my 8 yr old son is diagnosed ADHD, any tips?

Question

We have been dealing with this since he was in K- he has tried most of the med's out there and nothing seems to be helping him. We are in weekly counseling separate for right now then together.We are trying to get in home support to. He is just so out of control and mouthy!! WOW!! The things that come out of his mouth. We have tried everything, punishment, taking things away, rewards for caught being good, talking, and nothing! He just does not care. He is getting violent, threating I am gonna punch you in the face and such like that. He has a younger brother who is 5 who he is very aggressive with and a younger sister who is 15 months that he adores!! He is very explosive and impulsive. I do spend quality time alone with him but that doe snot seemto make a diference at all. I am at my wits end. He did spend 6 days in a clinic where he was supposed to learn some tips to manage his anger, yeah that lasted all of 3 days when he came home. We've done charts and all of that. Please help!!!

Answer 1

please go and speak to somebody neutral about how you are copping.YOU need just as much support as your child.All-ways remember that because of the illness your son does and says things he really doesn't want to and really loves you deep down.If you are in control of yourself then it might help you be in better control with him.You are a good mother in tuff situation and always be proud of it.BEST WISHES.

Answer 2

I think that all 8 year old boys are rude and crude, they are rumble tumble guys already and yours has an anger problem and ADHD some suggestions that might help are to :
Establish a strict schedule of daily activities for your child(ren) kids with ADHD are helped by the familiarity of everything being in proper order( they may get upset if schedule is changed if so loosen it up) some if possible and give him advance warnings like we leave in 5 minutes finish up ..If you can channel some of his energy into a physical activity such as running or basketball then this can be a motivator Exercise in any form is especially important because it does two different things for your child it causes the production of endorphins in your body making you "feel good" and it gives the child an outlet for frustration they can "run it off" instead of hitting their brother. One other thing which you did not mention is diet. It has been my experience that children with ADHD ,ADD(etc) fare best on a low sugar, high grain and cereal diet. It might be worth checking if your son has any food allergies that you dont know about. Such as gluten or well there are quite a few but some behavioral problems come from an allergy related symptoms. Not sleeping well for instance can be from allergy problems in the nose and throat. I wish you luck and recommend www.ADHD alternatives.com

Answer 3

I'm sorry but I've never had to deal with ADD or ADHD. But I am a pharmacist. They have medications that can help. Not that drugs are the answer but Ritalin & Adderall RX have a good track record with helping. But before trying that I would keep a close eye on his diet. Cut out most of the sugar's & caffein. See if this help's.
I would also find a punisment that works better. I have two kids and the worst thing for them is to seperate them. I would tell him that as long as he is being aggressive he cant be around his sister and his brother. You just cant trust him and that trust has got to be erned. I hope that I never have this problem. I've pasted a couple of good links for you.
Sorry if this is not much help.
Good luck.

Answer 4

There are many things that can help a child that has ADHD.. as long as they TRULY have it. Make sure that he has been properly tested and diagnosed, and if he has been PROPERLY and accurately diagnosed, try this. It's miraculous.

Do not allow him to eat any food that has red dye in it. Red food dye aggrivates ADHD, and will make his outbursts and behavior worse, the same thing goes for processed Hot Dogs and meats. If he really likes hot dogs.. only allow him to eat All Beef ones. Processed meats contain things that will aggrivate the symptoms.

Cut out refined sugars from his diet. He can still have foods with natural sugars such as fruit and vegetables.. but no cookies and candy.. it all stimulates ADHD.

Also, this is unorthodox, but it has been proven many times over to help.. allow him to have 1 (ONE) cup of weak coffee in the morning. The reason for this? All ADHD medications are , is a stimulant. They have side effects that aren't so nice sometimes, so as an alternative 'medication' , coffee acts the same way, produces the same effect but does not have the harmful side effects of traditional ADHD medication.

Good luck with your son.

Answer 5

I'm curious if you have tried Concerta? My daughter is ADHD/ADD and I was pulling my hair out! Her grades were bad, she was acting out, dancing in class instead of staying in her seat, fighting constantly with her brothers, everything she said to her classmates were lies, daily reports from her teachers embarrassed me... etc.

I have been there (except for the threatening to punch me, however - her therapist said that if she were a boy that she would probably do things like that because boys are naturally more aggressive). Her doctor put her on Concerta (once a day - lasts about 12 hours). At first I didn't really see much change - so they upped her dosage and WOW! Like night and day - she is honor roll now - she is in Karate (this helps her work off steam, get out any frustrations, teaches respect, and improves her self-esteem and self-control), and I couldn't be happier. As she got older, we just called her doctor and said that the effects seemed to be diminishing, and they upped her dosage again. She now takes 54mg and she is 9 years old.

If you haven't tried this - ask your doctor, it has worked wonders for us...

you might also want to think about Karate, kickboxing, or the like for the reasons I stated above - i am pleasantly impressed for the help it has given my daughter and my family.

Answer 6

I can feel for you, my son is also ADHD but luckily for me my son only has mild aggressive behavior. Maybe he needs to go back to the doctor to be tested for something else, like ODD (obsessive defiant disorder). It could be that they misdiagnosed your son, and the meds for ADHD don't help ODD. I know someone that had her son on ADHD meds and found that they didn't help, upon further testing, they figured it to be ODD and changed his meds and her son has been a totally different kid to be around. I wish you luck and patience because I know you will need them. Something to look forward to, my son was dx in first grade and he has been off his meds for two years and doing great ( he's 14 now- his first year of high school) so they do outgrow it like they say although it is hard to see when you are in the mix of it all. It's like there isn't a light at the end of your tunnel and all you want to do is help your child and have some peace of mind. Good luck!!

Answer 7

I truthfully have adhd myself to the max.I by no ability took my anger out on anybody else even with the incontrovertible fact that.With Adhd at cases comes bipolar and Schizophrenia and tension.It looks like he has some thing else happening too.I truthfully have all those issues and might study self administration.Which he might study whilst he gets somewhat older.some with ADHD tend to have one in all greater of those issues I indexed here.you are able to proceed the counseling.there is not any longer plenty you're able to do settle for for meds at cases. Ongoing therapy(as a toddler and youngster ordinary verbal exchange between mum and dad, instructors, and well being professionals advantages a toddler with interest deficit hyperactivity illness (ADHD). babies will earnings from persevering with to take a stimulant medicine—which includes amphetamine (as an occasion, Dexedrine or Adderall) or methylphenidate (examples contain Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate CD, or Focalin)—or nonstimulant atomoxetine (Strattera) if the two style of medicine has been effectual interior the previous. mum and dad is often reassured that taking stimulant medicine for ADHD does no longer improve the threat for substance abuse later. rather, a recent diagnosis that accompanied babies and babies with ADHD for no less than 4 years got here across much less alcohol and drug abuse in people who had taken stimulant drugs than in people who did no longer acquire medicine.12 for greater techniques, see: could my toddler take drugs for ADHD? Staying heavily in touch along with your youngster and persevering with habit therapy takes a good style of tricky artwork yet might pay off interior the long-term. the youngster years cutting-edge many demanding situations, which contain larger schoolwork and the might desire to be greater attentive and arranged. Making sturdy judgements will become rather significant in the process those years whilst peer tension, rising sexuality, and different themes floor. Use effects that are significant on your youngster, which includes dropping privileges or having larger chore assignments. mum and dad and babies can artwork at the same time to verify actual looking, available objectives and negotiate ideal rewards whilst those objectives are met.

Answer 8

All I can say as the mother of 3, two with ADHD, is hang in there. Your son sounds a lot like my daughter at his age. She was aggressive, violent with one of her brothers, and impossible to discipline, as she would one up us every time. Sent to her room for a time out, she would trash it. Positive reinforcement had no effect. We gave her more attention than the other 2 children combined, and she still didn't think it was enough.We did everything you did, got family counseling, even got to the point where we thought we couldn't possibly live with her for another minute and considered placing her in an institutional setting. Somehow we managed, although I felt like you, at my wits end, for years. At 17, she was on SSI and had tested out of high school, being unable to sit through regular classes. Now, at age 28, she says the acting out was a cry for attention, and that she never felt that we loved her! The good news is that in the end she turned out to be a gracious and kind adult. It was the getting there that was miserable for everyone.

She now says that what helped was body work. She began taking P.E. classes at the local community college, at least 3 at a time, one that would wear her out with hard work, one for fun, and especially important, a yoga class. She says the concentration required by the yoga as well as the difficult physical work (which helped with all that extra energy) is what helped get some control over her symptoms. She now teaches yoga, and is a junior at a major university. If I had known about the positive effects of yoga, I might have tried to find someone willing to teach a child. She thinks it would have helped if she had done it as a kid. There is an organization called the Art of Living, that teaches a yogic breathing technique that is helpful, and they do have programs for kids. Check out artofliving.org. to see if there is a group near you. Even if your son doesn't do it, you can, and it will help you calm down when things get to be too much. It was reccommended to me by my doctor, and I am very glad I took the course.

I know this isn't much of an answer, but I would like to tell you to never give up hope, to love him, love him, love him no matter what. When I was going through this, I would have liked to have known someone who was going through the same thing, just to be able to talk to someone who understood. If you like, I'd be happy to correspond with you. Send me a note with your email address if you would like that.

Answer 9

Hugs it must be really difficult given that you have tried many types of medications. Continue to push for home help.

It never is easy dealing with children with ADHD, and I empathise with you fully as my daughter has ADHD ODD and Dyslexia. I am not sure I can help, but will try to give you a few tips that worked for me, and some of my clients.

I am not sure which country your in, but seek out a support group, and contact children's/disabilities service , and ask if they have any programs for parents who have children with ADHD, such as respite care, holiday programs etc. These programs are designed for parents to have a short break of a few hours to a weekend away from there child. They may also have some programs pacifically for parents, so they/you can learn some coping strategy's.

Also talk to his school teachers and set out some guidelines that they MUST follow, when he acts up in class. (I am sure you have already done this). Set up a note system for the teachers to fill each day, so you know what has happened at school, and you can let teachers know of what has been happening at home. Use this as a reward system for your son, so when he has a good day he gets a star (he places the star in the book) and so many stars per week, entitles him to get a small token or gift for good behaviour. I have noted you have tried a reward system, but he is kind of in control of this system. So might be worth trying again.

When he is aggressive try to walk away, (dependent of where you are) take his siblings with you, let him calm down. I found arguing does not help in fact would make my daughter worse, as I am sure you have also found to be the case.
The other choice is to push him out in to the back yard, and let he let off steam out there rather than inside the house. Let him scream, apologise to the neighbours later.

Swimming is one of the best sports for these kids, as it is not a contact sport, and they can thrash up and down the pool. But must be supervised, as you would with any child in and near the water.

I am sure you have tried the few things I suggested, so please don't think I was insulting you in any way.

I forgot to mention that we were scrupulous with her diet (red and green cordial would send her off) and she was on Ritalin.

Good luck and keep up the great work!

Answer 10

i have 2 kids with adhd a 17 year old daughter and a 11year son. my son has a sever case of adhd hes on meds and goes to school .at the mental center where he gets his meds.take sweets out of your house and give him dite drinks that seems to help my kids and go for walks . find some kinda of actived that will make him sleepy.

Answer 11

my son is 10 and has adhd also. I would also get your son checked for odd oppositional defiance disorder. First off cut out as much sugar as you can like candy and refined sugars. Cut out caffeine and red dies. My son is on adderall and stratera both so maybe a combination of meds might be better for your son. Also have you son checked for bi polar disorder. Your counselor should be giving him tips to handle his anger. Hope i have helped