My 8yr. old son was diagnosed with ADHD?

Question

I have mixed feelin about the meds they want him on Concerta or Focalin. I know everyone is affected differently. Doing reseach on the 2 meds that the doctors wants him on makes me nearvous & these different side effect scares me.

My son did some tests & out of 100 he got 130. 1st grade he was held back because of his behavior. I felt it wasn't fair because he was doin his work. Now in 2nd grade my son is three weeks ahead of his class to help him stay challenged. His new teacher says he's bored.

He is blacked balled & has a household name in school. If someone hits him & he hits back he ends up in detintion & the other child gets off. What I hate the most is that the schools says he should tell a teacher. (The kids in his class knows how to push his buttons to get him in trouble) When he does they don't listen to him, but if it was him he would get in trouble. He is far from a bully.

Something tells me not to put him on the meds & to put him in more activities.

Answer 1

It seems more and more kids are being put on meds rather than dealing with behavioral issues thru behavior modification. Lets face it, teachers are not trained to do this. Our public school systems are degenerating and no longer meet the needs of all children. It sounds like your son needs to be in a gifted child program and not drugged into compliance. If he is bored, it is the fault of his teachers not challenging him enough. And kids will be kids, that sort of button pushing has gone on for generations, certainly no reason to drug your son......I'd demand meetings with parents of the kids provoking your son. Children need to be taught how to behave in a civilized manner, just drugging a child because the others pick on him is ludicrous.

Answer 2

My son was diagnosed with ADHD in 6th grade and put on Metadate. It has been fantastic for him. Best thing for him.

We also had teasing issues because my son is small and not into sports like the other kids. He also is willing to make friends with anyone who will treat him respectfully. These two things caused him to get teased horribly for a number of years. He did not fight but did try to tell the teacher and was treated like he was making a big deal out of nothing all the time. Eventually, the teasing took a turn of a sexual nature. Once we found out we (again) blew our stack at the school and they finally took this stuff seriously. Once he got to middle school, they had a different attitude and it really was a no tollorance policy and they did really take things seriously. We told them 1 time that our son was being teased and that's all it took. It was handled and was over and did not happen again. So with the teasing all you can do is talk with your son over and over again. Make sure he is working with in the rules of the school and stay on the teacher and principal until they take the teasing seriously and do something about it.

Again as for the ADHD. I don't know much about Concerta or Focalin because my son is on a different med but it was fantastic for him.
Best of Luck I know this is not easy.

Answer 3

My daughter was diagnosed with ADD when she was 6 years old we found out because she was doing really bad in school, not being able to concentrate, ect. The doctor told me that there were 2 types of ADHD/ADD one is the child can not concentrate and has a hard time staying on task. The other one is the child acts out and has behavioral problems. My daughter is the first one, she never had behavior problems just had trouble paying attention. The doctor put my daughter on Ritalin and that didn't work because she wouldn't go to sleep at night, then we tried Concerta she still couldn't calm herself down at night to go to sleep. Now she is on Adderall and it works perfectly she is also taking Clonidine at night to shut her mind off so she can sleep. I was also very worried about the side effects I didn't want a mummy for a daughter, but we tried the lowest dose and it is like a hole other child, she is calmer and she finishes her homework, she pays attention in class.

I would strongly recommend that you try the meds. Just try the lowest dose and see what happens. If you have other questions please email me.

Answer 4

Kids can be really mean, but your son might have a shorter fuse as well. It's really hard at that age to learn to use self-control. Maybe try to get him to let teachers know when people are being mean and then reward him when he comes home and tells you that he let the adults know. If your school does nothing about it, I'd go to the administrators. Activities would be a great thing to get him involved in. I think a lot of kids are getting bored in classes and too many are getting misdiagnosed. Maybe see if he can switch classrooms or if he's smart enough he could move up a grade, or check out the gifted programs. But getting him into activities sounds like a good thing. If he misbehaves in school, you have something that he looks forward to. When he does something bad, keep him out of the activity for a day.

Answer 5

My son is the same way. I had him tested because the schools were singling him out. He has a very high IQ. Depending on where you live you can request the school for special ed for you son. It isn't what you think that it is only for kids who have a hard time learning academically it is for behavior too. My son is the same way doesn't put up with kids hitting him and he will hit back. I started to take him to a psychologist who thinks he also has aspergers. That is a condition where your child is so smart in every way execpt in social skills. He doesn't understand because some kids do it its still not okay. He continues to anyways. He gets in a ton of trouble. I have told the school this and I gave the school the psychologists number that way if they have any concern then they can bounce ideas off each other. There are a million different kinds of medicines and yes they all act differently with you child do more research on different meds and find the one you thing your son will react the best on then tell the doctors what you want to see your son on because you know your son better then anyone. I suggest if you daily life isn't routine or there are some areas where you can try to be more routine then you should. It helps my son to put him in a routine and to talk about what is going to happen before you go anywhere to a resturant or to school. I let him know what is to be expected from him and how he can act before we get there each day. My son has a hard time to cope with anything new. It really helps to explain to him what is going on before we get there. Some other routines I do to let him have priviledges is I let him know betime is at 8. He has a choice he can go to bed at 8 or I let him stay up as long as he wants to as long as he is reading, but he must read in bed and the only time he can stop reading is to go to the bathroom but he must get back in bed and continue to read. It really helps because that is something my son looks forward to. He now loves to read and he is reading 5th grade books and he is only in the 2nd grade. He even sits in the corner at school and reads and doesn't bother the kids or have the kids bother him. I have more suggestions of what I do for my son if you want to hear them. Just email me. [e-mail]

Answer 6

Wow that sounds like my son, he is almost 7 and in grade 2, last year was horrible for him. his teacher was NO help what so ever, I found that it's usually the teacher that singles the child out and the children just follow. If you are afraid of giving your child meds as I would try changing his diet first, bring him to school a bit early and let him play, also hang around after school and let him play a bit, make sure you are there at all times watching him. You are his advocate, he needs you now more than ever, protect him. Email me if you would like to chat.. Good-Luck.

Answer 7

HI I tried and fail miserbly at teaching SPED to fo to grad school .
I wil not ever teach in a grade schol again because of the BS you just describved.

One you nedd a good lawyer .


2 i know alot about thiws can iemail you oir if you want can you email me.

as for the drugs concerta is the safer rember this when side effects are lited . that amy effect experined by even one person durmng human pre market tesationghas to by law be statedasa possible side effect .

I see them ion my asthma med yes get this I have asmtha asa allergi reaction on the albe of side efects was ruunny noes itcy eyed ! duh I got that from the pollnme Smoke , it triggers a sever attack .
So feel free to shoot em a email iasm in and out all dat so if i do not get back to you right away , it is becasue I am out .

it is unfair what is happn4eing to your sone . if he is being singled pout ypou ghve a whoper of a suit .

good luck and feel free to email me .
Ok it isabit vicarious for me but Ifi can at least hep some one tewr the eductional systema new one I am more than happy .

Answer 8

Talk to the school. Many times schools are merely interested in eduction and really have little time for this. My grandson was having a terrible time in school until the principle assigned a person to follow him from class to class and watch from a corner to see what was happening. THey were shocked to find out how the other students were the ones causing the problems. (Yeah, pushing buttons.)

Also talk to your doctor bout your concerns for the meds. If you can seek a second opinion. Our grandson was on one med, so the doctor added another...then another...then....another. Finaly they went to a 2nd doctor who took hiim off all but one and he's doing fine. Once the child is calm, the need to learn how to react to things...so along with the meds, he sees a counselor regularly and a therapist. It takes the right approach with each student.

Answer 9

You can always resort to that later.
First give him a chance to get through this without them.
Everyone is different.
Not every child that gets into trouble at school needs medication.
I would try to deal with his behavior with different techniques. Maybe you can start a reward and demerit system based on conduct at school.
I would hate to try to change someone just because they may be a little high strung. This isn't necessarily bad. You watch, he will grow up to be a go getter.

Answer 10

I was the same way when I was your son's age. My parents thought about advancing me one grade or sending me to a school for the gifted, but because I didn't want to leave my school they left it alone. Looking back, I wish they had done one of those things. You should talk to your school about testing him and see if he meets the aptitude requirements to get advanced. Being in a different grade may make a big difference. As for medication, I was on Ritalin for many years and my folks said it did wonders for me, so don't frown on meds just because so many parents look at them as a cure-all for unruly children. Your boy is special; for his sake, don't ever forget that.