Reply to Experience with putting a 4 yo on Ritalin?

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Reply to "Experience with putting a 4 yo on Ritalin?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Have you first tried no additive, dye free, high protein diet with lots of omega 3s, low/no sugar and minimal processed food, plus checked iron, ferritin, zinc, magnesium levels?
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Different poster (not OP).  It was hard enough to get my seriously emotionally dysregulated kid to sit down and eat anything, let alone a super-restrictive diet.  This is just unrealistic!  OP, try the meds--ignore the naysayers.  These are the same people who dismiss the need for anti-depressants, counseling just muscling it through depression with "clean eating" and willpower.  They are delusional and not worth your time.[/quote]

Or, we have kids with ADHD too.  And we have experience and opinions.  There's a reason OP hasn't heard from anyone who successfully medicated their 4 year old.  It's just too young. [/quote]

"4 is just too young" What are you basing this on? It sounds like on your feelings and not on the research. And your statements could be really harmful. The recommendations for treating ADHD in children under 6 is actually very clear by the AAP to include medication if behavioral therapy does not provide enough relief. In under 6, the recommendation is therapy first for 10 weeks (most try it for much, much longer) and then:

"Methylphenidate may be considered if these behavioral interventions do not provide significant improvement and there is moderate-to-severe continued disturbance in the 4- through 5-year-old child’s functioning. In areas in which evidence-based behavioral treatments are not available, the clinician needs to weigh the risks of starting medication before the age of 6 years against the harm of delaying treatment. "

Also from the AAP clinical guidelines:

"A number of special circumstances support the recommendation to initiate PTBM as the first treatment of preschool-aged children (age 4 years to the sixth birthday) with ADHD.25,83  Although it was limited to children who had moderate-to-severe dysfunction, the largest multisite study of methylphenidate use in preschool-aged children revealed symptom improvements after PTBM alone.83  The overall evidence for PTBM among preschoolers is strong."

OP - it seems like you are already doing this but do not listen to uninformed parents whose children were not in the same situation as yours and do not actually understand the clinical guidelines. The professionals you are working with actually know the AAP guidelines which specifically note to weight the harm caused in waiting. Good luck!! 
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