A question for those who have a young kid with ADHD and mood disorder answer only please?

Question

I have a 6 year old boy with ADHD and a mood disorder. Right now his father is deployed for the second time in Iraq and my sons problems have become worse. For those of you who have experience with kids with these disorders please tell me what you do with your child to help the hyperactivity , constant mood swings, and emotional problems? My son is on medication but a lot of the issues are still there and i don t want my son to feel this way anymore, i just want him to be able to relax and enjoy life. Help with nice opinions only please.

Answer 1

I was a child with a mood disorder and ADHD. A lot of the time when I was told that something was wrong in a very matter-of-fact tone I came to resent being told that it was wrong. If you need to let the child understand his restrictions, suggest to him in a tone that he finds comforting why he should or shouldn't do those things and explain the consequences of doing them. Then if he does them anyway remind him what those consequences are and follow through with them, no exceptions. If he detects any type of fallibility or inconsistency in his parental figures he'll come to expect it from all other authority figures as well. And it will upset him if they are firm with these things. Keep him occupied often but also make sure he has a tight schedule when it comes to bathing, homework, cleaning up, and bedtime. And take every opportunity available to make sure that he can't be distracted from these things with other activities or toys. Reward him for doing the right thing but keep it simple. He may come to equate doing the right thing every time with an elaborate prize, and if other people don't give it to him, he will not be as encouraged to do it, he may deliberately rebel to teach them a lesson. Television is not good for him, especially with the stuff they have on in this day and age. He will be more impressionable because of the mood thing, and he will become more attached to the TV because of the ADHD. Make sure he exercises sand unless he has some physical brain defect, like something that has shown up on an MRI or some other test, begin weaning off the drugs. They will only serve to harm him, and pay a bill. But if you stop them all together, it will have an adverse effect on his developing mind and body. Let him play outside often, and spend time with him. It will make him happy and even out some those developing imbalances in his brain. He will be less dependent on substances for happiness starting at an early age, which is good because kids in his case are more likely to turn to illicit substances for pleasure and escape in their adolescence.

Answer 2

As you probably know, each child has their own personality. You have to find what works for you and your child. I have found that the best thing to do with my daughter when she is having issues is put her in her bed to calm down. She enjoys the extra sleep and we enjoy the moment of peace and quiet. Usually she gets up in a better mood. This is the one thing that works everytime without much complaining from her. But this is what works for us. What works for you? Is your child in counseling as well as on the meds? This is important. The best advice is experiment with what works and what doesn't. Also, talk to the doctor if you feel too many of the issues are still there. Good luck. I hope you find what works for everyone involved.

Answer 3

My son has a mood disorder also. I have found that schedule is everything to him. We can not veer from it too far or it really sets him off.

I also have a mood disorder, and have found that not all psych docs know what they are doing. Both of our meds were so off. Our bad to good day ratio was not favorable. We ended up going to specialists. Once our meds were straightened out, the frequency of "bad days" dropped tremendously. I'm not saying you doc is wrong, you just might want to think about having him re-evaluated.

We also have to stay away from caffeine, high carbohydrate foods, and overly processed foods. That also helped him a lot.

Good luck to you. I hope this helps.

Answer 4

6 year old would be 1st grde.....talk to a school counselor and see if they are seeing the same thing.

Talk to his peditrician and see if his meds need adjusting. Find the family a psychologist or someone to talk to..... as children get older, they have changing needs with meds

I'm going to assume army deployment, and you can check in with EFMP and see if they have some type of support group for you, or him..... or you can email me, and we can keep in touch.