[Canne79]

Hello everyone!
It's been a while since I visited last.
A lot has happened in the past years....some good, some bad...and we keep on going! My kids are now 12 and 14 ......my daughter, 12, is the one I worry about most. I work in the medical field, so I do know a thing or two about our miraculous bodies and brains but when it comes to my dd I have no clue on what she has! This has been going on for years. We live in Germany and we have been to doctors and she's going to a school that specializes in children with ADD/ADHD, behavioral problems etc.
I have to add that my daughter does not have behavioral issues. She is very brigh child, has good grades and is the sweetest and kindest girl to everyone. A doctor diagnosed her with ADD and wanted to put her on Ritalin. I refused. This was a few years ago.
These are currently the symptoms she is displaying and has had them since she was 2 yrs old:
Fatigue - she is always tired
Can't stay focused on her work. If they get a certain time on worksheets in school, lets say 30 min. she cannot finish it on time, let alone comprehend how long 30 min is and she is 12!
She has no sense of time and still has issues reading a clock.
She constantly drifts off in her mind even when directly spoken to, she sometimes doesn't react. You say her name 5 times and then get a reaction. She drifted off in her mind while on a bicycle tour and the result was an accident
She forgets alot, supplies, what day it is, sometimes even the way home, she always makes it home but sometimes she'll say "I don't remember which way to walk". Her reply is always: "I was just tired."
I have to add that her grades are fantastic. Mainly A's and B's!
I have a feeling there is more to this than just ADD and I just can't figure it out and I am very frustrated.
Also, she was always a girl to make noises alot. OOHHS, EEEK! AAHHH!!! and although she is 12 this hasn't stopped.
Verbally she is fit. We are bilingual and she does speak both languages. Could a form of autism also be the issue? I would be so thankful to get some input on this!

[Spirit_]

Sounds like she has what I have... ADD inattentive type. I cannot focus or realize how much time passes. I used to be well behaved and had good grades. It sounds very similar.
The sounds could be a variety of things; tourretes, autism, ADD, or even plain restlessness. (I live with two autistic brothers and one has tourretes. I personally have ADD which I didn't get diagnosed with until my 11th or 12th grade year cause the school was denying something was wrong... all of us are professionally diagnosed by a psychiatrist for adolescents.)

I would take her to see another doctor for a second opinion. After all, it can't hurt just to be sure. If the doctor says she needs medication I would not fight them about it. The medicine does help to an extent but even then getting extra support from counselors and the school are good ways to go as well. I hope you can help her find some peace of mind and get this mystery solved! Good Luck!

[TheStrange]

Hard to say what it could or couldn't be. I mean I think things never perfectly fit in one category or another. Being tired for examply really could be anything, from something life threatening to nothing to worry about... I have been diagnosed with autism and a metabolic disease. From your story I recognise having issues reading clocks (analogue ones specifically), being very tired, both caused by metabolic disease (not enough energy in my brain) and autism (getting too sensory overwhelmed). I do make random sounds as well, mostly it means I'm either very enthousiastic or well it just has to come out or so, just like when I have to squease something really hard, can't really control it.

When I'm very tired I forget a lot of things, get lost, can't solve or hold the easiest information in my brain and people might even consider me having some kind of dementia. I like people and really care about them, but my social skills are basically the opposite of who I want to be, as with all things it gets even worse with being tired. As for grades, mine have been great so far, but I don't even know how as I'm basically always tired. I wish I were better at living life and surrounding myself by others as well. It's like you've got so many things you want to share and show, but those symptoms holding you back to show the real you.

I understand very well you are looking for answers and hope you will find them. I do wonder though what specifically makes you wonder about autism and did you refuse the ADD diagnosis or the Ritalin (or both, and why?)

[MistressStayc]

Nothing you mentioned sounds like a symptom of autism to me. My son has autism and I teach students with autism so I have alot of experience with it. ADD/ADHD does cause executive functioning deficits as well a processing issues which can cause some of the things you mentioned.

If she is doing well in school and these symptoms do not greatly impact her level of functioning then I would not stress over it. There are strategies she can use to help with these things as well. Such as a small hand held timer that can sit on her desk so she can self monitor her time for a task. Also, does she have a planner for school where she can be prompted to write things down she needs and will forget such as supplies and assignments? Making to do lists and items needed lists work well but she will most likely have to be reminded to do so. You can write down the directions home on an index card and have it laminated for her to keep handy when she forgets....cell phone is great for these things like lists and directions using a note taking app but I dont assume she has a phone.

The inattentiveness and forgetfulness is just part of the ADD though. The only help for that is meds, Although, I had a student who couldnt take meds because of a retinal disorder and the meds raised his blood pressure putting pressure on his retinas. His doctor prescribed a special vitamin regime to help and I know it included fish oil. It did help some.

[LifeForce]

What you describe with your daughter sounds exactly like the inattentive form of ADD/ADHD. It’s often accompanied by low energy levels and fatigue, especially for people who aren’t on meds. I think that is largely because trying to stay on top of everything, when you have what is primarily an executive function disorder, is very tiring!
I don’t understand your reluctance to at least do a trial of medication for your daughter. It could make an enormous difference to her life and her happiness. I was only diagnosed at age 30, and my life would have followed quite a different path if I had been diagnosed as a child, and received the appropriate medication to assist me in managing my condition. I don’t blame my parents because they didn’t know what was wrong. But, if I had received a diagnosis and they had deliberately withheld the medication from me, I would have found it very hard to forgive them! Despite being a member of Mensa, one legacy I’ve been left with, is a sense of failure that overshadows everything I do.