My son has ADD and has been off meds this Summer and is ready to be put on meds for the school year. Just my thing is I think maybe some of his issues might be a bit of immaturity, and maybe he might have improved over the Summer. That maybe he should see how the first 6 weeks of school go, see if he can manage his grades etc. And if not get his meds. He's a good kid. I would love to give him a chance.
But yet at the same time, if he doesn't do good without meds I would hate to get him behind in school.
Any other parents out there with this situation
2007-08-21 14:39:03 · 4 answers · asked by s n 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Adolescent
My son has been off of meds for about a year and a half. He still struggles in school, but I did not notice an improvement in his organization while on medication. His behavior was somewhat improved however. From my point of view the organization is the real problem for him, he can be reminded about behavior but man would I like to see him learn organization. I did not like him being on medication. He lost a lot of weight and he had to be tested every 6 months to make sure his liver wasn't suffering. I didn't think the risks and side effects (nausea, no appetite) were worth it so he would have less energy through the day.
*His teachers have asked about medicating him but they spend one hour a day with him each. He is more talkative at times but I don't think keeping him quiet is worth it, so each teacher has a little zombie in his desk the hour he' s there. I think we medicate for too many things. Is he a little more effort, yes. Does that mean he should be drugged, I don't think his health is worth the trade off.
There is another issue here, we don't test the same when approving medications for children as for adults. It is unethical to test on children so we find other ways to extrapolate results, either from adult studies or from children who have already been prescribed meds. This study is one that for me shows there may be issues with this.
2007-08-21 14:54:34 · answer #1 · answered by future dr.t (IM) 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well I'm not a parent with an add child but i am an adult who had very bad ADHD as a child. it took a long time for me to get into sync with meds, i was removed from school for a week at one point until i was back on them at about 11 or so. over time i did learn to manage it though and honestly even when i was supposed to be on pills in my teens i would make an effort to not take them. as bad as it sounds if your son has hyperactivity with it he might benefit from a soda in his lunch box or a caffeine pill. obviously talk to your doctor first about something like that but caffeine has been proven to have reverse affects on people with the condition.
best of luck
2007-08-21 22:41:24 · answer #2 · answered by whiskywildcard 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as he acted like a normal kid in summer, then there's a good chance he'll be good in school without his meds. Giving him a chance is a great idea. :)
2007-08-21 21:48:38 · answer #3 · answered by Echo 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep. If you think you might want to hold off on meds, contact the school counselor and let them know you wish to start a trial period. Ask if the teachers and counselor can keep an extra eye on him during that period and if he continues to need medication, please let you know why.
2007-08-21 21:46:51 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋