Reply to Experience with putting a 4 yo on Ritalin?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What factors made the doctors make this recommendation? [/quote]

Op here. The ADHD diagnosis for one. Problems in school. Problems with attention. Problems with regulation. Problems with gaining new skills due to the severity of inattention and large amount of time spent in a state of disregulation. Problems at home with behavior. [/quote]

Hi OP, if you still look here, how are things going?

My child is almost five. We’ve tried therapies and are in the process of trying more, but I think we may ultimately need to medicate for our child to function well enough for all of the above. Curious how it went for your son.[/quote]

Hi pp, I’m not the op but we were in your exact same position at this exact age and started Ritalin at newly 5 after trying many things for the two year prior. For us, it has been 100% the right decision. It helped my son have a mostly positive finish to preschool and it gives him the support he needs to actually try to use the coping skills etc. His teachers described him as happier, calmer, enjoying time with friends more, just all around significant difference in having positive days. And for us, he remained himself - still his crazy unique silly self.

Side effects have been the typical - he isn’t very hungry at lunch time. We try to just do a big afternoon snack and it has seemed fine so far. He had some trouble falling asleep and we eventually had to use melatonin to help that though he seems to have adjusted to the medication more now and we only need to use it as needed if he gets really wound up. All of these things have felt very worth it for the improved days. I wanted to protect his sense of self as much as we could, and medication has helped his days not be constant redirection (and significantly lowered difficulties with aggression). I personally think the side effects of feeling out of control and getting in trouble all the time are significant as well and should be considered when comparing with the side effects of the meds.

Good luck, it is so hard to make these decisions but I was comforted that these medications are out of your system quickly so they are easy to try and stop if needed. Not a lot to lose. Sometimes it can take a couple to find the right one. [/quote]

PP here. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I’m glad that things are going better with your son. Watching them struggle, be constantly redirected, or in trouble for aggression is so hard. Despite therapy the behaviors have only gotten worse over time. [/quote]

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