how do you know if your 10 year old has ADHD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is quick to diss the methylphenidate given out to the kids, but I was diagnosed at age 35 (I’m a woman) and taking methylphenidate was absolutely life changing for me. My anxiety disappeared, I could work harder and better than ever before, and I felt like I could finally be myself.
Why wouldn’t we want to give this to our kids if needed? My daughter takes it now and she is also very happy to have it. It’s been tested for many years and is very safe for kids.

Wait until you are on max dose due to tolerance.

But as your post illustrates very clearly, ADHD meds are clearly performance-enhancing drugs. I just find it so hypocritical that the (often progressive) parents who get really offended when Asian parents send their kids to Kumon/AoPS to get ahead and place into G&T programs, wouldn’t hesitate to doctor shop and put their tweens on meth analogues to get some academic advantage. You see it on FB groups all the time.

[Anonymous]

Mine talks and/or move literally non stop while awake. Focusing on one activity for more than a few minutes is very difficult. They can only follow so many directions at a time and routinely forgets where they are in the steps and starts doing something else. Example, go use the potty, brush teeth and then brush hair. They will start playing with random bathroom items and stop at using the potty. We have to intervene with everything and keep prodding them along. They get REALLY wound up around bedtime every single night and can take them 1-3 hours to settle down. They will absolutely NOT put themselves to bed meaning we could be on a road trip during the evening or coming back from a full day at an amusement park and they will not sleep. They will stay up the entire time.

[Anonymous]

With my kid it was just 100% obvious. Look up some of the screening tests online and complete them. In kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade we just thought that he was immature and boys will be boys. By 3rd or 4th grade it was just so obvious. Inability to sit still at all, inability to focus or even complete tasks like “go brush teeth and put your PJs on”, inability to focus on homework or in class. Constantly getting into trouble and getting kicked out of aftercare. Inability to regulate emotions. Once we tried medicine it was like night and day, an actual miracle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is quick to diss the methylphenidate given out to the kids, but I was diagnosed at age 35 (I’m a woman) and taking methylphenidate was absolutely life changing for me. My anxiety disappeared, I could work harder and better than ever before, and I felt like I could finally be myself.
Why wouldn’t we want to give this to our kids if needed? My daughter takes it now and she is also very happy to have it. It’s been tested for many years and is very safe for kids.

Wait until you are on max dose due to tolerance.

But as your post illustrates very clearly, ADHD meds are clearly performance-enhancing drugs. I just find it so hypocritical that the (often progressive) parents who get really offended when Asian parents send their kids to Kumon/AoPS to get ahead and place into G&T programs, wouldn’t hesitate to doctor shop and put their tweens on meth analogues to get some academic advantage. You see it on FB groups all the time.

Sorry, but you are taking a very small problem and using that argument to imply that many parents whose children need those medications are bad actors. We and many parents like us aren't giving our kids ADHD medication so they can get an academic advantage over their peers, it's so they can simply perform basic executive functioning skills their peers have no problem doing - like being able to focus for 20 minutes so they can complete their homework or make it out the freaking door each day without having to be told 10 times how to do everything step by step. We aren't medicating our kids, which we do not take lightly and initially did not, to perform better than their peers. Acting like this is the equivalent of professional athletes doping is misguided. What's next? Given Larlo a wheelchair so they can move freely around the school like everyone else is giving Larlo a performance advantage? Don't try to characterize the vast majority of parents whose families have legitimately struggled with ADHD with the very few who abuse it.

[Anonymous]

If a kid is having a hard time in school why not medicate? It can be very hard on a kid to struggle all day to learn and conform in school and can really wreak havoc on their mental health. Sad about the Covid blaming. I’ve heard that mentioned so many times and it delayed a lot of kids getting the testing and help they need. OP if a teacher or someone else who is with your kid a lot raises it I would pursue testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is quick to diss the methylphenidate given out to the kids, but I was diagnosed at age 35 (I’m a woman) and taking methylphenidate was absolutely life changing for me. My anxiety disappeared, I could work harder and better than ever before, and I felt like I could finally be myself.
Why wouldn’t we want to give this to our kids if needed? My daughter takes it now and she is also very happy to have it. It’s been tested for many years and is very safe for kids.

Wait until you are on max dose due to tolerance.

But as your post illustrates very clearly, ADHD meds are clearly performance-enhancing drugs. I just find it so hypocritical that the (often progressive) parents who get really offended when Asian parents send their kids to Kumon/AoPS to get ahead and place into G&T programs, wouldn’t hesitate to doctor shop and put their tweens on meth analogues to get some academic advantage. You see it on FB groups all the time.

Sorry, but you are taking a very small problem and using that argument to imply that many parents whose children need those medications are bad actors. We and many parents like us aren't giving our kids ADHD medication so they can get an academic advantage over their peers, it's so they can simply perform basic executive functioning skills their peers have no problem doing - like being able to focus for 20 minutes so they can complete their homework or make it out the freaking door each day without having to be told 10 times how to do everything step by step. We aren't medicating our kids, which we do not take lightly and initially did not, to perform better than their peers. Acting like this is the equivalent of professional athletes doping is misguided. What's next? Given Larlo a wheelchair so they can move freely around the school like everyone else is giving Larlo a performance advantage? Don't try to characterize the vast majority of parents whose families have legitimately struggled with ADHD with the very few who abuse it.

Not a small problem. ADHD meds are so heavily prescribed (and increasingly so!) that big pharma can't make them fast enough. Our local pharmacy had wait lists of months this winter. My teen is on them even though I know it's not a real condition. The meds help by creating a socially desirable behavioral state. That is not the same as treating an actual medical condition.

[Anonymous]

So, my kid was officially diagnosed with ADD in 8th grade.
At 10 they were diagnosed with Anxiety and went into thetherapy. About 18 months later they started anti-anxiety drugs. That helped some but we still had a lot of behavioral issues that impacted academics.
In 8th grade we got the full neuropsych and got the ADD diagnosis. They started Adderol and it has made a HUGE difference. They are a much happier kid all around.
They only take the meds on school days or when they are working.
ADD and anxiety are often hand in hand. In our case, the anxiety was masking the ADD and we only got to the underlying cause of the anxiety (ADD) after we got it under control. They were having full on tantrums and completely unable to control their emotions pre-medication.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is quick to diss the methylphenidate given out to the kids, but I was diagnosed at age 35 (I’m a woman) and taking methylphenidate was absolutely life changing for me. My anxiety disappeared, I could work harder and better than ever before, and I felt like I could finally be myself.
Why wouldn’t we want to give this to our kids if needed? My daughter takes it now and she is also very happy to have it. It’s been tested for many years and is very safe for kids.

Wait until you are on max dose due to tolerance.

But as your post illustrates very clearly, ADHD meds are clearly performance-enhancing drugs. I just find it so hypocritical that the (often progressive) parents who get really offended when Asian parents send their kids to Kumon/AoPS to get ahead and place into G&T programs, wouldn’t hesitate to doctor shop and put their tweens on meth analogues to get some academic advantage. You see it on FB groups all the time.

Sorry, but you are taking a very small problem and using that argument to imply that many parents whose children need those medications are bad actors. We and many parents like us aren't giving our kids ADHD medication so they can get an academic advantage over their peers, it's so they can simply perform basic executive functioning skills their peers have no problem doing - like being able to focus for 20 minutes so they can complete their homework or make it out the freaking door each day without having to be told 10 times how to do everything step by step. We aren't medicating our kids, which we do not take lightly and initially did not, to perform better than their peers. Acting like this is the equivalent of professional athletes doping is misguided. What's next? Given Larlo a wheelchair so they can move freely around the school like everyone else is giving Larlo a performance advantage? Don't try to characterize the vast majority of parents whose families have legitimately struggled with ADHD with the very few who abuse it.

Not a small problem. ADHD meds are so heavily prescribed (and increasingly so!) that big pharma can't make them fast enough. Our local pharmacy had wait lists of months this winter. My teen is on them even though I know it's not a real condition. The meds help by creating a socially desirable behavioral state. That is not the same as treating an actual medical condition.

You don’t believe your teen has ADHD or you erroneously don’t believe ADHD is real despite her diagnosis?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because it’s harmful for the kids

Yes, medication has side effects.

Not medicating can also be harmful. Teens with ADHD that isn’t treated are more likely to struggle with anxiety, addictions, eating disorders, risky sexual behaviors, more likely to get injured, more likely to get into vehicle accidents, can struggle with emotional dysregulation affecting relationships. The list goes on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is quick to diss the methylphenidate given out to the kids, but I was diagnosed at age 35 (I’m a woman) and taking methylphenidate was absolutely life changing for me. My anxiety disappeared, I could work harder and better than ever before, and I felt like I could finally be myself.
Why wouldn’t we want to give this to our kids if needed? My daughter takes it now and she is also very happy to have it. It’s been tested for many years and is very safe for kids.

Wait until you are on max dose due to tolerance.

But as your post illustrates very clearly, ADHD meds are clearly performance-enhancing drugs. I just find it so hypocritical that the (often progressive) parents who get really offended when Asian parents send their kids to Kumon/AoPS to get ahead and place into G&T programs, wouldn’t hesitate to doctor shop and put their tweens on meth analogues to get some academic advantage. You see it on FB groups all the time.

Sorry, but you are taking a very small problem and using that argument to imply that many parents whose children need those medications are bad actors. We and many parents like us aren't giving our kids ADHD medication so they can get an academic advantage over their peers, it's so they can simply perform basic executive functioning skills their peers have no problem doing - like being able to focus for 20 minutes so they can complete their homework or make it out the freaking door each day without having to be told 10 times how to do everything step by step. We aren't medicating our kids, which we do not take lightly and initially did not, to perform better than their peers. Acting like this is the equivalent of professional athletes doping is misguided. What's next? Given Larlo a wheelchair so they can move freely around the school like everyone else is giving Larlo a performance advantage? Don't try to characterize the vast majority of parents whose families have legitimately struggled with ADHD with the very few who abuse it.

Not a small problem. ADHD meds are so heavily prescribed (and increasingly so!) that big pharma can't make them fast enough. Our local pharmacy had wait lists of months this winter. My teen is on them even though I know it's not a real condition. The meds help by creating a socially desirable behavioral state. That is not the same as treating an actual medical condition.

You are a total nutbag and I feel sorry for your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is quick to diss the methylphenidate given out to the kids, but I was diagnosed at age 35 (I’m a woman) and taking methylphenidate was absolutely life changing for me. My anxiety disappeared, I could work harder and better than ever before, and I felt like I could finally be myself.
Why wouldn’t we want to give this to our kids if needed? My daughter takes it now and she is also very happy to have it. It’s been tested for many years and is very safe for kids.

Wait until you are on max dose due to tolerance.

But as your post illustrates very clearly, ADHD meds are clearly performance-enhancing drugs. I just find it so hypocritical that the (often progressive) parents who get really offended when Asian parents send their kids to Kumon/AoPS to get ahead and place into G&T programs, wouldn’t hesitate to doctor shop and put their tweens on meth analogues to get some academic advantage. You see it on FB groups all the time.

Sorry, but you are taking a very small problem and using that argument to imply that many parents whose children need those medications are bad actors. We and many parents like us aren't giving our kids ADHD medication so they can get an academic advantage over their peers, it's so they can simply perform basic executive functioning skills their peers have no problem doing - like being able to focus for 20 minutes so they can complete their homework or make it out the freaking door each day without having to be told 10 times how to do everything step by step. We aren't medicating our kids, which we do not take lightly and initially did not, to perform better than their peers. Acting like this is the equivalent of professional athletes doping is misguided. What's next? Given Larlo a wheelchair so they can move freely around the school like everyone else is giving Larlo a performance advantage? Don't try to characterize the vast majority of parents whose families have legitimately struggled with ADHD with the very few who abuse it.

Not a small problem. ADHD meds are so heavily prescribed (and increasingly so!) that big pharma can't make them fast enough. Our local pharmacy had wait lists of months this winter. My teen is on them even though I know it's not a real condition. The meds help by creating a socially desirable behavioral state. That is not the same as treating an actual medical condition.

You don’t believe your teen has ADHD or you erroneously don’t believe ADHD is real despite her diagnosis?!

ADHD, at least if you look at the DSM diagnostic criteria, is a set of behaviors that don't mesh well with modern society. Like most mental health diagnoses, ADHD includes subjective diagnostic criteria like whether the behaviors cause distress to self and others, does it impair me from doing things I would otherwise like to do (like focusing on boring schoolwork or office busywork).

I think the ADHD diagnosis rate is more an indictment of our society than of those who have been diagnosed with it.

I am the skeptical PP and my teenager is an active, outdoorsy, tomboyish girl by her own description. I do not think she is suffering from a mental health problem, but I think it is necessary for her to conform to mainstream society to the extent that she can complete her high school and college education. Hence the meds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is quick to diss the methylphenidate given out to the kids, but I was diagnosed at age 35 (I’m a woman) and taking methylphenidate was absolutely life changing for me. My anxiety disappeared, I could work harder and better than ever before, and I felt like I could finally be myself.
Why wouldn’t we want to give this to our kids if needed? My daughter takes it now and she is also very happy to have it. It’s been tested for many years and is very safe for kids.

Wait until you are on max dose due to tolerance.

But as your post illustrates very clearly, ADHD meds are clearly performance-enhancing drugs. I just find it so hypocritical that the (often progressive) parents who get really offended when Asian parents send their kids to Kumon/AoPS to get ahead and place into G&T programs, wouldn’t hesitate to doctor shop and put their tweens on meth analogues to get some academic advantage. You see it on FB groups all the time.

Sorry, but you are taking a very small problem and using that argument to imply that many parents whose children need those medications are bad actors. We and many parents like us aren't giving our kids ADHD medication so they can get an academic advantage over their peers, it's so they can simply perform basic executive functioning skills their peers have no problem doing - like being able to focus for 20 minutes so they can complete their homework or make it out the freaking door each day without having to be told 10 times how to do everything step by step. We aren't medicating our kids, which we do not take lightly and initially did not, to perform better than their peers. Acting like this is the equivalent of professional athletes doping is misguided. What's next? Given Larlo a wheelchair so they can move freely around the school like everyone else is giving Larlo a performance advantage? Don't try to characterize the vast majority of parents whose families have legitimately struggled with ADHD with the very few who abuse it.

Not a small problem. ADHD meds are so heavily prescribed (and increasingly so!) that big pharma can't make them fast enough. Our local pharmacy had wait lists of months this winter. My teen is on them even though I know it's not a real condition. The meds help by creating a socially desirable behavioral state. That is not the same as treating an actual medical condition.

You are a total nutbag and I feel sorry for your kid.

Your pity is wasted. She has a very happy, full, and active life.

Here's a question: Have you ever heard of a parent going to a doc/therapist seeking an ADHD diagnosis for their child and coming away without one? Ever? Has that same parent ever been unable to secure a prescription for that child? No.

The ADHD diagnosis is always available, always medicated if desired.

[Anonymous]

Count me in as another skeptical parent. What I have seen is that the stimulants work very well in the short term (so you get all these testimonies of “this changed my kid’s life” or their own life for a parent who just started on the meds themselves), but a large number of ADHD kids eventually still eventually self combust if they didn’t make structured changes to their lives and actually commit to behavior changes and stay within guardrails. This is particularly evident once the kids head off to college despite being on meds.

[Anonymous]

Top officials of Harvard can climb all the way to the top by cheating and plagiarizing, what’s a little amphetamine to compete against that uppity Asian girl with the Tiger Dad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is quick to diss the methylphenidate given out to the kids, but I was diagnosed at age 35 (I’m a woman) and taking methylphenidate was absolutely life changing for me. My anxiety disappeared, I could work harder and better than ever before, and I felt like I could finally be myself.
Why wouldn’t we want to give this to our kids if needed? My daughter takes it now and she is also very happy to have it. It’s been tested for many years and is very safe for kids.

Wait until you are on max dose due to tolerance.

But as your post illustrates very clearly, ADHD meds are clearly performance-enhancing drugs. I just find it so hypocritical that the (often progressive) parents who get really offended when Asian parents send their kids to Kumon/AoPS to get ahead and place into G&T programs, wouldn’t hesitate to doctor shop and put their tweens on meth analogues to get some academic advantage. You see it on FB groups all the time.

Sorry, but you are taking a very small problem and using that argument to imply that many parents whose children need those medications are bad actors. We and many parents like us aren't giving our kids ADHD medication so they can get an academic advantage over their peers, it's so they can simply perform basic executive functioning skills their peers have no problem doing - like being able to focus for 20 minutes so they can complete their homework or make it out the freaking door each day without having to be told 10 times how to do everything step by step. We aren't medicating our kids, which we do not take lightly and initially did not, to perform better than their peers. Acting like this is the equivalent of professional athletes doping is misguided. What's next? Given Larlo a wheelchair so they can move freely around the school like everyone else is giving Larlo a performance advantage? Don't try to characterize the vast majority of parents whose families have legitimately struggled with ADHD with the very few who abuse it.

Not a small problem. ADHD meds are so heavily prescribed (and increasingly so!) that big pharma can't make them fast enough. Our local pharmacy had wait lists of months this winter. My teen is on them even though I know it's not a real condition. The meds help by creating a socially desirable behavioral state. That is not the same as treating an actual medical condition.

You are a total nutbag and I feel sorry for your kid.

Your pity is wasted. She has a very happy, full, and active life.

Here's a question: Have you ever heard of a parent going to a doc/therapist seeking an ADHD diagnosis for their child and coming away without one? Ever?

Yes. There was a woman posting recently that her child didn’t get the diagnosis and she was really upset about it.