needs something now to help him to calm down. His brain is cranked up 24 hours a day. He gets no rest even when he is sleeping. He never stops talking. He never stops thinking. He never stops moving. I needed to give him a break. I decided to go the organic route.

Yesterday I went to the local health food store. They had a great selection of natural ADHD treatments. They read all the labels with me, listened to me and even asked Skittles a little about how he feels. They was wonderful. We decided to try Attentive Child by Source Naturals. These are chew-able wafers.  I gave him one last night and this morning. His doctor also recommended adding fish to his diet but he refuses to eat fish.  He picked out these yummy gummies himself.

It is too soon to tell but today was a nice calm day. He was able to stay focused on his lessons. His copywork was the neatest it has EVER been. And of course I was able to sit here and type out this ridiculously long blog while he entertained himself quietly.

On Thursday we have an appointment at the Learning RX. They will give him an evaluation and then we can discuss a course of action to help remap his brain. He is still young and his brain is still developing. I wish I had sought out help sooner. I hope that this blog will be a resource to other mom's of ADHD kids who are afraid a diagnosis will label their child and doom them to a life of medication. I hope they read this and no longer feel alone.

I am a Bad Mom

Do you ever just feel like a bad mom??? I do. 

I have 2 very rambunctious little boys. Skittles is a bit more rambunctious than most. I have never had him diagnosed but I am certain he has ADHD. He is a bright, intelligent boy. He is full of life. He can't sit still. He has no concept of personal boundaries. He gets excited and he has trouble controlling his actions. I homeschool him because I know how incredibly smart he is. I also know that he can not learn in a conventional setting. He is too easily distracted, too talkative, too wiggly. 

When he was in Preschool he developed a reputation. After school all the moms would line up outside the classroom door and wait for our little angels to come out and tell us all about their morning. On a regular basis the teacher would come out and in front of all the other Moms, tell me everything that my son had done wrong that day. We no longer were invited over for play dates or birthday parties. I couldn't even get a babysitter. I felt like the mother of a leper. My heart broke for my son and myself. I felt that if he was so flawed it had to be my fault. I was a bad mother. 

Every time I got a bad report it would ruin our whole afternoon. I would cry the whole way home. I would send my son to his room. I would take away privileges. I tried everything I could to motivate him to behave at school. It got to where I didn't want to pick him up anymore. So I stopped dropping him off. I couldn't take the embarrassment. I didn't know what to do.  

One day I stayed and observed him for a whole day. I pretended to drop him off as usual but instead I stayed and peeked through the window without his knowledge. He didn't seem to behave any differently than the other kids. Just to be sure this was not a biased Mom opinion, I had him professionally observed by a friend of mine. She admitted he was hyper but not a bad kid. I scheduled a mediated conference with the teacher. I asked her why she always gave me a bad report. Was he always bad? Why did I never get a good report? She explained that she thought of me as a colleague because I am a teacher as well. She admitted that she would never have talked to the other parents the way she did to me. The damage was done though. My son was labeled the "bad kid". 

I wish that people were more understanding of hyper kids. I hate that I came home and cried for an hour today because I am afraid he might be getting the "bad kid" reputation again. He is a good kid. I feel like a failure as a mother because I can not make him gear down. I hate that I have to consider putting him on medication to make him conform to what other adults want him to be... I want him to have friends and be a happy person. Maybe the only way to do that is to make him more pleasant for others to be around. 

There are no guarantees when you have a baby that they will be the perfect little angel you envisioned and there is certainly no guarantee that you will be the parent that you envisioned either. I am sure that there are parents of kids who behave all the time. Their parents probably think they are the best parents in the world or at least they think they have the best genes in the world. I am a bad Mom because I secretly wish they all get pregnant with an ADHD child of their very own... TOMORROW!