If you don’t medicate your very ADD middle school child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in special education, and a lot of the students on my caseload have ADHD without any comorbid conditions.

One of the challenges with ADHD is that attention and working memory are linked together. Even with fantastic one-on-one instruction, children with ADHD can have trouble with appropriate depth of processing and focus sufficient to support working memory. Without working memory supports, long-term memory suffers too. I see a lot of very bright kids who accumulate widening skills deficits over the years in spite of receiving excellent in-school support. Many of these kids need more time and more repetitions with the material before it starts to sink in. Bringing papers home to review with families and tutors is one strategy for that.

I understand stimulant medication reluctance, though I am very pro-medication. However, I strongly advise families not to rely on academic accommodations alone. Ask your child’s medical providers about behavioral health programs to support ADHD. There are cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness strategies that help some. Results will not be fast and may not be as dramatic as meds. That said, it’s definitely time for more intervention before your child falls further behind in work. You also want to get on top of this before your child has the potential to develop self-esteem issues or school anxiety.

too often special ed teachers focus on getting kids to finish assignments and provide too many supports and not enough old-fashioned practice. my ADHD kiddo actually has a great working memory but if the teachers just are not giving enough direct instruction and practice, it’s pointless. this is an instructional problem for all kids now, but it’s worse for SN kids.

[Anonymous]

I say hold off as long as you can. It is not the same as medical conditions that you will die if you don't take the meds (as some like to make analogies for). Also, treating side effects with more meds for a small child is terrible.


The new study on the effects on the heart disease risk:
23% higher risk for heart disease for people who have used ADHD medication for more than five years compared with those who did not take medication

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I say hold off as long as you can. It is not the same as medical conditions that you will die if you don't take the meds (as some like to make analogies for). Also, treating side effects with more meds for a small child is terrible.


The new study on the effects on the heart disease risk:
23% higher risk for heart disease for people who have used ADHD medication for more than five years compared with those who did not take medication

DP. Also, the stimulant meds seem to be helpful for 2-4 years and then they no longer provide an academic benefit. So it is wise to be strategic about when to start meds for maximum benefit.

[Anonymous]

We went from a chaotic, but highly regarded, public to a small private school with a much more traditional format, including zero electronics. This has helped our ADHDers become a lot more functional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I say hold off as long as you can. It is not the same as medical conditions that you will die if you don't take the meds (as some like to make analogies for). Also, treating side effects with more meds for a small child is terrible.


The new study on the effects on the heart disease risk:
23% higher risk for heart disease for people who have used ADHD medication for more than five years compared with those who did not take medication

Cite?

There are also risks to not medicating, including addiction and suicide. I would take heart disease - the most common ailment in the US - over either of those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. What do people do when their kids can't tolerate ADHD meds? We have tried stimulants and non-stimulants and DC hasn't been able to tolerate any of them due to side effects. Anything else worth trying for us? DC is AuDHD and 13 with anxiety, if that is relevant.

did you try clonidine?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I say hold off as long as you can. It is not the same as medical conditions that you will die if you don't take the meds (as some like to make analogies for). Also, treating side effects with more meds for a small child is terrible.


The new study on the effects on the heart disease risk:
23% higher risk for heart disease for people who have used ADHD medication for more than five years compared with those who did not take medication

But going the non-medication route isn’t some benign neutral. Untreated ADHD dramatically increases other (and often more immediate) risks — mental health problems, suicide, accidents, drug use, school failure, etc.

Make sure you’re weighing risks accurately and not based on some false ideal about what “should” be.

[Anonymous]

we had to medicated after my dd started getting a few referrals

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I say hold off as long as you can. It is not the same as medical conditions that you will die if you don't take the meds (as some like to make analogies for). Also, treating side effects with more meds for a small child is terrible.


The new study on the effects on the heart disease risk:
23% higher risk for heart disease for people who have used ADHD medication for more than five years compared with those who did not take medication

But going the non-medication route isn’t some benign neutral. Untreated ADHD dramatically increases other (and often more immediate) risks — mental health problems, suicide, accidents, drug use, school failure, etc.

Make sure you’re weighing risks accurately and not based on some false ideal about what “should” be.

+1 Mental health surely affects the body. The brain is an organ in your body. Depression, anxiety, ostracism, and living in poverty are all potential outcomes for untreated ADHD. And they all increase your risks for adverse effects on the body. I watched it all happen to my father and brother. I wonder if this the poster one of those people against mental health parity as well? There are plenty of valid pros and cons to medicating...saying that ADHD isn't a medical condition is an outdated one.

[Anonymous]

I encourage you to think holistically about helping your child succeed socially, academically and emotionally. What happens in middle school is that challenges become obvious to other kids, which can lead to alienation socially and then self-esteem issues.
You should try to be open to trying various methodologies including tutoring, but also therapy and medication to help your child find what works and enable them to succeed.
BTW, I have BTDT. Until we faced a wake-up-call crisis in middle school, I was against meds too. We are in a great place now, but I wish I had given my DC access to all the tools and support way sooner than I did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s called fresh air and lots of exercise. Make her run 5 laps around the house before sitting down for work

My 17 year old swims 1.5-3 hours a day. Doesn't do a think for ADHD (or at least not enough). He's still hyperactive and can't focus.

OP - We've tried every ADHD medicine we can find and they either don't work or side effects are terrible. His case is so bad that we are trying them all over again years later.

Something that haunts me every day is that I wasn't able to help him. He has had therapists, EP coaches and lots of tutors. He is studying until 2am most nights because the high school workload is too much for kids with ADHD.

Try the meds. Do it now before they are in high school. I only tried them on weekends or holidays in case of side effects so it takes a long time to go through them all but I'm not giving up.
I'm desperate for anything that helps even a little bit.

Do not wait. Depending on meds, you don't have to use them every day but you should be figuring out what works NOW not when they are in high school and the workload triples and grades matter to colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I say hold off as long as you can. It is not the same as medical conditions that you will die if you don't take the meds (as some like to make analogies for). Also, treating side effects with more meds for a small child is terrible.


The new study on the effects on the heart disease risk:
23% higher risk for heart disease for people who have used ADHD medication for more than five years compared with those who did not take medication

cite please?

[Anonymous]

See a psychiatrist or developmental pediatrician to trial meds and find the best one. There are non-stimulant meds if the stimulant is not tolerated. Even if there are side effects from meds, there are worse side effects (lack of success in school, low self-esteem, impact on friendships) by not medicating.

[Anonymous]

So we medicate and have for four years, for our now eighth grader.

But before meds, when we had an ADHD diagnosis but weren’t ready to medicate in third grade, we let our daughter drink black tea with honey in the morning. And we tried to kind of force active play in the mornings via playground visits between 7:45-8:30am. I’m not sure about how that could work for a middle schooler, but if we didn’t medicate now I’d probably try to find a way for morning exercise to help her focus later.

Exercise is so important though. At this point her meds wear off by 2pm and she manages homework, exec functioning etc only after vigorous exercise.

[Anonymous]

If I didn’t medicate my extremely small son he would fail utterly. even he asks for meds.

There are no perfect solutions but I play the grow up and accept the lesser of evils.

If you are looking for another magic please let the thread know if you find it but my long journey has seen nothing works at all medication and the less working side of the equation for my child is a horrific abyss.