ADD?

Maxwell continues to frustrate me to no end. It's hard to say if he's just being belligerent at this point or if there is something going on for real that we aren't tapping into yet. It occurred to me last night, after MANY many reminders and prompts to get his homework done and MANY many starts and stops on that homework, that perhaps he just can't focus on his task. I was literally ready to strap the child into his chair at one point. His homework took FOREVER! And so I started wondering if maybe there's more to it. Maybe there IS something wrong with him and it's more than just his own teenage hormones and disorganization? When I mentioned it to Chris he told me not to be too quick to give him an excuse. And I don't want to be. Just out of curiosity though, I looked up the attention deficit disorder checklist to see...just out of curiosity if Max's behaviors would place him in that category. A VERY QUICK glance at the questionaire had these things popping out instantly at me!

A child who is chronically disorganized, has difficulty remembering, consistently loses things or waits until the last minute to complete homework or projects may also suffer from ADD. (That one sentence right there pretty much sums up my Max!)

Poor handwriting, often prints

Poor writing skills (hard to get information from brain to pen)

Tendency to be immature

Failure to see others' needs or activities as important

Chronic procrastination or trouble getting started

Starting projects but not finishing them, poor follow through

Spends excessive time at work because of inefficiencies

Inconsistent work performance

Poor organization and planning, trouble maintaining an organized work/living area

Chronically late or chronically in a hurry

Often have piles of stuff

Easily overwhelmed by tasks of daily living

Some adults with ADD are very successful, but often only if they are surrounded with people who organize them. (Max is HEAVILY dependent on me organizing him these days!)

Has to be moving in order to think (the child cannot carry on a conversation sitting down. He PACES back and forth as he talks to you.)

Short attention span, unless very interested in something

Easily distracted, tendency to drift away (although at times can be hyper focused)

Lacks attention to detail, due to distractibility

Trouble listening carefully to directions

Frequently misplaces things

History of not living up to potential in school or work (report cards with comments such as "not living up to potential")


Well...it certainly SOUNDS as if Maxwell might be a candidate. But he's mighty sassy these days also! So maybe he is just being a stinker. I do think that it's worth checking into and talking it over with his doctor. The only thing that would be troubling to me is why NOW? How is it that he has managed to do so well to this point? Even in this current school year (his first quarter wasn't stellar, but it wasn't awful either). This is something new and improved to be pondered here in this head of mine! Going to chew on it for a bit.