ADHD - medicate or not medicate?
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Anonymous
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I would love to hear parents' perspectives on their kids with ADHD.
My child was labeled at a visit to a developmental specialist that I initiated to see if the behavior was age-appropriate. I am not trying to ignore it. I am just trying to understand what I can do if I feel very strongly about the medicine that is meant to alter who he is. He is a rising kindergartener so I am worried about the academics but will that not adjust with time? I do not know. Is there craze to fix kids with medicine? Why do parents do it? Is it just unbearable? Or are parents who medicate simply scared of falling behind academically in this area that is known for overachieving kids who play 6 sports, speak 7 languages and 5 instruments by the time they are 6 years old? I am genuinely interested to know why parents medicate kids who are labeled as ADHD? Secondly, I would love to hear from parents with ADHD kids whether they have individual education plans or 504 plans. Trying to understand the difference between the two. My almost 5 year old is very expressive verbally and people often describe him as an old soul trapped in a young body. He is very spirited, stubborn but also empathetic. But we have behavior issues (at home, school never reports any behavior issues). And we have very very serious attention issues that I do not know how to fix. We are struggling to retain much of any information that is presented in a structured way. Trying to learn numbers and letters without much progress. I am scared of expectations in K. How much needs to be learned how fast? I have an older child who does not have these issues so I am not sure what to expect from the K experience with a completely different child. Your experiences will be much appreciated. When would you medicate and when would you not? |
Anonymous
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A good developmental pediatrician will attempt to use other therapies before putting a kid on meds- bringing up dopamine receptors through exercise, taking magnesium and fish oil, a diet change/no dyes/sugar/gluten/processed food, etc.
Generally speaking, if he is how you describe him, you can avoid meds now, but will find it best for your kid some age between 3rd grade and middle school. 3rd grade is when the social pressure will build and kids will start noting your DC's differences, and the impulsivity, hyperactivity, sermon rye seeking, etc will affect him socially for certain, maybe more depending on the school/teacher and kid. If he goes to a school where he is taking multiple classes in noisy classrooms, meds will be almost a necessity for success, and a 504 or IEP if you qualify will really help matters. If you already have behavior issues, adding certain meds will be a rough adjustment possibly, and will take some tweaking, so doing it before middle school may be helpful in that regard. We had a lot of rage and mood swings with the meds when coming on or off at first, and our kid was really well behaved. It is not the end of the world though-get a DP you truly whose philosophy-my jives with your own, decide what you want for your child and get support. Being your child's advocate can be very hard. |
Anonymous
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There's no rush to medicate. He may not need it. You try behavioral supports first, then add in meds if necessary.
It really depends if the ADHD interferes with his ability to function at school. It has nothing to do with how well he does academically. (ADHD meds don't give you better grades.) Most kids who need medication, need it to help regulate themselves, stay in their seat, listen to the teacher, etc. Also, not sure what you mean by "behavioral specialist," but your kid should be seeing a developmental pediatrician to diagnose ADHD. Also, a good developmental pediatrician will not recommend change in diet in terms of gluten, dyes, or sugar. Those are myths and not based on solid, scientific evidence: "Most diets promoted for ADHD involve eliminating foods thought to increase hyperactivity, such as sugar, and common allergens such as wheat, milk and eggs. Some diets recommend avoiding artificial food colorings and additives. So far, studies haven't found a consistent link between diet and improved symptoms of ADHD, though some anecdotal evidence suggests diet changes might make a difference." http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/adhd/diagnosis-treatment/treatment/txc-20196197 |
Anonymous
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OP, if you're having lots of trouble at home (not so much at school), I'd consider seeking behavioral therapy. The Kennedy Krieger's outpatient clinic in Columbia, MD is great, but there are other places as well. Or a class like Dr. Shapiro's. You need more tools in your repertoire.
Also, I would not stress about trying to teach him numbers and letters at home. If he is already in preschool, they are most likely working on these things, and not all kids will know these things starting K. Kids need to run around, play, have quiet time. Focusing on this is obviously causing unnecessary conflict. |
Anonymous
Ok this confuses me. We are considering medication for our ADHD- inattentive daughter largely for her inability to focus in school and complete assignments on time. If the medication helps her focus then presumably she will be able to concentrate on what she is learning and her grades will improve. And anecdotally I have heard parents say that their child's grades shot up after starting medicine. |
Anonymous
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OP, my child was first diagnosed in K by a very thorough neuropsych. We knew he had anxiety and I was pretty much expecting the ADHD diagnosis, but no one else was, as his activity level was certainly within the normal range and he was very advanced academically. Later we started to see a wonderful developmental pediatrician as well. No one has ever pressured us in any way to put him on medication.
We work extremely hard to create a very structured environment for my son at home, making expectations very clear and consistent, making sure he gets tons of exercise, eats well, takes fish oil and vitamin D. My son got an IEP in first grade because of serious writing issues even though his grades (except in editing his own writing) were all very high. The IEP included a lot of organization/executive function type help and, as far as I can tell, was very solid. Anyway, where I am going with this is that children and their situation evolve. My son is very bright and academically oriented and could easily handle academics in early elementary years. Honestly, without excellent testing, we might have thought he was just a stubborn kid with poor fine motor skills. By the time second and third grade rolled around, despite being in advanced classes, his self-esteem really took a hit at school. Turns out he has Dysgraphia, too. The older he is the more obvious his attention issues are to me, to teachers, to anyone who knows him well. He can't get by on just smarts anymore. To me, the medication decision is about whether your child is 1) open to learning and able to learn 2) able to make and keep friends and 3) emotionally strong and happy/able to enjoy childhood. For us, as it seems for you, we could entirely manage the behavior part with other techniques. When, on an emotional level, our situation became insurmountable (child wouldn't leave the house, panic attacks, therapy wasn't working) we used anxiety medication and it was incredibly helpful--life-changing really. I wish we hadn't waited so long. We stopped after a while because son was in a much better place. We also ended up taking him out of public and it was a very good decision for us. At this point (child is 11), I am much more open to trying ADHD meds, though it is especially complicated for us to try a stimulant because he is so prone to anxiety. Basically, I see the effect of attention issues on school work (not reaching potential, very hard to sustain attention for any length of time on writing tasks) and extracurriculars but since he is still okay in all of these and, importantly, happy and has friends, I am in wait and see mode. |
Anonymous
Ok this confuses me. We are considering medication for our ADHD- inattentive daughter largely for her inability to focus in school and complete assignments on time. If the medication helps her focus then presumably she will be able to concentrate on what she is learning and her grades will improve. And anecdotally I have heard parents say that their child's grades shot up after starting medicine. |
Anonymous
Grades will improve-this person just has their own opinions about meds. And yes, a DP WILL try strategies within you and supplements and diet changes before recommending meds-there are a lot of things that resemble ADHD and not everyone reacts well to meds. We had Dr. chuck Conlon when my teen son was little (he has since retired0 who was considered "one of the best", and he had us try fish oil/magnesium, walking to school reselling books with the librarian, taking breaks, pro price-time props to use when needed in and out of the classroom, etc. Again, when they are little, meds are less necessary, but eventually, they will struggle to keep organized, turn things in, and focus/concentrate on the task at hand. Before that, it's more about behavior/social issues. While meds are not about your child doing well in school, they are about your child finding strategies that help his ADHD, and since school is a big part of his life, helping him navigate school and all it entails as he grows is one of those things it helps with. |
Anonymous
Do a little research. There is actually not a lot of support for ADHD drugs improving school performance in the long run on average. There may be some kids who respond well, but on average, the results are not miraculous. The latest research also supports trying behavioral approaches before meds. |
Anonymous
| When does your child turn 5? If you see symptoms but the school is not seeing behavior problems, is the school seeing in attention? Many kids who are about to start kindergarten are turning 6, and have an easier time focusing and learning letters than a child who is still 4. |
Anonymous
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A lot of young children have "serious" attention issues! They are not supposed to be able to sit still and focus at this age. This is why most doctors hesitate or even refuse to diagnose ADHD-inattentive until early elementary. These same doctors are often more willing to diagnose ADHD-hyperactive type if a child is doing things like jumping off furniture and endangering himself.
He is a rising kindergartener so I am worried about the academics but will that not adjust with time? Sometimes. You can't tell what will happen at this age. Most of the people are on this board because their child continued to have issues so you'll find a biased view. Is there craze to fix kids with medicine? Yes. There was a government report out saying something like this earlier this year. Why do parents do it? Is it just unbearable? Or are parents who medicate simply scared of falling behind academically in this area that is known for overachieving kids who play 6 sports, speak 7 languages and 5 instruments by the time they are 6 years old? I know parents a number of parents who did not in preschool but did it right before K because they wanted their child to keep up with the other kids in academics and did not think their child could be at "the top" without being medicated. They also worried their child might be labeled a behavioral issue without medication. They are medicating due to school pressure. If they had could afford to have their child in a less strict program in a private school instead of a public they told me they would not have medicated. |
Anonymous
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OP- start with behavior therapy and see how K goes. Your DS is pretty young for meds and there is time to make the decision down the road.
If it's clear that he is unable to learn well in K and 1st, then you have more to think about. My DS is going into 4th- we've resisted meds for a few years but it's becoming clear that he might need them to function in middle school. The organization and social expectations shoot up quickly starting in third- every year is much harder than the last. You also may need to understand your DS's strengths and weaknesses. My DS clearly has some EF challenges and social challenges that are additional (not caused by) ADHD. Meds, in our case, may help with some things and not others. |
Anonymous
Medication will definitely help with grades for the exact reasons you state. |
Anonymous
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DS has mild cerebral palsy (CP) and anxiety, so we were already seeing a neurologist for the CP and he had an IEP. We did not have an official ADHD diagnosis at the time. We had issues at home and school. The first thing out of the school's and his doc's mouth was to drug him. During an IEP meeting at school, the school’s psychologist and principal both told me that my son would not be a success without medication. Since certain meds have the opposite effect on DS, I chose not to medicate him. I didn’t want to change too much of him. He loved learning, he was bright, ate well, slept well, and was a good kid.
We worked hard, at home and at school. I removed non-naturally occurring dyes, cut sugar, bought more organic foods, cut down on processed foods, added more protein, removed his allergy meds (switched to a homeopathic allergy med/told his allergist and he didn’t believe that the allergy meds had any effect on his behavior, but we tested the idea and saw issues), added a good multivitamin (Smartypants), and added Tae Kwon Do. Along with these changes, his IEP incorporated things like allowing him more time to respond, reminders about focus and how to respond to situations, OT, PT, ST, break down of assignments, lunch bunch sessions (school psych eats lunch in her office with a small groups of kids and they work on behavior/social response in a fun way), more breaks, a scribe to catch up his writing, etc… Around May of that year, we had the final IEP meeting for Kindergarten. The principal spoke first. He said the following, “While I don’t like admitting that I’m wrong about anything, I have to admit that I was wrong about your son and the outcome of this school year.” His main teacher basically said the same thing. We had big improvements across the board. It was through our hard work, advocating for our son, and commitment that we had some success. I want to mention that I had many discussions with my son, explaining the impact of his behavior. He needed to start understanding what was going on and help with the solutions so that we could work on things as a team. We did eventually have the day long neuropsych test done at Children’s Hospital and they confirmed adhd at age 6.5. Their first suggestion was meds. The eval didn’t seem to account too much for DS’s CP, so that was a bit disappointing. The eval did look in depth at his executive functions and cognitive abilities. We will have a follow up eval later this summer to see what has changed. DS is 8.5 and I still feel the pressure to try meds. His biggest issues are planning, focus, and working memory. Certain homework can really be trying and stressful. We do it together and that helps. He says that sometimes his mind can be like a really busy city and that makes me worry how much busier it will get. I want him to have some say on if we try meds. The point to all of this (yes, I know it was a long read) is that trying a less invasive method first may provide you with enough help without using drugs. Do your research. Really try to understand all of your child. |
Anonymous
| Medication has helped my inattentive type kid get better grades because he is able to focus on the lessons and so he understands the material, thus getting better grades. |