NP with 11 year old DS with ADHD and anxiety. We have treated the ADHD fairly successfully (low dose of a stimulant together with Intuniv). The anxiety is a much bigger issue. He had anxiety before his ADHD dx at 6 years old and we've done some therapy interspersed with anti-anxiety medication. Even low doses of the anti-anxiety meds (he's tried 2 different ones) caused a certain amount of disinhibition and had to be stopped after a couple of months. The anxiety comes and goes and manifests itself in different ways. Treating the ADHD has had its own benefits (better focus at school) and we don't think that the medication has appreciably worsened the anxiety - he's been on the same dose for some time and the anxiety just seems to increase/decrease without connection to the medication. Good luck, OP!

I'm the PP at 13:13 above, the one with the 13.5 yo. The two books that changed our lives are by Ross Greene: THE EXPLOSIVE CHILD and LOST AT SCHOOL. His method puts stress on collaborative problem solving, and finding the lagging skills/areas of frustration that often lead to anxiety/acting out.

My son has severe generalized anxiety and severe adhd. We started treating the anxiety at age 4 with weekly therapy (as well as diet, exercise, OT, meditation, etc.). We tried it all. The anxiety got much better for a couple of years, then worse than ever--he became unable to separate from me and would have panic attacks about leaving the house, going to school, a playdate, anything--at which point he started to take a low dose of Prozac (he was 6). The Prozac was life changing. He still continued to exhibit anxiety but no longer in a paralyzing way.

When he was about 7, on the advice of several professionals, we decided to try a stimulant to treat the ADHD. We had hoped that lowering our son's anxiety would help with the attention issues, but it didn't work out that way at all for us. As he gets older, and life gets more complicated and taxing, the attention challenges are more and more obvious. So he was put on an extremely low dose of ritalin, much less than a therapeutic level, with the goal of working our way up to the lowest therapeutic dose. When we reached about half of that lowest dose, he had the worst panic attack of his life--something we hadn't seen since before the anxiety meds. I stopped the stimulant immediately and decided it just isn't in the cards for him--at least not at this point. It is really tough. He is so incredibly bright, tests gifted, and yet struggles so much to regulate his attention.

This is a tough profile, but you really don't know how it will work out until you give it a try. I don't regret any of the decisions we made--they were all researched and considered for a long time. I know some people have great success using a combination of meds, but it is complicated and a difficult process.

Anonymous wrote:
As for the how, we've pursued CBT, aiming to help our kid work on emotion regulation. It's going to be a long road, with slow going and lots of backward steps, but we can see how having solid routines and strategies for deescalating emotions is extraordinarily helpful to all.

Can you share your strategies for deescalating emotions, or suggest books, etc., that have worked for your child?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. And how is the anxiety generally treated in a 6 year old?

What is going on in this poor child's life that is causing such a level of anxiety that you feel a need to seek "treatment?"

One more vote for this unhelpful person to go away. If you don't understand what special needs are, you don't have anything to contribute here.

We are using Zoloft to treat anxiety for our 6 year old. Psych said she wouldn't even diagnose ADHD until we got the anxiety under control because the symptoms are so similar. Our kid may have both, but maybe not. Time will tell.

I have an older (now thirteen and a half year old) kid with a similar profile, and I will echo the recommendation to work on the anxiety before treating ADHD with meds. We made the mistake of treating the ADHD with stimulant meds first, and we did get a major upswing in anxiety, with episodes of very problematic behavior at home and at school. We stopped the meds and changed our strategy, aiming to work on anxiety first.

As for the how, we've pursued CBT, aiming to help our kid work on emotion regulation. It's going to be a long road, with slow going and lots of backward steps, but we can see how having solid routines and strategies for deescalating emotions is extraordinarily helpful to all.

And FWIW, my kiddo exhibited anxiety at least from the age of 6 if not before.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. And how is the anxiety generally treated in a 6 year old?

What is going on in this poor child's life that is causing such a level of anxiety that you feel a need to seek "treatment?"

What is going on in your poor life (or rather NOT going on) that you feel the need to come to this forum and offer your pearls of wisdom?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. And how is the anxiety generally treated in a 6 year old?

What is going on in this poor child's life that is causing such a level of anxiety that you feel a need to seek "treatment?"

Go away from the SN forum. Anxiety can manifest itself in children as young as 6.

OP, please talk to the psychiatrist or developmental pediatrician. Often in adults anxiety or depression is treated first, then meds for ADHD if necessary.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. And how is the anxiety generally treated in a 6 year old?

What is going on in this poor child's life that is causing such a level of anxiety that you feel a need to seek "treatment?"

Thank you. And how is the anxiety generally treated in a 6 year old?

Same PP. Meant to add that the standard treatment protocol is that where anxiety is suspected to be causing inattention (very common) the anxiety be treated first before deciding if an ADHD medication is appropriate.

^ ADHD med -- excuse the typo.

Mental health professional here. It's generally known that certain ADHD meds, which are stimulants, can worsen anxiety. Adderall is especially prone to cause this. A psychiatrist can adjust medication by changing dosages, adding an SSRI such as Zoloft or Lexapro, or switching to a less potent ADHA med less likely to cause increased anxiety (e.g., Strattera or Vyvanse). Talk to a pediatic psychiatrist.

My son has HFA with co-morbid ADHD. I have ADD and tried meds once. They made me very anxious. Has any child you know experienced. Ranxiety from ADHD meds? If so what was done. My son is very anxious and I wish we could treat his anxiety first. It may be that when his anxiety is under control, he'll be better able to attend. I don't know how anxiety is treated in a 6 year old. Please share. Thanks.