ASD and ADD

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Hey there! I'm wondering how many of our kids also get diagnosed with ADD?

I have a 2nd grader and a 5th grader. They have both been identified ASD since preschool, so we've had a variety of supports and interventions over the course of the last few years. We've had great relationships with teachers, and I feel like they've done a lot to accomodate and encourage independence in my kids.

I've wondered when ADD would come up with each of them. I have suspected that we would get there, but had always tried to deal with the sensory piece of things with hopes that attention would be helped by that.

Yesterday, both of my kids teachers at conferences brought up concerns about ability to focus on work. With my 2nd grader, that was followed up by some strategies to keep her focused that they will try.

With my 5th grader, though, we've used the strategies..... He's still struggling. The teacher was explaining to me that while he is "meeting" standards, she feels like he has a lot more there. He should be "exceeding" She says when she pulls his ideas out of him, they are really good, but it doesn't translate into great work... just getting by. He is identified as gifted, but he doesn't perform like a gifted kid. He does get time every day in a gifted group where he works on projects, etc. He is doing ok in there... he has had some interventions in there as well, to keep him organized and on task.

So, I'm starting to wonder if we are at the point where we get him tested for ADD after all....
Trying to decide if taking a kid who is "meeting standards" and medicating him makes sense....
fearing that if we don't help him, he'll get bored of school or that in middle school he'll get lost in the shuffle and put in less and less challenging classes, etc.

Ugh!! parenting!! ! why is it so haaaard!!?

Any thoughts?

This wouldn't be very surprising at all.

It is well known that ASD and ADD frequently are bedfellows.

Indeed, if this is not attended to, your son might get lost in the "middle school shuffle."

Do your children have IEP's (I guess it should be obvious to me LOL)

Yes, both of my kids have IEP's, but functionally, they are really more like 504s. They neither one have behavioral problems. My son is only on consult at this stage.. no direct services... just accomodations like extra test taking time, etc. My daughter gets a little bit of direct help for math from a SPED parapro, but again, no real direct services other than that. She does get a tiny bit of services from the Speech Language PAthologist to work on social skills, but it is only about once a month.

Both of them produce work that is getting them by... and unless they are failing academically, I don't see a lot of direct services happening. My son wouldn't allow for it at this stage anyway.. it would embarrass him. My daughter would probably respond positively, though.

When we've seen the child psychiatrist re: anxiety.... she's asked about whether or not the teachers had concerns about attention. Most teachers have felt like attention was an issue but that prompting him would get him back on track so we were ok. 5th grade teacher, though... feels like his work is suffering and has real concerns about entering into middle school with the need for so many prompts.

I would say, in your next IEP meeting, that possible concerns pertaining to his attention in a middle school setting should be addressed.