ADHD Child

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Ok my child was diagnose with ADHD 6 years ago and he just turned 12. I'm not sure if I agree with what the Dr said but anyway. He is really interested in airplanes and flying in general. I cringe the day I have to tell him he cannot be a pilot. I believe he can be a pilot to some degree with Gliders, Balloons, Ultra lights but I'm not sure about Sport Pilot. I think I have ADHD so I know where he might get it from but haven't seen a Dr about it. I do not want to loose my Medical over something I'm in control of. I fly PPSEL and manage to fly an airplane just fine. I'm also a IT professional so I learned how to focus and not be distracted.
He has been on Medication for ADHD but we took him off of it a couple years ago. We have found other ways to manage his ADHD symptoms. I don't expect him to be a professional pilot but I will encourage him to fly for his own per enjoyment and not make flying a Job. When he gets older around 16 I want him to be reevaluated by a different DR for ADHD.
I also read 10% of children have ADHD. That is heck of a lot of kids that cannot be pilots either private or professional.

The point of this thread is to find out if other parents are in the same boat with their ADHD child and what their thoughts are.

Please try to keep this thread civil and to the point.

Thank you.
 
He is 12. He has 5 years until the PPL. Lets see how treatment goes and cross that bridge down the road. Nothing says he "cant" yet

My opinion
 
Don't tell him he ever had it and let him fill out the medical application. That is the best option. Or if he doesn't have 'it' he can test out, costs some money and has the chance of sinking the sp option. I use 'it' as it may not exist.
 
Thanks for the comments. I'm not going to say anything about being a pilot until he is at least 16yr even if he comes to me and say "hey dad I want to be a pilot". If he does say that I will say great you will have to wait until your 16yr and then we will cross that bridge but I cant help not worrying about when that day comes.
 
Unfortunately, lots of kids have been given the ADHD diagnosis that probably don't really have it. Best bet is to contact Dr Bruce Chien and get his advice on having the diagnosis overturned. As I understand it, it can be a long, expensive battle. See what he has to say about it and then you will be better prepared if your son does express a desire to fly.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Unfortunately, lots of kids have been given the ADHD diagnosis that probably don't really have it.
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and a lot of pilots, historically, have probably "had it" but managed just fine.

Heck, we witness quite a range of neurosis right here on this board...
 
Unregistered said:
Thanks for the comments. I'm not going to say anything about being a pilot until he is at least 16yr even if he comes to me and say "hey dad I want to be a pilot". If he does say that I will say great you will have to wait until your 16yr and then we will cross that bridge but I cant help not worrying about when that day comes.
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I agree with letting him make up his own mind about pursuing flying for fun or career when he is older and wiser. Often if forced, natural rebellion kicks in and becomes a bad scene for both kid and parent.

As far as medical certification, the right person to take this to is Dr. Bruce Chien, www.aeromedicaldoc.com He can provide the proper guidance and advice. Now that the diagnosis is on the young man's record, likely neuro cog testing will be required to satisfy the FAA. Expen$ive, and no guarantee. But it's gonna be needed.

Again, talk to Dr. Bruce.
 
My AME told me that he can get a medical for an recently diagnosed ADHD in 8 to 12 months. That's all I know, I didn't quiz him about it. I'm due for a medical next month so I'll try to get the details and report back.

He's a crusty old fart, at least in his late sixties, a pilot, been an AME forever. And his almost flippant attitude towards ADHD certainly makes me wonder if some others may exaggerate the complexity of the system.
 
Recent FAA "stuff" attached

Why would sport pilot be any different than glider, baloon, etc.? (Assuming one doesn't attempt and fail a medical.)

There also seems to be a push for no-medical somewhat limited private pilot. I would avoid rushing into things...
 

Attachments

My advice is that if he hasn't been told about the diagnosis, then don't tell him. He can't report what he doesn't know.

That, by the way, is the exact route I've taken with regard to a young person in my own family who's in a similar situation.

-Rich
 
RJM62 said:
My advice is that if he hasn't been told about the diagnosis, then don't tell him. He can't report what he doesn't know.

That, by the way, is the exact route I've taken with regard to a young person in my own family who's in a similar situation.

-Rich
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That approach worked well 20 years ago, but the problem now is that (as has been pointed out many times in these threads) the diagnosis is in the system (Dr Bruce pointed out that they have to have the diagnosis in the system to prescribe the meds). Therefore, it is MUCH easier for the FAA to find out and then you have a real problem.

So if the kid has ever been prescribed medication for ADHD (even if they never took it), you pretty much have to come clean and declare it and go jump through hoops.
 
Fearless Tower said:
That approach worked well 20 years ago, but the problem now is that (as has been pointed out many times in these threads) the diagnosis is in the system (Dr Bruce pointed out that they have to have the diagnosis in the system to prescribe the meds). Therefore, it is MUCH easier for the FAA to find out and then you have a real problem.

So if the kid has ever been prescribed medication for ADHD (even if they never took it), you pretty much have to come clean and declare it and go jump through hoops.
Click to expand...

This is correct. :yeahthat: if you lie on your medical then the FAA can and will deni you. I disclosed that I was diagnosed with ADD and that I was prescribed ritalin for it. If and when they look through medical files they WILL see this. I was told that I needed to see a psychologist and to mail in the report to the FAA. I passed the exams that I was given and assured by the shrink that there is no such thing as ADD or ADHD( the hi deff version:goofy:). I was just a kid with more energy than the rest as a result I was more into the outdoor activities and the video games. I ended up being approved for my medical after the psychologist sent in the report.
 
I know absolutely nothing about your child, but, in the Army we get TONS of enlisted Soldiers that were previously diagnosed with ADHD. One thing we found that helps them tremendously is physical exercise. The one event every school in America is trying to abolish! Go figure....
 
What lead you to believe your child had this phantom condition??
 
The kid ain't lying if he doesn't know. Will the feds find out? If they look. Or some crazy data mining scheme comes to pass. Which I'd like to see, we need a scandalous gov't medical record data mining event to blow. Lets see who had abortions and STDs.:eek: I don't really want to know but that would bring back paper records in a jiffy.:yikes:
BG305 said:
This is correct. :yeahthat: if you lie on your medical then the FAA can and will deni you. I disclosed that I was diagnosed with ADD and that I was prescribed ritalin for it. If and when they look through medical files they WILL see this. I was told that I needed to see a psychologist and to mail in the report to the FAA. I passed the exams that I was given and assured by the shrink that there is no such thing as ADD or ADHD( the hi deff version:goofy:). I was just a kid with more energy than the rest as a result I was more into the outdoor activities and the video games. I ended up being approved for my medical after the psychologist sent in the report.
Click to expand...
 
jmp470 said:
I know absolutely nothing about your child, but, in the Army we get TONS of enlisted Soldiers that were previously diagnosed with ADHD. One thing we found that helps them tremendously is physical exercise. The one event every school in America is trying to abolish! Go figure....
Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

That's what I have always liked the most, outdoor activities and I workout 2.5hrs daily. In high school I ran track, played football and wrestled. The best thing is to use all that extra energy instead of keeping it all bottled up.
 
ClimbnSink said:
The kid ain't lying if he doesn't know. Will the feds find out? If they look. Or some crazy data mining scheme comes to pass. Which I'd like to see, we need a scandalous gov't medical record data mining event to blow. Lets see who had abortions and STDs.:eek: I don't really want to know but that would bring back paper records in a jiffy.:yikes:
Click to expand...

Buddy explain to me how he does not know that some Dr thinks he has something and is taking medication. I'm not sure how they dose kids now a days but I took a pill in the morning and 1 at lunch time. It turned out my best friend was doing the same and we figured it out all on our own. We must have the same thing:goofy: I'm sure he knows he is taking medication for something.
 
BG305 said:
Buddy explain to me how he does not know that some Dr thinks he has something and is taking medication. I'm not sure how they dose kids now a days but I took a pill in the morning and 1 at lunch time. It turned out my best friend was doing the same and we figured it out all on our own. We must have the same thing:goofy: I'm sure he knows he is taking medication for something.
Click to expand...

It depends on the age of the kid and the deviousness of the drug pusher (usually a school system). The young person in question in my family was told the medications were "vitamins," and stopped taking them when the person was seven.

The "vitamin" line was the drug pusher's school's idea, so the person in question "wouldn't feel different" from the rest of the kids.

-Rich
 
BG305 said:
Buddy explain to me how he does not know that some Dr thinks he has something and is taking medication. I'm not sure how they dose kids now a days but I took a pill in the morning and 1 at lunch time. It turned out my best friend was doing the same and we figured it out all on our own. We must have the same thing:goofy: I'm sure he knows he is taking medication for something.
Click to expand...
Try reading the first post where it says diagnosed at age 6, off the meds a few years later, doesn't specify how many years later. Is the kid going to remember that at 16? Or what for?
 
The OP said the kid had been diagnosed at 6, just turned 12, and been off the meds for a couple years. OP then said he was planning to have the kid re-evaluated by a different doc at 16. You might want to consider that exam as the big one. As far as FAA is concerned, once you have ADD/ADHD you always have it. If you want that exam to find he doesn't have ADD then you will need to find someone with the credentials to overturn the original diagnosis and say that the first doc was wrong. You have 4 years now to contact Dr Chien and start getting ready. And consider this: what if the re-exam shows he really does have it?
 
Why get reevaluated and wast all that $$$ ? Just lie and say he never had it. What's the worst that could happen? :dunno:
 
BG305 said:
Why get reevaluated and wast all that $$$ ? Just lie and say he never had it. What's the worst that could happen? :dunno:
Click to expand...

Dunno. If the kid never gets told about it, he never knows. But somewhere there is a record of it, is there any way that will never pop up some day?
 
BG305 said:
Why get reevaluated and wast all that $$$ ? Just lie and say he never had it. What's the worst that could happen? :dunno:
Click to expand...

If he truly doesn't know he had the diagnosis, I suppose the worst that could happen is a whole lot of legal bills.
 
I've said it before:

The FAA is VERY clear on what it takes to clear past use of ADD/ADHD meds. Assuming you (he/she) can function without them it is just a day of testing and less than $1,000 to the doc doing the eval, plus a drug test.

My testing was two sessions, about 3-4 hours each back in 2009. It cost me about $600. Dr. Bethany Lohr did the testing.
http://www.healthgrades.com/provider/bethany-lohr-gj77x

Jim
 
Kiddo's Driver said:
I've said it before:

The FAA is VERY clear on what it takes to clear past use of ADD/ADHD meds. Assuming you (he/she) can function without them it is just a day of testing and less than $1,000 to the doc doing the eval, plus a drug test.

My testing was two sessions, about 3-4 hours each back in 2009. It cost me about $600. Dr. Bethany Lohr did the testing.
http://www.healthgrades.com/provider/bethany-lohr-gj77x

Jim
Click to expand...

Glad you were able to get that sorted out.

Just out of curiosity, is this a sort of specialty for Dr. Lohr? It would be ironic (but nonetheless helpful) if the school industry's campaign to drug the next generation into unquestioning conformity actually spawned a cottage industry of debunking these bull**** diagnoses.

-Rich
 
Kiddo's Driver said:
I've said it before:

The FAA is VERY clear on what it takes to clear past use of ADD/ADHD meds. Assuming you (he/she) can function without them it is just a day of testing and less than $1,000 to the doc doing the eval, plus a drug test.

My testing was two sessions, about 3-4 hours each back in 2009. It cost me about $600. Dr. Bethany Lohr did the testing.
http://www.healthgrades.com/provider/bethany-lohr-gj77x

Jim
Click to expand...

Sure sounds a lot cheaper and less hassle than dealing with the fallout of a failure to disclose.
 
Kiddo's Driver said:
I've said it before:

The FAA is VERY clear on what it takes to clear past use of ADD/ADHD meds. Assuming you (he/she) can function without them it is just a day of testing and less than $1,000 to the doc doing the eval, plus a drug test.

My testing was two sessions, about 3-4 hours each back in 2009. It cost me about $600. Dr. Bethany Lohr did the testing.
http://www.healthgrades.com/provider/bethany-lohr-gj77x

Jim
Click to expand...

Seems to me that $600-$1,000 would buy a lot of AvGas vs. being spent to disprove an over-prescribed and over-diagnosed disorder; particularly when the applicant can show a non-trivial, post-adolescense stretch of years off the meds.

But the FAA isn't in the business of promoting avaition anymore, except possibly Part 121. Us FLIBs just muck up their system and get too uppity thinking we have freedom to travel and everything.

This can't possibly be why GenAv is dying, can it?
 
RJM62 said:
Glad you were able to get that sorted out.

Just out of curiosity, is this a sort of specialty for Dr. Lohr? It would be ironic (but nonetheless helpful) if the school industry's campaign to drug the next generation into unquestioning conformity actually spawned a cottage industry of debunking these bull**** diagnoses.

-Rich
Click to expand...

Nope. It was the first one she ever did. She had to look over the list and the FAA guidance, and then do a little research to make sure she had everything she needed do it.

Jim
 
RJM62 said:
It depends on the age of the kid and the deviousness of the drug pusher (usually a school system). The young person in question in my family was told the medications were "vitamins," and stopped taking them when the person was seven.

The "vitamin" line was the drug pusher's school's idea, so the person in question "wouldn't feel different" from the rest of the kids.

-Rich
Click to expand...

That's just F'd up right there.
 
He still has a couple of years to get this sorted out. If in the end he can not receive a medical there are still many career options with aviation. Make sure to explain this to him.
 
Fearless Tower said:
That approach worked well 20 years ago, but the problem now is that (as has been pointed out many times in these threads) the diagnosis is in the system (Dr Bruce pointed out that they have to have the diagnosis in the system to prescribe the meds). Therefore, it is MUCH easier for the FAA to find out and then you have a real problem.

So if the kid has ever been prescribed medication for ADHD (even if they never took it), you pretty much have to come clean and declare it and go jump through hoops.
Click to expand...


Always wondered why the FAA's prying into our medical records isn't a HIPAA violation. My wife is a nurse and she is not even allowed to look into my records on line because it would be a HIPAA violation and could cost her a job.

We seem to be so upside down in this country anymore.
 
It may not be an FAA/HIPAA thing as much as an insurance company digging through the records and finding that diagnosis. That's when it would be brought up to the patient's attention and the he'll be the one who has to decide to lie to FAA on his medical because now he knows.
 
OP here. There may be duplicated post because my post wasn't appearing. I guess the mods have to approve the posts.
 
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