Reply to Experience with putting a 4 yo on Ritalin?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Man this thread is terrible. I'm one of the pps with a 5 year old also starting meds. To all the posters - yes we have tried diet changes (and had alternative docs check allll the things, and levels - nothing), we've tried neurofeedback, we reduced school day length and # of days to GREATLY reduce amount of time in preschool (one of us adjusting our work schedule in a major way and the other reducing to part time to be able to do this). We have done all the parent training. Oh and our child goes to a tiny outdoor preschool that truly cannot be beat in terms of being an amazing environment from an OT, therapeutic environment for a kid with ADHD. It is what everyone on dcum would recommend you send a kid like mine to. Two therapists have visited the school and observed and reported the school to be wonderful, responsive, etc.

I am sharing all this to say - sometimes you can do all of these things and your kid still struggles. The op has tried THREE preschools! And everyone is still posting that is the issue. The posters who are parents with a child with ADHD, it is surprising to me that you don't have empathy that others situation could be different. Your child may have been helped by a small church preschool, or diet changes, or were able to wait because it was just causing disruption and not a safety issue. Instead of looking down on another parent, have a little empathy and gratefulness that you aren't in their shoes. It is a rare parent that jumps to meds, for most of us it is a pained decision at this age and done after exhausting options.

No professional we've talked with, child psychiatrist, multiple psychologists has expressed any concerns at considering this as a next step. They have encouraged it. In fact, keeping medication from your child when they are struggling can be harmful as well, according to multiple people we've talked with. I've worked in this field and most parents honestly wait too long to medicate, not the other way around. you have to also consider your child's sense of self that is developing every single day that they struggle.

It is really unfortunate that a forum like this would be so unsupportive of parents following the next step recommended by professionals. I'm sorry you experienced this op. [/quote]

No, you’re projecting and getting upset that those of us who were in the same situations haven’t told you it worked. We started at 4. It did not work for us. It’s very hard for the child to tell you how they feel especially if they are delayed, and to get the meds right at that age. Others may have had done success. But don’t go into it expecting a miracle. Meds are their own issue. Look, you’ve got a kid like this, especially if they have a low iq, you don’t have many tools and meds are an important one. You need to do them in combo with therapy. But and it’s a big but. You’ve got a complicated kid with enough issues to need meds at 4, more is going on, and it’s going to be a rough road. I have no doubt you need them, I just doubt that they will be the solution you’re hoping for. They’ll be a part of it, but maybe not an effective one, at some point: [/quote]

I'm sorry it has been so hard. There were incredibly few people saying "We tried it at 4 and it didn't work for us" - the vast majority of comments were folks just saying "I wouldn't do it" and assuming op hasn't tried enough other things. That is what my post is responding to. The hard thing about dcum is there is so much we don't know about each other and so many assumptions made. I probably assumed a wrong tone to some of the posts because I, as I think anyone can imagine, hate being in the position to make this call. It all sucks and I do think people could approach things on this board with more empathy since theoretically we understand how hard it is. I 100% was defensive because I'm in the thick of it right now and I felt bad for op who has likely tried a lot too before coming here with that question.

to the point of 'we know little and are making assumptions about each other', myself included - we don't personally have the IQ and developmental delays, and that sounds very hard as well, and I don't have my head in the sand as you might think - we've actually already tried one med that wasn't a good fit so believe me I'm well aware we have a long road ahead. There are usually very few magic bullets, but in my experience in the field sometimes you can find the right thing to take the edge off that then makes therapy more effective.

Considering meds is not ridiculous which is the tenor here. Most are just questioning op saying she didn't give enough info to "make her case". I think that isn't cool, personally.[/quote]

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