Its been awhile since Ive been the forum and found it by mistake lol. Ok its two years later my son is in the third grade now. I actually followed the advice and took him to a neurologist/psychologist. They conducted tests and my son has been diagnosed with adhd and some symptoms of pdd. We are currently still trying to find the right medicine. Aderal worked alright but his appetite decrease to the point where he lost 10lbs and he would have a bad temper so we took him off. Ritalin, Faucolin did not work either. Now we are going to try this new medicine called Vyvalin. This year so far for my son in school is the worst. Their are days when he is in class and will not do any classwork! I must say though that I finally decided not be a nice guy with him and actually punished him by taking away his video games which is his favorite thing. I felt bad for him in the past and would never keep to the punishments because I know he cant control himself but since we havent found the medicine that works well for him I have to do something to control him in class.
By the way thank you for your reponses.
[QUOTE=SmallMom]Peter, I can tell you care about your son and want to do right by him. Do yourself a favor and ask your ped for a referral to a neuropscyhologist. If your ped doesn't know of any, neuropsychologists can frequently be found at children's and university hospitals. A neuropscyhologist is a psychologist who has extra training in neurologic functioning. A neuropsychologist will spend hours (in my son's case 8 hours over 2 days) doing many tests (IQ, achievement, motor, executive function, etc) that will give you lots of information about the cognitive and psychological functioning of your son. The neuropsych will also give you recommendations for appropriate interventions once he reaches a diagnosis based on this testing. IMHO, this is the only way you will get an accurate diagnosis.
Believe me, I have been at this for many years. We've seen good and bad docs, docs who are too loose with the prescription pads and docs who "get" it and are careful with the meds they try on our kids. My kids finally are with the right docs, who have given them the right dxes and are giving them the right meds. It took far too long for us to get to where we are today.
[/QUOTE]
I will definately look into it. Thank you.
Peter, I can tell you care about your son and want to do right by him. Do yourself a favor and ask your ped for a referral to a neuropscyhologist. If your ped doesn't know of any, neuropsychologists can frequently be found at children's and university hospitals. A neuropscyhologist is a psychologist who has extra training in neurologic functioning. A neuropsychologist will spend hours (in my son's case 8 hours over 2 days) doing many tests (IQ, achievement, motor, executive function, etc) that will give you lots of information about the cognitive and psychological functioning of your son. The neuropsych will also give you recommendations for appropriate interventions once he reaches a diagnosis based on this testing. IMHO, this is the only way you will get an accurate diagnosis.
Believe me, I have been at this for many years. We've seen good and bad docs, docs who are too loose with the prescription pads and docs who "get" it and are careful with the meds they try on our kids. My kids finally are with the right docs, who have given them the right dxes and are giving them the right meds. It took far too long for us to get to where we are today.
I was wondering if any parents have any advice. My son has been diagnosed with Adhd. As you know he has problems focusing, sitting still, teasese his class mates, fights, does not listen and academicly maybe getting left back in first grade. He is in speech therapy, motor skills and and also occupational therapy. He got in trouble again today for kissing his classmates. We had a long discussion with his principle, teacher and vice principal. I have had many meetings with his teacher but I dont think his teacher does any good. Although I can imagine it must be tough for her controlling one kid when there are over 20 to deal with. We have no doubt that he is going to get left back. I cant control him and either can my wife. I take away his playstation, nintendo and his godzilla toys for a couple of days but each day he creates problems at school. Either he teases his classmates, runs around when its carpet time, sleeps on his desk not doing his class work and he is very disruptful. He has no friends in class nobody wants to be around him and it kills me. We are in the early days of his adhd. His psychiatrist prescribed ritalin but it did nothing if anything he got worse. I know it takes time to find the right medication. I just made an appointment with a new psychiatrist to see if he is any better at helping my son. My question to you is how do you control your childs problems that I mentioned above until we find the right medication. Im all out of options and its hard enough that I work either day or night but my wife has to look after a 3 year old boy and an 11 month old daughter help. She has very little patience in general always in a bad mood depressed. ! regards Pete PeterPapas38751.6811111111
Welcome! I'm wondering what kind of doctor diagnosed your son? I would highly recommend you take your son for an evaluation by a neuropsychologist, who can assess for many childhood disorders, including but not limited to ADHD. From what you describe -- speech and motor delays plus lack of social issues --and the fact that Ritalin made your son worse, I'm guessing you're looking at more than ADHD. You need to make sure you have an accurate diagnosis before you can put the proper interventions into place.
Again, welcome and good luck.
We took our son to a psychiatrist and a phsycologist. They both said he has ADHD. Like I said though in my first post we are in the process of getting an appointment for a second opinion with another psychiatrist.
thanks for the greeting and the advice.
Well all I can tell you is what I've tried and has worked quite well. He's no angel but he's a lot easier to handle and his teacher recently said that he's doing rather well on a whole.
1) I've adjusted his diet. I took away all foods he was sensitive towards (through a process of ellimination diet). I was amazed on all the food items that were triggering his behaviours. Regardless, healthier diet is beneficial to everyone.
2) Omega Oils
3) Magnesium Supplements
Try those 3 to start and see if you notice any changes.
Did the psychiatrist an psychologist do any testing on your son? How many hours did they spend with him/you before giving the diagnosis?
[QUOTE=SmallMom]
Did the psychiatrist an psychologist do any testing on your son? How many hours did they spend with him/you before giving the diagnosis?
[/QUOTE]
Well the psychiatrist to be honest I was not really impressed. He saw my son alone for about 15 minutes. After that we gave in a questionaire to my sons teacher which she filled out and we brought back to my sons doctor. So the doctor then diagnosed him adhd. Which I thought was kind of fast after seeing my son once came up with the conclusion. But my sons psychologists seen him a few times and she diagnosed him aswell with adhd.
Hi Peter, I hope you find the right diagnosis and some medication to help him stay focused. School is overwhelming for these children, and even though they can't help themselves because they are so bored, its really challenging for the teachers. It helped me to reward my child with the use of something he really liked XBox, for a good day in school, I don't mean excellent. It also helps to let him use squeeze balls or timers in class. The teacher may find this helpful, as well as him. Its a process in finding out what works, and what works one day may not work the next. It would be most helpful to you to find a behavior program that works for you, that you believe in and carry it out. It won't work overnight. Mom sounds overwhelmed, so you can support her by keeping you know who, as busy as possible, so mom can get a break. Focus on a good relationship with your son, if nothing else. If he feels close to you in a positive way he will be far less difficult. Good Luck