My 8 yr old has adhd and is getting very unresponsive at school. He shuts himself down and will not cooperate

Question

at all. The school is involved very much in trying to help but we are all kinda lost. He seems to be in a power struggle with the teacher and will not listen at all. Any ideas how to get him back on the right track and get the education he deserves?????

Answer 1

ritalin or adderall overdose is possible. Take him to another doctor and another psychiatrist in the next town if you are not in a large city. Same town = same opinion. Another town and you can get an honest second opinion.

Answer 2

from all these responses and not one mentioned the fact that it could be IBS- "irritable bowel syndrome".

some children and adults lack a certain enzyme in the gut that actually helps regulate the serretonin in the brain. when there is not enough or normal levels his temprament is probably okay. then a sudden increase in serretonin will set him off. it is a see-saw effect because there isn't enough normal levels going on. You may notice his behaviour is fine after a bowel movement and show an increase in bad behaviour leading up to a bowel movement.

My suggestion is diet.

Keep a food diary and write down when his bowel movements are, if they are hard, soft, or runny, big.

You WILL see a pattern.

Cut out as much as you can, sugary foods, fried foods and have him eat more veggies and fruits. Believe it or not, the less meat he has, probably the better. We are seeing an increase in what many think is ADHD and it's IBS. Meat may be playing a role as steroids (wild make on the brain) and preservatives. If you feel meat is important, try to buy meat fresh. The more pre-made the foods, the higher the increase in IBS as well. We are overproccessing our children as well as ourselves.

My son tried several different medications. Adderall and Ritalin are UPPERS. When they come down off of them the doctor usually will have you give them an antidepressant (mood stablizer). So basically you are prolonging the outburst and the coming down off of them is horrible! Like three times as bad if you had let him have the outburst without the meds.

NOT a good idea. My sons symptoms got worse on medication! He was even in social developement because of the issue. When he was younger, he had diarhhea type IBS. Now he has constipation IBS. It is upsetting, painful and often miscontrued as something else like ADHD.

If you try the food diary and watch his bowel movements and that does not work, then your son might be ADHD. If you feel this is not the case, he could have something else such as a light form of autism called Asperger's. You MUST change his diet and see how he acts. If not, then a NEUROLOGIST, not a psychiatrist (they are the pill pushers and usually aren't that great at diagnostics, furthermore, they do not know what causes issues such as these)

Good luck...I know what your going through.

Answer 3

Go to this link

http://www.wlox.com/Global/category.asp?C=71249&nav=menu40_20_9

The first video listed may help. It is called "Overcoming Classroom Challenges." Most prescription medications can be effective. I have ADD and am currently taking Adderall. I also have a friend who has severe ADHD and is taking Strattera. I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 4 and started taking Adderall when I was about 7. Then I switched to Concerta. Then I stopped taking medications all together and then went back to Adderall. All of these medications do have side effects mainly weight loss and loss of appetite. If you have tried a medication already that did not work, the following link will provide you with facts about ADHD:

http://health.msn.com/centers/adhd/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100143851


This is really all the help I can give. Sorry!

Answer 4

My brother was having problems with ADHD at that age as well. When they are constantly growing, it can be hard to get medications adjusted to just the right level. You may want to talk to your doctor about ways to diet-control this problem. Caffeine, for one, has a reverse effect on ADHD kids, and certain foods like corn and processed meats (hotdogs, bologna) can make it worse. My mom put my brother on a special diet that included coffee at breakfast, diet mt. dew in his lunch, etc and enrolled him in art classes, to make use of his extra energy. It made a big difference.

Answer 5

I have an 8 yo daughter with ADD. The best things we have done: Change her diet..you can buy books that will tell you how to do this. Macrobiotic diet made her act like a new child. We also supplemented it with adult vitamins and Omega acids. Join a team sport. Helps teach them discipline, how to work as a team and gives them personal recognition.

Answer 6

Read the book "Dibs in Search of Self".
This is a short answer, but I'm certain that it's going to be the most helpful one if you read the book....

Answer 7

maybe there is a way that you can make learning fun for him find the things he likes and try to incorporate that in learning like in his fave books fave cartoons and things like that even food ....

Answer 8

HI THERE .. YOU COULD RECOMMEND THE DOCTOR TO TRY .. A COMBINATION OF THESE MEDICINES TO HELP HIM .. RITALIN , MELLARIL , WHAT HE NEEDS ..IS SOMETHING FOR HYPERACTIVITY . THEM DRUGS HAVE BEEN PRESCRIBED TOGETHER FOR HYPERACTIVITY ..AND ATTENTION SPAN ISSUES AS WELL.