Who has experience with ADHD?

[ams3651]

Quote:
The adderall my son started with was only a 4 hr med and we did cut them in half. Even with his Adderall XR we open the capsule and put in a spoon of applesauce. I have researched this practice and according to the insert with the meds its acceptable but will shorten the effectiveness from 8 to 6 hours. Concerta is Ritalin in a time released capsule and cant be used in a child that cant swallow a pill.

 

[missourichickenmama]

I have ADHD.
I hope every thing works out for you

Quote:
that is a very handy line isn't it?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
that is a very handy line isn't it?

Actually, I use a razor blade to cut them, I can never get a hold of the pills good enough to break them!

 

[ItsSuzzie]

Hello again,

Yes, my son was and is on medication. My adult son. Not only have we worked with the school system, IEP after IEP, etc. With constant monitoring through a psychologist. We have gone the medical route with an EEG. The EEG showed normal, but with a fine like....lots of details I could not understand in the information the test provided....hard for me to call that normal. He is legally disabled and the Psychiatrists have scored him just two points above retarded.

And what he appears to be is lazy. Hard to call the line between Will and Illness.

Good luck to all of you, my son is 19 now and we work daily on growing him up.

Oh, got to share this with all of you.
My son got an electric shaver for Christmas from my brother.
Guess what he did??? Did you guess??

He shaved off his eyebrows. OMG. He thinks this is funny, well we are all having a difficult time looking at him without laughing. My mother wanted to color some in for him.

I am almost afraid to see what is next.

 

[smith2]

Quote:
I have been dealing with ADD/HD children for many years in both the educational and medical professions. I don't know who diagnosed him, but I would have the following questions and corrections before I started any child on medication.

1). Did the child get a full medical and psychological evaluation by a child psychologist/psychiatrist who specializes in different treatment modalities for children with ADD/HD? or was this "prescriber" a family doctor with no formal training in ADD/HD? Who determined that the child's behaviors are dysfunctional?

2). Is this child (4 yrs old) getting at least 12 hours of sleep each night, every night? Sometimes you have to make children go to bed!! This is easily corrected, but is often the last approach used and should be the first. Some children get more worked up the more tired they get and you just about have to tie them to the bed to keep them there. (I had one of these. When we finally realized how much sleep the child really needed, she got remarkably better.) Sleep needs vary widely between children, but most need at least 12 hours at age four. This is really hard for some parents to understand because long sleep needs can really upset a modern household with multiple children.

3). Is the child exhibiting dysfunctional behavior or just "age" appropriate behavior that is getting on someone's nerves? Many adults do not understand what normal behavior for a energetic 4 year old is like and they do not understand the wide ranges of "normal" for most 4 year old boys.

4). What types of behavior management strategies have been tried consistently by parents, teachers, and others? Children are often strong-willed and very stubborn. Many are misdiagnosed as ADD/HD and medicated when parents or teachers get frustrated and don't know what to do with their strong, stubborn personalities. (I personally have 2 of these stubborn, self-willed, head-strong off-spring--but they do not have ADD/HD. It took all my time and energy just learning to manage their behavior, and sometimes it wasn't pretty!)

Medication should NEVER be used, especially in children under age 10, without all of the above being done and documented over a period of at least 1 year and in all types of situations. Most medications used for ADD/HD DO have growth related side-effects and a parent needs to be fully aware of the advantages and disadvantages before giving them to a small child.

Just some things to think about.

 

[heyeddah]

Clearly this is a touchy and personal subject for many. As the mom of a 12 yr old boy, I have to say that my son has benefited imensely from his Concerta. We struggled for years to find the cause and went through many professionals and school avenues to finally diagnose his ADD through very extensive testing. We do not medicate him for anyone"s purpose but for his alone. When we tried so called breaks from his meds, his quality of life was severely altered. There are so many drugs and levels of prescriptions out there, that what some people report as failure may just be the wrong medication. ADD also runs with other disorders such as anxiety and depression. Sometimes you canot treat just one disease. For those of you who say we need to be better parents.... get some literature nad really read up on this disorder. It is real. It is harder to parent, but the child I am raising is definately worth every minute of time we put into it.
I wish you the best on This Christmas morning, and I suggest you seek the opinion of your DRs and get some really good books online about parenting ADD/ADHD and get set for the ride of your life!!
Be well.

 

[morelcabin]

Is this child generally a happy child with alot of energy and trouble focusing, or is he a child who has problems with authority, manipulates...agressive? How does he function socially...do other kids like to play with him?

There are alot of factors involved, and in any case I wouldn't say drug or not drug, but I do feel that many neurological symtoms can be managed with diet, exercise and suppliments. Minerals, esentail fatty acids can make a huge difference in brain function. Whole foods...

I can tell you from personal experience that I personally have to be very careful with my diet. My moods/anxiety levels/focus and energy can change within minutes of eating something that doesn't agree with me. Chocolate, sugars, and fried foods send me over the deep end. I have adivan that I take when I make mistakes because I cannot get it back together on my own sometimes. Vitamin D really helps me with mood and focus all by itself. I take it everyday and when I forget I KNOW it.
There are alternatives to drugs, and they do work...it just takes more work on your part to find out what it is your son is missing that could be beneficial. I will say though that it often comes down to food intolerance.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

OK I know everyone is touchy about this subject so I'l share a funny story.
My DD had a boy on hr bus in first grad who was a real trouble maker. He threw things inside the bus and ocassionally out! He bit and spit at people. He was a terror. The school had him tested and was all ready to convene an IEP meeting. He was being diagnosed all over the place.

He was told he couldn't ride the bus anymore - this was a huge problem for his mom. So, we were talking about it at dinner one night and my DD pipes up, "You know I think he'd probably be a better kid if he didn't drink so much Red Bull!"

I didn't think my DD even knew what that was! SO I asked her and sure enough she said he drank a big ole can of red bull every morning! In first grade you know he wasn't getting it on his own! Turns out his mother did give it to him, but swore she did not know it was loaded with caffeine!!!!

He's a completely different kid this year!!

 

[morelcabin]

I have WHAT in my yard? :

OK I know everyone is touchy about this subject so I'l share a funny story.
My DD had a boy on hr bus in first grad who was a real trouble maker. He threw things inside the bus and ocassionally out! He bit and spit at people. He was a terror. The school had him tested and was all ready to convene an IEP meeting. He was being diagnosed all over the place.

He was told he couldn't ride the bus anymore - this was a huge problem for his mom. So, we were talking about it at dinner one night and my DD pipes up, "You know I think he'd probably be a better kid if he didn't drink so much Red Bull!"

I didn't think my DD even knew what that was! SO I asked her and sure enough she said he drank a big ole can of red bull every morning! In first grade you know he wasn't getting it on his own! Turns out his mother did give it to him, but swore she did not know it was loaded with caffeine!!!!

He's a completely different kid this year!!

Sad to say, but after being lunch supervisor in our local school for a few years, I saw alot of 'food ignorant parents' out there. Processed foods affect brain function, most of the breakfast cereals out there that cater to kids affect brain function in a negative way...and the things the troubled kids had in thier lunches were very poor in nutrition compared to the lunches of the better behaved kids. I got to the point that I knew exactly who was going to have a tough afternoon...just by looking in lunchboxes.​

 

[Wifezilla]

You totally nailed it on the breakfast cereal. That stuff is toxic waste. (And I am not just talking about the chocolate frosted sugar bomb variety either. It's all crap)