Consequences for 6 yr old w/ADHD for hitting/kicking/biting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, she started meds recently (Concerta). The hitting/kicking etc was there before meds & still seeing it in evenings. Both pediatrician & psychiatrist concur that she has self-regulation & anger/frustration management issues, among others. We plan to start CBT & social skills classes. Welcome recommendations for CBT. We have a neuropsych assessment scheduled at Children's.
Thank you to all for your suggestions & sharing your experiences.

Evenings are most difficult for us too. Remind yourself that she is probably basically unmedicated at that point, so you need to moderate your expectations. (You wouldn't expect an asthmatic to hike up a mountain after the inhaler's effects have worn off.) I would try to build in more supervision and separation during that time of the day. I know that this is absolutely the worst time of the day to have to do that -- when you're trying to make dinner and the other kids are probably also all unraveling. It's not easy, I know. You may also want to talk to your doctor about a short-acting "booster" pill given right after school (we were breaking ours in half so it was only 2.5 mg after school). That will give her a little carry-over to help her through the difficult dinner time and evenings.
I also sometimes build in some TV time in the evenings -- I know that everyone else (see the other thread about screentime) says this is terrible -- but we watch documentaries or Wheel of Fortune, and have a nice discussion about whatever we are watching while I am cooking or cleaning up from dinner. It seems to help my child settle down a lot more than free play, for which he often doesn't really have the frustration tolerance at the end of the day.