If you worried about your child go to the doctor and get referred to a specialist, time is precise so if there is a problem the earlier the better to get a diagnose on it and help started. My youngest was already "not normal" from birth, as he screamed alot and was very frustrated without reason for it. My oldest son started having problems around 10 years and a school change when his dad died really "spot lighted" his inability to adapt to change, he was lossing abilities he had from little (writting and understanding texts) and I was stubbed to know why as have the same problems, but learned stuff as I got older. My youngest son flips out energy wise if given too many foods with colouring in it... He is now able to tell me when this happens. They both drink coffee, but hell I don't see any change in their energy levels it is full force a head all the time lol.. I had to shape up just to keep up with my youngest, he is a ball of energy and non medication treatable lol.. He lives on a farm and it is hard manual work that keeps his energy to a normal area so he doesn't drive everyone batty..
KCK605 5/26/08 5:00 P
I also want to add that if a child truly has ADHD, stimulants like caffeine and sugar will have the opposite effect. It will calm them down. The drugs they use to treat ADHD are all stimulants. But there have been cases where children with ADHD type symptoms had food allergies and this is where the grape seed extract comes in.
KCK605 5/26/08 4:53 P
I've had the same problem with my son. He's does all this stuff at school. They said he was "classic ADHD". He's very intelligent and was about grade level at the beginning of kindergarten...but now at the end of the year, he's missed so much instruction by being pulled out for disrupting that he is behind. So we will be playing catch-up all summer.
I've heard and found that some vitamins seem to help mostly grape seed extract. If it has to do with the sugar and corn syrup, this should help. But it's one of those things that takes awhile to build up in your system. Anyway, I am hesitant to get him diagnosed as well, but doing what I can to control it at home.
One problem is that his father is in complete denial about why he acts this way. He blames him or the teacher for not controlling him. He just doesn't get that he can't control it.My son is impulsive, he has trouble concentrating which frustrates him and then he acts out.
IRONTHUNDER 5/26/08 2:49 P
My daughter won't be attending JK until next fall but I would be horrified if they gave her cola to drink. Above and beyond the sugar content, I'd be just as worried about giving an already active child caffeine. Now I'm pretty sure I won't have to worry as schools here aren't allowed to carry soda in vending machines any more so I'm sure I wouldn't be allowed to be served in the classroom either.
5KSOON 5/26/08 2:04 P
Congratulations on being a great advocate for your son. I cannot believe that the school is providing your child with sugar laden treats as a reward for good behaviour yet they can't possibly understand why this could be a factor in the problem. My daughter attends a school that has declared itself a "Healthy-Active School" and it is wonderful. We have fruits and vegetables for snacks and the students are encouraged to pack healthy, litterless lunches. There is a noticeable difference in the students' attitude towards learning and towards life in general. It would be great if your school would be willing to eliminate the sugar and fat they are giving your son and then re-evaluate the situation before making judgement calls that could be life-altering. You don't want him to end up on meds because he was behaving in a certain manner due to sugar intake....YIKES
AMEZYN 5/23/08 3:57 P
First let me say I completely understand what you are going through, but I also have both sides of the equation. I have a son with ADHD and also work in the mental health field. Just so u are aware a diagnosis of ADHD requires a child to display the behaviors in more than one setting. So if the behavior is only at school, that diagnosis wouldn't fit. Dealing with schools can be difficult. I work in the field and have worked in the school my child attends and they still tried to strong arm me into getting my child medicated and actually tried to threaten for him to be removed from the school because he was not performing academically (in my opinion that's b/c they were going about teaching him wrong). If a child is identified as having problems learning through verbal instruction they should follow his IEP we made and teach him in a way he can understand. Anyway (sorry, sensitive issue)your son may have a food allergy have you looked into that?
ANNMARIE_3299 5/22/08 10:14 P
It is very frustrating when the people who care for your children when you are not there are undermining your wishes. I changed daycares recently and the previous one had a teacher who would actually give all the kids soda and chips right before they went home for dinner! I wanted to strangle her. I did not hold it against her at first but after I continued to tell her I did not want my daughter having that stuff, she continued to give it to her. Her reasoning was that she was giving it to the other kids and she didn't want my daughter left out. Well here's an idea. Give them a snack at snack time and make it apples and raisins! Anyway, that is not the exclusive reason I changed facilities but I can understand your frustration.
HRHHERMIONE 5/18/08 1:07 A
First, I am so happy that you are really looking at this situation instead of just dragging your son to a doctor and insisting on medication because he's "difficult" at school. Sadly too many children in this country are overmedicated, over-sugared, and recieve far less attention from their over-worked parents than they deserve.
During summer break REALLY help your son to understand that you want him to say "my mom doesn't let me have that" when he's offered something sugary at school. And tell his new teacher the very first time you meet her that he is "sensitive" to sugar. My kindergartener has never had behievor problems, but she's also never accepted treats because we talked about what sugar is and what it does to her body. They are at just the perfect age to really start learning about how their body works and how foods affect it. Deciding to be healthy and eat right at this age will help them all their lives!
Don't get discouraged! No one has a disease only part time -- if he's fine at home and troubled at school, then there is something wrong at school. This intervetion crew can't properly say he has one problem or another without observing him at home as well. ADD/ADHD and bipolar issues are being over-diagnosed. There are people out there with these problems, but certainly not in the numbers that are being medicated for it.
DREAMERZZZ 5/17/08 7:56 A
So, some of you may be interested to hear the story of my kindergartener over this year. The teachers have struggled, throughout the year, to calm his behavior and have him perform tasks undistracted and in a timely manner. Close to the beginning of the year, the teachers became so exasperated with his behavior that one of them actually followed him out of school to inform me he was most likely autistic. It blew my mind.. not that there's anything wrong with being autistic, there's just something wrong with being CALLED autistic when you're not. It took a couple months, but I finally realized that my son was a completely different child at school. He was inattentive, he was belligerent, overly physically agressive and just uncontrollable. I tried to inform the school that Sean did not behave this way at home because he wasn't often exposed to high fructose corn syrup and excessive amounts of sugar. They absolutely refused to accept that idea. They continued to complain about his behavior and I continued to complain about his being fed too much sugar at school. What did they expect? I felt like they were pumping him full of drugs at school and then expecting him to be able to perform like the other kids. This entire time, the "Intervention" crew is observing and evaluating my son to see if he is Autstic. The rewards for behaving good were candies.. every time there was a birthday, the parents brought in loads of cupcakes and cookies, every special event was a feast of sugar. Once, it was my "job" to bring in soda.. we don't drink soda, so I opted for the caffiene free sugar free sprite. It was chucked in a closet and some plain cocacola was used in its place. I sent in his lunch, for the most part and forbid his account from being able to purchase "extras." But, other parents were joining their children for lunch and buying my son popsicles and other treats. When he did buy lunch from school, sugary flavored milk choices and included desserts were provided. He would come home, these days, defiant and restless and it seemed generally out of his own control. I would ask, "What did you eat at school today?" "Oh, so and so's mom brought brownies," or "We had cinnamon rolls for lunch." I tried, in vain, to explain the situation. They were causing the problem they were "so concerned" about by giving him sugar. They have no idea and don't understand. So, we had our end-of-year meeting about Sean and what they think is wrong. The intervention crew is thankfully convinced he is not autistic. But, now, they believe he's ADHD. The first 8 weeks of 1st grade will be used as observation to see how he adjusts to the more sedentary 1st grade. Even without sugar, Sean reminds me of the Crocodile Hunter. But, with their pro-sugar attitude, he's more like Evel Knievel on speed and steroids. It's a real shame that they don't recognize just how much damage sugar can do. Sean functions fine with the small amount of sugars that a good healthy diet provides.. it's when he's overloaded with white sugars and high fructose corn syrup that he starts having a problem. Even children themselves can recognize that sugar has an affect on their body. Why is it that adults, school teachers and folks that work with children especially, fail to see the correlation between bad behavior and loss of attentiveness and high sugar foods? Well, they drove me crazy this year. It was my first ever year dealing with the school system. Next year, I will be way more prepared and adamant about Sean's diet. I think it's really unfair to all the kids that they are exposed to such unhealthy levels of sugar at school and then they are held responsible for their actions while they are drugged out of their little mind. Sugar sensitivity runs in my family.. my mom's family are all high-energy, Olympic-quality athletes that all fell into the drugs and alcohol trap. Every single relative on that side of my family is an alcoholic, and all of the ones who grew up in the age of ADD/ADHD have been diagnosed as ADD/ADHD, several of them bipolar. My mom always told me there was a link between sugar addict and alcoholic/drug addict. I have never been a big sugar fiend.. but, was able to easily recognize Sean's problem at school wasn't his natural behavior or thinking. It was Sean on Sugar. I will have to be more vigilant and tough in my stance against sugar with the school to prevent him from graduating from sugar to alcohol like the rest of my family.
