Anonymous
Post 05/27/2014 05:59     Subject: Re:ADHD medication for 5 year old
hi. 5 year old on ritalin. he was suspected adhd from the age of 2, and with extensive intervention for 3 years (specialists etc) finally did the meds. It was tearing my little family apart. My 5 year old has significant development delay also. The severe adhd has meant that he couldn't sit still, focus, was an escape artist, dangerous stuff, couldn't leave him unsupervised for ANY amount of time, and had meltdown after meltdown. we were housebound from the age of 2 till 5. going out was a nightmare and i always had to leave after 2/3 minutes. He is in special school Prep class and the meds have helped, however it does need to be stepped up to the next level as he still can't focus and behaviours are still prominent. his teacher is struggling so having a meeting with her and his developmental pedi and myself to go from here. However, the meltdowns have slowed down so much and I can interact with him so much more. it is awesome!! sleep has never been an issue and still isn't. he has lost 40grams in the past 4 months of using ritalin....he was a food gorger previously though and now eats when he is hungry (3 meals a day plus a couple of snacks). before i had to lock the fridge and cupboards. but haven't had to do that since starting meds. he will ask for something to eat when he is hungry now which is awesome.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2014 12:30     Subject: ADHD medication for 5 year old
Anonymous wrote:Did anyone start medication for their child when they were 5? My son seems to have severe ADHD as well as developmental delays. Just curious what changes they saw after medication was started and what medication they took?


We started at age 6 when the ADHD symptoms became more apparent. I didn't want to put him on medication unless I had to. When he started wandering out of his chair, frequently falling off of his chair, didn't know how he got from point A to point B, would frequently get lost in his own world, couldn't pay attention to classroom lessons and instructions, could not follow a train of thought, paced as he talked, we decided to medicate. He went through a battery of tests from a child psychologist that determined he did, in fact, have ADHD. He's been on Adderall 10mg XL for a few weeks and we have seen a VAST improvement. He's able to sit in his chair, no more wandering, able to focus and listen, and complete his classwork. He's still the same child, he talks a lot but can stay on the subject he's talking about, very creative, but he has much better control of himself and less impulsive.
Anonymous
Post 03/06/2014 11:30     Subject: ADHD medication for 5 year old
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am not 23:08, although I could be -- our experiences sound very similar. We started Tenex when he was just over 4, and after the NIH study started stimulants (at that point he had just turned 6). He's a tiny guy, but if he were bigger, we would have tried stimulants sooner.

For us, "could not function in the classroom" means that on day 2 of kindergarten (with an IEP in place) we were asked to change from a mainstreamed classroom with supports to a special ed classroom for kids with emotional disabilities. That even in the special ed class (with wonderful teachers who understand this kind of disability), he was routinely sent to the support room for misbehaving (including running away, hitting, throwing things, pulling the fire alarm). When you aren't in class, you can't learn. If you can't learn, you don't have much of a future. Stimulants have given him back that future. He's happy. He's proud of his accomplishments. The quarter he started meds he came home with a pile of awards for "most improved". He's able to participate in extra curricular activities. He still has support room visits, but they are much less frequent.


is he mainstreamed now?


No, he is not mainstreamed. Meds help a ton, but they aren't a "cure" and he still needs the supports he gets through his special ed classroom.
Anonymous
Post 03/05/2014 21:01     Subject: ADHD medication for 5 year old
Anonymous wrote:I am not 23:08, although I could be -- our experiences sound very similar. We started Tenex when he was just over 4, and after the NIH study started stimulants (at that point he had just turned 6). He's a tiny guy, but if he were bigger, we would have tried stimulants sooner.

For us, "could not function in the classroom" means that on day 2 of kindergarten (with an IEP in place) we were asked to change from a mainstreamed classroom with supports to a special ed classroom for kids with emotional disabilities. That even in the special ed class (with wonderful teachers who understand this kind of disability), he was routinely sent to the support room for misbehaving (including running away, hitting, throwing things, pulling the fire alarm). When you aren't in class, you can't learn. If you can't learn, you don't have much of a future. Stimulants have given him back that future. He's happy. He's proud of his accomplishments. The quarter he started meds he came home with a pile of awards for "most improved". He's able to participate in extra curricular activities. He still has support room visits, but they are much less frequent.


is he mainstreamed now?
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 09:07     Subject: ADHD medication for 5 year old
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is there an ADHD medication for young boys that doesn't affect weight and sleep? DS is already (with no meds) such a poor eater that it may be affecting his growth, according to our endocrinologist. He has always been a poor sleeper.


There are non-stimulant ADHD medications that don't typically have an impact on sleep/appetite. Also, stimulants don't always negatively impact sleep and appetite. It's not an uncommon side effect but it's universal.

The thing about ADHD medications is that you can't predict how a person will be affected by them. Even if one family member does well/poorly with one class, there's no greater likelihood that others in the family will - and it can change over time. It's why you need to work with a professional skilled in treating ADHD and medication use must be monitored.

My older DS started on Focalin, lost too much weight and develop a tic. He switched to Intuniv (non-stimulant) for a couple years but when it became ineffective went back to Focalin. He's on the same dose as his younger brother who weighs 25 lbs less - it's just more than half what's considered a therapeutic dose for his size. But, it's far more effective this time around, the tic hasn't re-emerged and his weight loss hasn't been significant. It is harder for him to sleep but manageable. By comparison, we've seen absolutely no negative side effects in his younger brother - no decrease in appetite and no sleep issues.


Thank you! It's good to know that sleep and weight aren't always affected and medication may be an option.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2013 00:30     Subject: ADHD medication for 5 year old
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:How does sleep deprivation affect ADD behavior?


From http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-michael-j-breus/adhd-sleep-disorders_b_3193570.html:

"These behaviors associated with ADHD interfere with a child's social and intellectual development, causing problems with relationships with peers and adults, at school and at home. But what if ADHD isn't always the underlying cause of these symptoms? Signs of poor quality and insufficient sleep in children can look remarkably like symptoms of ADHD, as a number of recent studies show. There's particularly strong evidence that children with sleep-disordered breathing exhibit many of the same symptoms -- and suffer many of the same behavioral problems -- as children who've been diagnosed with ADHD."

This seems like common sense to me. Why not address the lack of adequate sleep before jumping into the meds?


Also, it may not just be a matter of getting enough sleep but the quality of sleep.

This.

TV does interfere with sleep quality, not just for children, but for adults to.
Anonymous
Post 12/21/2013 10:09     Subject: ADHD medication for 5 year old
This seems like common sense to me. Why not address the lack of adequate sleep before jumping into the meds?

Can't speak for everyone else, but we DID address sleep first. Why are you assuming that people don't?


Our kids don't have sleep issues and never did. As PP asked, why would you assume people on this board haven't addressed them already? Sleep is one of the first topics discussed when meeting with care providers.