ADHD any advise?

Mech1

We have a 6 year old son who has just been diagnosed with ADHD.
We have been recommended by the Lucena Clinic to start him on a Drug called Retalin.

We would like anyone with experience of this situation to reply.

many thanks.

greglo23

get him an allergy test immediately . a friend of mine was told the same about his kid and instead of giving him ritalin they did some research on the subject.
turns out he was allergic to sugar and when they took it out of his diet he started to improve straight away. i`m not saying it is as simple as that in your case but i definitely wouldnt give my child ritalin under any circumstances. if you google it you`ll get a lot more info on it. if i come across more i`ll post it.
by the way,that kid i know is now 15 and is just like any other kid and is doing really well in school.

Miner

My son's 4 and he was diagnosed at 2.5. He was started on Ritalin but then when we changed psychiatrists he was taken off it. It can stunt growth and if given in incorrect quantities (even minutely incorrect) it can have radical changes. My son was on 1/4 tablet and it made no difference but when he was put on 1/2 tablet he was like a zombie.

There's a lot of good results coming from giving Eye Q (available in any half decent chemist). It's a fish oil suppliment which is available in tablet or liquid form. You may not get results overnight but in the long run it boost concentration levels imensely.

Another suggestion from our psychiatrist was behavour based therapy which is going very well for my lad.

dahamsta

Can't comment directly, but speaking in general I would give my kids anything stronger than Anadin without at least two and possibly three opinions, especially when it comes to something as contentious as ADHD. Course that's going to cost more, but damn the expense when it comes to kids.

adam

Blinda

You have received excellent advice from the other replies which suggest you err on the side of caution. All medication has some degree of side effects and in relation to the PX mentioned many reported long term effects.
It's also true that because children's metabalism is not fully developed, even small doses of sugar (including hidden sugars in foods) may cause hyperactivity and associated impatience/impulsiveness.
Inattention - Screen for hearing/ ear infection, or if occured in the past child will have learnt the behaviour of not listening.

Its easy to confuse ADHD with normal growing up and with other conditions.
The symptoms of ADHD cover a broad range, but have three common themes.
*Attention difficulties. (Screen ears)
*Hyperactivity . (cut out sugar / allergy)
*Impulsiveness. (Screen habit forming behaviour)

On its own the condition is known as 'ADD' Attention Deficit Disorder (without the hyperactivity).
Parenting/behaviour management courses are very helpful in hightlighting the normal v abnormal behaviours and best handling methods.
Good luck

Mech1

Ok I know this is an old thread, but I'm the OP so i'm entitled to the update.

After a few meetings / tests at the Lucina Clinic my son was put on a script for Ritalin. The schools teacher reports / "special forms" where very much a deciding factor.

We accepted the "professional" advise and administered as per instructions.

My son was Doped out of all behaviour until the end of term and the school reports where a "great improvement". When we went away for 2 weeks to majorca that summer, I couldnt take anymore of him not being the aware / lively / fun loving child that he had been and stopped the treatment.

2 days after stopping the Ritalin he was back, the boy I knew, not a bad guy, just a fun loving kid.

We sent him back to school in Sept without telling his teacher that we had stopped the Ritalin, and then it got worringly funny as she was delighted with his progress and confirmed to the clinic and ourselves that the Ritalin was doing a wonderful job and that he was almost best in class.

We attended the Lucina clinic every 3 months for tests etc for the next 18 months and where told that the Ritalin was working well, even though he was drug free!!!

We told the teacher eventually and realised that she was just a lazy bi*ch who had 4 children in her class on the Ritalin.

My son is now in secondary school and doing extremely well, expecting a Maths special award this term also and being advised about a Scholarship to university.

My point in posting this is to advise parents to check the teacher 1st off and then get a second and even a third opinion.

Thanks.

spurious

The other viewpoint might be that he just grew up a bit and started to learn to behave himself.

You have no grounds to call the teacher a 'lazy bitch' indeed if your child hears that sort of language regularly it might explain his earlier behaviour.

I agree absolutely too many children are put on Ritalin, but it is not the teachers who do it. Teachers do not prescribe drugs.

Orion

Doctors are at fault for that too - it's a lazy diagnosis. Both of my daughters could easily be diagnosed with ADHD if we considered it a valid disorder: one cannot think without moving - she is constantly in motion, they both daydream, they can be easily distracted, they talk like they're about to lose their voices so have to get everything out, basically most of the "symptoms" of this "disorder". Yet they are high achievers, attending CTYI, excelling in school, very outgoing, and well balanced kids.

That's the crux - they are kids! One teacher implied that we should get them checked out - we ignored her. Then we skipped them up a year so they wouldn't be so bored in school. That did the trick to a large extent. Boredom was the biggest problem. How many kids are diagnosed with this "disorder" who are just bored to tears keeping down with the lowest denominator.

Have a look at the link in my sig: http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html - the example Robinson gives describes one of my daughter's to a T.

mirekb

Orion wrote: »

Doctors are at fault for that too - it's a lazy diagnosis. Both of my daughters could easily be diagnosed with ADHD if we considered it a valid disorder:
.

My 7 year old was dianosed with ADHD recently and for him it is absolutely a valid diagnosis. He can't concentrate, can't sit still, has little impulse control, struggles with peer interaction and has been severely depressed because of it. He under achieves in school as he can't concentrate for long enough to take in any information. He is constantly in trouble in school and with family members for not sitting still, not paying attention, shouting out, the list could go on and on!

Him finding out that there's a difference in his brain and he's not just 'bold' has changed him from regularly talking about killing himself to appreciating that his brain just works in a different way.

I don't think disorder is the correct word. I am constantly amazed at how quickly his mind works, his energy and his curiosity. He notices EVERYTHING, is up for anything and is a joy in my life.

I choose not to medicate at the moment. I will consider it if the problems with peer interactions continue but for now we're getting on ok.

V1llianous

My son was on Ritalin for a while and it disrupted his sleep significantly.

Took him off it and no noticeable affect.

Find when he is regularly given OTC Omega 3 oils he is better behaved.

KittyeeTrix

I've posted on this topic previously but must say it again that in some cases ritalin can be life changing.

My sisters son was diagnosed with ADHD and she was delighted in a sense!!! This was because she was at the end of her tether trying to deal with him for years and was seriously doubting her ability as a good parent. His behavior was so bad that it was enough to almost scupper her solid marriage.

He was prescribed ritalin which he takes mon-fri and he is a different child but in a good way. He is doing a lot better in school and for the first time in years actually has made friends, been invited to parties.

It has helped them immensely