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ADHD
Nov 30, 2004 22:05:25 GMT -5
Post by Claire on Nov 30, 2004 22:05:25 GMT -5
Just needed to know if any of your children were diagnosed with ADHD, and how the testing was done. We are having so many unusual behavior problems with Adam this year it is overwhelming. It goes to being a little brat to an angel in 30 seconds. Also I have never see him so hyper in my life. He escapes from the classroom and runs as fast as he can with the EA after him and laughes his little head off. He thinks everything is funny. We do watch very carefully what he eats,(like sugar and stuff like that) but it is getting uncontrollable at school especially where there is more activities around him. It is like he is trying to have a power battle on behavior with everyone. His poor EA is so stressed out. He gets 100% EA at school. We are having another IPRC with all involved and a Crisis Behavior Team. I was just wondering about if any of your kids are on Ritalin and if it worked. My doctor suggested it and left it up to us to decide. My oldest son now 23 used Ritalin about 15 years ago and it made him a zombie during the day and not sleeping at night. Just wondering maybe they have a new kind of drug out there for kids with ADHD. We figure if we can only get him to concentrate on the for only 2 minutes and listen then it may be easier to help with the behavior. Until the behavior problems is settle it will be hard for him to learn anything. Any advice is welcome. Thanks Claire
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ADHD
Dec 1, 2004 15:49:19 GMT -5
Post by Ashlea on Dec 1, 2004 15:49:19 GMT -5
That sounds EXACTLY like my Chandler (age 6). We started having bad behavior issues about a year ago. He would run away, yell out, kick, hit, spit, etc. It got so bad that he was removed from his inclusion classroom every day and the other children did not even want to play with him on the play ground because he always was in trouble. His teachers were calling me at work and I was absoultely in tears. He started taking Ritalin right after Christmas last year. At first we only saw a small improvement. The dr. suggested adding a second medication for his "impulsiveness". Right now he takes 1 Ritalin XL (extended release) and 1/2 of Clonidine every morning and then 1/2 Clonidine again at school right after lunch. The combination of the 2 medications has been an absolute life saver. He is repeating K-5 this year and is doing much better. He never had the "zombie" like state, but I do notice he is so calm which took me a while to get used to.
By the time I get to the YMCA (after-school care) at 5:30, his medication is wearing off though which makes homework a bit of a task. He doesn't seem to have sleeping problems related to the medication although the dr. did say we could give him Melatonin at night if he was having trouble winding down.
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ADHD
Dec 1, 2004 17:07:12 GMT -5
Post by Ericsmomma on Dec 1, 2004 17:07:12 GMT -5
Claire,
there are some new drugs out now for ADHD... Ritalin is the most recognizable. There is also Strattera, (which is not a controlled substance), Concerta, Adderol, (which they use alot along with adhd drugs). I would definetely talk to your doc about which drug would be best for your little guy. We have so many kids on these meds in our practice. Adhd seems more frequent in boys, although we have some female patients with ADHD also. There is alot of information available on these meds...and docs usually have all the up to date research... I'd ask for ALL the info you can get. Good Luck.....Dolly
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ADHD
Dec 1, 2004 17:13:36 GMT -5
Post by momofrussell on Dec 1, 2004 17:13:36 GMT -5
I know when we had Russell looked at for Autism, we went to a Ped Nuero who specialized in it. So if you DO go to the doc, try and find someone that really knows there stuff. AND... knows the DS/ADHD stuff good too. Maybe there is a Ped Neuro in your area that could help you? Or a good Psychiatrist?
Good luck!!!!
A.
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ADHD
Dec 8, 2004 3:32:55 GMT -5
Post by Meriem on Dec 8, 2004 3:32:55 GMT -5
Hi there, I'd just like to add that these treatments have to be very carefully considered as they're just paliating the problem. The problem is always there as you have noticed the drugs do wera off... There is litterature out there for "Ritalin free" children that are workth looking at before jumping on this quick fix...for life! and we still don't know for sure the long-term side effects. In my experience diet was a major factor in improvement of ADHD: look at dairy and gluten free diets and don'tforget the EFAs! I'm personally very happy with my homeopath who with the help of the individually indicated remedies made such a difference to my daughter Leila (now 15 and still in main stream school)
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ADHD
Dec 8, 2004 12:43:34 GMT -5
Post by Chris on Dec 8, 2004 12:43:34 GMT -5
My 14 year old daughter (typical) was diagnosed with ADHD when she was 6. We did try changing her diet, increasing her physical activity level, creating a more structured environment. None of these changes had any effect on her neurological disorder (ADHD). I suspect that children who respond well to changes in diet may have a food allergy, not ADHD. Children who respond well to increased physical activity probably needed to release excess energy. Children who respond well to more structure probably needed more discipline/structure. These children probably did not have a neurological disorder.
There was a huge change in my daughter's ability to focus the very first time she took Ritalin. I believe that she needed this drug just like a diabetic needs insulin. I do not feel that I have abused my child by giving her a drug for a neurological disorder. I believe that Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta have allowed my daughter to succeed in school. We have tried not giving her meds and she suffered greatly in school.
My daughter had more side effects from Ritalin and Adderall than she does from Concerta. She doesn't have much of an appetite at lunch time with all three meds but it isn't as bad with Concerta. Ritalin and Adderall made it difficult for her to sleep but probably not much more difficult than when she has no meds.
There is 40 years worth of data on the effects of taking stimulant drugs to treat ADD/ADHD. So far, in forty years, there have been no long term side effects other than stunting a person's growth by 1/4 to 1/2 inch. My daughter is 5' 9 1/2". I am not concerned about her growth.
These drugs have helped my daughter function more like a typical child. She also has a learning disability (which is very common in children with ADHD). She has learned strategies to help her do well in school. She has worked very hard and had some wonderful teachers. Her latest report card was her best, all A's and one B+! ;D I am so proud of her. She has to work so much harder than her classmates to do well. This kid just never gives up.
I am not advocating meds for all children who may have ADD/ADHD but if nothing else seems to help, I wouldn't hesitate to try a stimulant medication.
Chris
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ADHD
Dec 11, 2004 18:31:58 GMT -5
Post by rickismom on Dec 11, 2004 18:31:58 GMT -5
Ricki was always a bit on the hyper side, but at about age 7 it got wrse. We tried Ritalin, but probably too small a dose, and dropped it. At age eight, we tried again and it was a lifesaver. At the same time I noticed that SLEEP was also a factor in her misbehavior. Now she is on Concerta, which is a special well-controlled slow release form of Ritalin. It does not affect her sleep, and it is still working at homework time (lasts 12 hours). I view it as a needed medicine, like any other needed medicine. If she DOESN'T take it (if I forget) it is OBVIOUS. However, since she "learned" how to misbehave, act sassily, avoid homework, etc., the Concerta is NOT a magic cure-all. She also needs behavior modification quite often (she can be SO trickey with the things SHE wants...), but she is getting MUCH better. The concertta at least keeps her calm enough that we have someone to work with. And she is definately less distractible in school. But if you see that your child is purposely misbehaving, don't wait for an ADHD dianosis--in ANY case, you will probably need to habituate her to newer, better behavior (ie., use behavior modification)-- and the sooner, the better. GOOD LUCK PS- I final, official diagnosis we got just a few monthes ago. A neuralogist with experience with special kids in normal classroom settings evaluated her. She collected data through questionaires from us and from the teacher. She also ran a test involving Ricki, where she had to push a button whenever she saw a square on the bottom of a computer screen, and NOT push when it was on the top.
Ussually doctors make the diagnosis on behavior, looking for: - inability to conentrate -restlessness -inability to control urges (impulsiveness) -hyperactive behavior A good response to Ritalin confirms the diagnosis in many cases.
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ADHD
Dec 12, 2004 23:05:44 GMT -5
Post by Claire on Dec 12, 2004 23:05:44 GMT -5
As it stands now we can't get an appointment with Adam's doctor until the end of January. A friend told me she had tried Flaxseed oil and it gave her son more concentration and it is a natural product. Right now I have been trying it for 3 days and of course no changes but we will give it some time. Flaxseed oil is suppose to help with concentration and relaxation. I looked it up on preventive medicine on the net. I just fry his eggs in it or add a few drops to his juice and he doesn't even notice it. It would be great if it worked but the way Adam has been behaving lately I think both me and my Husband and his EA need a full bottle of Flaxseed oil a day. ;D
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ADHD
Dec 13, 2004 12:37:54 GMT -5
Post by Kristen on Dec 13, 2004 12:37:54 GMT -5
I don't have experience in this area, but I am glad to see you are looking into a holistic as well as medical treatment. I am not a huge crunchy granola type, but I think that balance is something everyone needs in life and to look at everything as having possible marits is a smart thing to do. I have Carter on a high antioxidant diet which includes flaxseed oil and it can't hurt, might help. One of his best therapist ever was a holistic healer who did feldenkrais on him. She did more for him in 6 months than some of these people did in twice that long.
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ADHD
Dec 13, 2004 16:03:44 GMT -5
Post by momofrussell on Dec 13, 2004 16:03:44 GMT -5
I agree, I think all kids are different w/ and w/out the DS and ADD/ADHD in regards to meds. Regan (non-DS)has been DX'd by two different psychiatrists with ADD. We tried meds and even though the Adderal helped some, it made some other behaviors worse, like her defiant issues. Like PSYCHOTIC , not good. So, we tried a couple of the non-stimulant meds and that didn't phase her.
For us, Regan has other issues along with the attention and obnoxious/impulsive probs so after meds and doing lots of reading, we felt no meds and trying to change the environment some helped us better. I was never a big fan of the DX for my daughter personally, but I knew something was going on and things needed to change. I switched my focus from "my daughter has ADD, now what?" to "This IS my daughter, Regan and she learns a different way then others, what can I do to help her". For us that worked better. I had to omit the ADD DX to help me focus and figure out really what she needed to excel in school and at home with us.
On the other hand, I have friends who's children couldn't last without meds for ADHD. They have found a certain med that works for the child and it's a Godsend for them. These are children w/ and w/out DS.
It's all what the children need, what works for them, and what the parents want/can handle.
Good luck!!
A.
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