Does anyone have an ADHD child and medicated late, in middle school, what doctor did you see?

[Anonymous]

I have a very smart kid and he's in the advanced program in fairfax county. He did fantastic all through elementary. He has adhd primarily inattentive. He was diagnosed in kindergarten, but his teachers have always managed it. He doesn't have an iep or a 504 since he never really needed it, but in reality, his teachers did offer him certain accommodations, like sitting him close to their desks/front of class, constant reminder, helping him write thing on his agenda, reminding him to take certain material home for tests, etc. One teacher even gave me extra time on a math tests because he seemed so distracted during the test. So all those are accommodations, but not through a 504, but through amazing teachers. This year he is having a very hard time with keeping track of everything he needs. He forgets EVERYTHING. I make his read his google classroom every day after school, but even then he misses tests/assignments. Not because he doesn't want to do well, but because he just can't remember all the things he has to do and becomes overwhelmed when he has too many things to do. I now wish I had put him in regular classes, but I can't, he is at a center, and all his friends since kinder are there. I would crush him if I change his school. I'm thinking of having him reevaluated, but my uncle who is child psychologist is very wary, since the adhd diagnosis is primarily inattentive. He tells me that it takes much longer for doctors to find the right dosage (much lower than other adhd types) and that can cause a lot of problems (sleep, depression) while things are been tried out. I want to make sure I go to the best, but I'm nor sure who is the best in the area. We live in Fairfax and my son was diagnosed at Children's.

[Anonymous]

OP here, sorry about any typos I'm typing from my phone.

[Anonymous]

What grade? You are at the right school because that is the level this right for him. What you need, since the dx was so long ago, is to go to a doctor and get the diagnosis paperwork again. It took time to find the right meds for my ods, but not that long once we were working with a good doctor who specializes in ADHD. Don't be afraid to change up the meds or change the dose until it is working exactly as you need. If it is not good enough, then go back and tweak it. What took us awhile is that we moved during that process and we also thought what ds was getting was "good enough" when it wasn't.
My ds is also inattentive type ADHD. He is in 8th grade now and takes two meds, Focalin XR in the morning and Adderall after school to help with homework.

My yds has now been dxed and we started meds now, instead of trying to wait with ods.

WHAT YOU REALLY NEED is a recent copy of the diagnosis paperwork and to request a 504 meeting and get your child a 504. He needs those accommodations.

My ds is like yours - very bright, tested in to the GATE program, etc (we are not in the DMV) and he MUST have the 504 accommodations. He needs extra time for homework and tests (and mostly this is so that if he forgets something he can turn it in late), preferential seating, to be able to type any work... these are the big ones.

You don't say what grade your child is in. My child was doing fine in school but he missed out on learning all the executive function skills that he should have been learning. It is only now that he is on the medications that he is making progress.

Our goal (because we started this medication in middle school) is to get him where he has it together before high school. I think he is going to make it. We regret not starting the meds sooner and we have started his younger brother on meds now at age 10.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

While it can take time to find the right dose, your ds can articulate if he is able to focus in class. You need to listen to your child. My ds knew that his medication was wearing off mid morning (when the dose he was on was too low). We didn't ask him the right questions, but once we did, he KNEW the medication was wearing off and we were able to increase the dose.
Also, grades will be an indication. My ds's grades before we got the medication regimen he is on now were A+ in some classes and Ds in the other classes, because he had so much missing work!

Untreated ADHD is correlated with depression and self medicating. I would at the very least, get your child a 504 for the accommodations. He has a medical diagnosis and needs these things the same way a child in a wheelchair needs a wheel chair ramp.

[Anonymous]

My son's diagnosis was primarily inattentive although I thought he was more hyperactive. It doesn't really matter. He started on meds in 3rd grade and has taken the same pill that he started on- Vyvanse. The only difference is the dosage as he has grown. Yes, it does impact appetite but he is small for his age anyway due to genetics (sorry buddy!). No sleep issues now that he is in middle school and is growing so much. I would imagine my son would've been depressed without the meds. He already felt like he was "bad" way back in 2nd grade. Years of behavior charts and trips to the office will make you feel like a real loser. I knew it was time for meds when he came home crying saying that he didn't want to be bad anymore.

[Anonymous]

PP again. On the meds, he doesn't need accommodations since he can actually focus and pay attention. My son still sometimes misses assignments but he goes to a challenging private school and one or two of his teachers gives TONS of work.

[Anonymous]

In ninth grade I took my daughter to a psychiatrist-- got the diagnosis. (It was soooo obviously ADHD/primarily inattentive.) Then went to the ped and worked with the ped on meds/dosing. She is on a fairly low dose of adderall and minimal tweaking was necessary. Now 18 months later, we will probably need to tweak again.

She does not have a big appetite on meds and sleep can sometimes not be as good during the week, but overall, it works out. (She rarely takes the meds on weekends.)

She is doing soooo much better.

[Anonymous]

No offense to your uncle, but I think he’s giving bad advice. I had a very similar kid - diagnosed with inattentive in elementary, didn’t medicate until high school when things started really falling apart. We went to a psychiatrist who has continued to manage the meds. She felt relief immediately. We did switch up the meds some, finding one that wore off more smoothly and lasted through the afternoon and tweaked the dosage. It was amazingly helpful for her in school and her self esteem was taking a huge hit, so that turned around as well.

Don’t let your fear of meds keep you from helping your son. Go to a psychiatrist who can explain them well and has a lot of experience with them.

[Anonymous]

Agree - bad advice from uncle. For us it was my parents, who saw him focused (when he wanted to be/was interested), that they said to never let anyone medicate him.

In MS, 2 teachers mentioned having him see a doctor. At the time I questioned this, thinking they weren't allowed to mention that. I started with the pediatrician, who said it would be very unusual for a 13 year old to be diagnosed (usually much earlier). He gave me the Vanderbilt screening tool to give to all his teachers, plus my husband and myself (to do independently), and we turned those back to him. He used that to diagnose and to medicate.

We were lucky, while the philosophy to medicate right away might not have been conservative, the way he did it was. He started on a very low dose of a medication, which was upped by 10 mg every 3 or 4 weeks, until we hit the right dose. Every 6 months he goes in for a height and weight check, and he talks to our child about how he's feeling, is it working, side effects, Etc. When we saw another doctor in the practice (for a weekend/sick visit), that doctor commented on the low dosage our child was on. We are at all happy with that, as the low dose works for our child. What a game changer!

[Anonymous]

NP here with the exact same situation except that my ds is now in 8th grade and I so wish we had gotten on top of this in sixth grade, so do not let yourself be distracted from the goal which for me is helping my child succeed in school/life and maintaining a good relationshio with him throughout (my constant nagging of him to remember this or that does a number on our relationship). We started DS on meds in September and it has not been a success so far - have have tried a variety of medications, always starting at the lowest dose and working our way up, and have had no noticeably (to DS or me) positive results, although at some point in the increased dosing the side effects have become bad enough that we move him to try a new medication. I am trying to be patient and realize the s is a long haul, so I just offer you words of commisseration and to not give up.

[Anonymous]

We went to the Stickstrud practice. I was against medication but we tried it (in HS) and it made a big difference and really helped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went to the Stickstrud practice. I was against medication but we tried it (in HS) and it made a big difference and really helped.

Did someone at Stixrud prescribe the medication?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to the Stickstrud practice. I was against medication but we tried it (in HS) and it made a big difference and really helped.

Did someone at Stixrud prescribe the medication?

NP, but we went there also for neuropsych testing. They don't prescribe medication.

[Anonymous]

If you have a diagnosis from a place like stixrud, will a regular pediatrician prescribe meds?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have a diagnosis from a place like stixrud, will a regular pediatrician prescribe meds?

If your ped is comfortable prescribing them, yes. My ds's ped now does prescribe them and is super knowledgeable about them, she has a focus in ADHD. Old ped did not prescribe and preferred neuro did it. You want someone to prescribe who has a lot of experience with ADHD meds and dosages.