Reply to how soon after starting your elementary-aged child on ADHD meds

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]did you see a positive change?

School is pushing us to do this after receiving neuropsych evaluation, but am reluctant to medicate DC. We have just started therapy and some other interventions and would like to move slowly. I also understand it can take some tweaking to get the right med and the right dose. OTOH, want DC to finish the few months of the school year behaving better and learning better.

If you started a child on AHDH meds in or between K and 4th grades, what changes did you see and how soon?[/quote]

Hold off on meds.  Schools push meds hard because it makes their lives easier, not because they care about your kid.

We faced heavy pressure to medicate from K onwards and chose not to. Instead we worked hard every day with DS on compensating methods.  He is now in a big three private HS doing really well.

We consider not medicating him but getting the ideal outcome (top academic and sports success) while having to compete with everyone else's drugged out zombie children to be one of our greatest parenting successes.  Those poor medicated kids will have a lifetime of pharmaceutical issues to manage. [/quote]

I just posted about mild add and dyslexia.  You described our methodology.  Especially in mild instances with younger children, using medication before implementing other strategies seems reckless.  We were told that it's pretty likely our DC may outgrow the ADD and dyslexia in a year.  We want to teach or child how to cope and work through emotions without medication.  All that being said, I firmly believe that there are instances where medication is necessary and I do not judge anyone for making that choice for their child.  Only you know what's best for your won child.  [/quote]

I realize ADD symptoms do get better with age for many people - there is a theory now that ADHD is a slow maturing of some brain centers. However, dyslexia is different - it is a difference in brain structure such that the pathway most people use to read doesn't exist in dyslexic brains. Dyslexics need to construct new pathways to read - sort of like the difference between getting on a highway (non dyslexics) and walking through the woods (dyslexics). That will never change. You are either dyslexic or not. I am dyslexic, as is my kid. I am also a speed reader and write for a living. But my brain structure is still dyslexic, and I still struggle with some of the same old challenges, like spelling and working memory. So please, if your kid is dyslexic, realize that he WILL make progress, but the good and the bad of dyslexia are part of his make up. You might read The Dyslexic Advantage if you want him to feel good about his brain and what it means for his future. [/quote]

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