Crying in school | ADHD Information

My son has had some bad reactions to some meds...althought he did not cry much ( once in a while...he is 6) the meds did make him grumpy and irratable..( focalin- ritalin La) he is now taking Adderal XR and the grumpy stuff is gone....

What happens on the weekends? Does he take his meds on the weekends?

I also agree that doing an assignment 5 times is too much and very frustrating..talk to the teacher.

BTW I don't think that the majority of kids with ADHD are in the cool crowd...our guys are a bit behind socially ..I am just happy my son is confident in himself and has a few good friends

I have an 9 year old daughter. She has a learning disability and sometimes cries in school uncontrollably. Is this typical of ADHD?

Hi Praying Mom,

I don't know if it's typical, but right around the time my son was dx'd last year, he was bursting into crying fits in class too. He would be trying so hard to NOT be seen crying, that he'd just start trembling uncontrollably. He was so frustrated with not measuring up to the teacher's extremely high expectations, and getting so upset because he was trying his hardest. Having to redo an assignment 4 or 5 times would make me cry too.

We only found out about it because my husband showed up to surprise him at school one day and witnessed the whole thing, like a fly on the wall. It was devastating to see.
 
He's 12, turning 13 in Sept. Bear in mind this was happening BEFORE he went on meds.

Apparently it had been happening a lot, and not just in response to his teacher. I honestly didn't know what to make of it, and I thought it was likely hormonal, on top of the obvious: the teacher expecting too much. What was really making matters worse, was his teacher thought he was being dramatic and trying to avoid doing work (which of course he'd done so many times before BECAUSE HE COULDN'T FOCUS ON IT), so he'd make him sit there and not allow him to leave the class to try and compose himself. Needless to say, it did not help his reputation with his peers at all, as he was never one of the "cool, in" kids before anyway, as I've heard many parents also describe their ADHD kids.

I should also note that when we were trying different meds with him, the crash he had at the end of the day after taking Concerta was brutal. He could not stop crying and sobbing for hours. It was scary.

So between the meds that we finally settled on (Adderall 10mg), some therapy sessions with a great child psychologist,  removing dairy and corn from his diet, getting the teacher to let up, and just general time passing since the loss of his cat and his grandmother in a short span, we seem to be through it.

I'll never know the exact cause of it or what in turn helped, but the psychologist ruled out clinical depression at least. I personally would go that route with your daughter, and have at least a professional assessment done, if you haven't already.

At least with a girl, it's maybe going to be more accepted than it was with my big, strapping son. Unfortunately the damage seems to have been done to his reputation....
Sorry for rambling on here, but this was the first that I'd heard of it happening to someone else. Best of luck sorting it out.


PB
My son would cry, if he became so mad he didn't know what to do with the anger.  Ask the teacher if she can leave the class when she is feeling frustrated, or ask her what would help her calm down, before she gets to that point.  I'm sure you've talked to your doctor about this.  It may be a stage, it could be teasing, sadness etc.  You have to explore and find out whats going on.  Good luck, I know its worrisome.When I went to school, we had a kid who would burst into tears and throw his desk and start swearing and (sadly) many kids egged him on and laughed at him. I don't know why he did it. I would re-evalute your child. Has he seen a Psychiatrist? Is this new since the Adderrall? It isn't typical for even a 13 year old with ADHD to burst into tears in school. My 12 year old autistic son would never do that. I would look furhter. He could be depressed. He could have something other than ADHD and the meds are making him depressed. Could be a lot of things, but it's not typical teen behavior and I'd want a Psychiatrist (the one with MD) to check it out. I am seriously doubting it is diet related, but you can see an allergist too, but don't skip t he Psychiatrist. (I've raised three kids to adulthood). I don't think even a girl could cry a lot in school at 13 and have it be ok. That's a tough age and kids are hard on one another. For the first poster, I don't know if this helps at all, but my 9 year old has a PDD-NOS child in her class (he should be in special ed). When he is frustrated because he can't do something he throws a fit. All the kids make fun of the poor kid (behind teacher's backs) and he is considered "bad." My daughter knows better because of her brother and tries to help him, but the poor kid has never been to a birthday party. I'd check him out too. In his case, I'd see a NeuroPsych to check for many things. There are three ADHD kids in my daughter's class. None of them cry in school. If anything, two are vry bossy and sometimes cause other kids to cry...lol. Just kidding (sort of). All three are doing well on meds and are seen as "annoying" but not "weird" or "bad."  Good luck to both. OlderMom38771.232962963Strattera made our son at school cry. I picked him up that way. Teacher claims he got in trouble was why.  Our son seems to only to be invited to girls partys. Our son gets angry and has a fit when unable to get something. Since adding the supplements we are seeing less fits at all. The mean kids don't get caught today as much cause they do this at times staff our not watching. It has many times in our sons case as well. The bully should get dealt with first. If you ask our son school friends mean nothing to him. He prefers his scouts buds instead.  

Prayingmom,

Crying uncontrollably in school is not a symptom of Adhd but it does indicate that there is an underlying reason that is causing the crying spells. Call the neuro/psych's office and tell them if they have a cancellation before your scheduled appointment to let you know as that's a long time to wait. Can you get another recommendation for another good neuro/psych that might see your child sooner? The sooner you get a formal diagnosis from a professional trained in making a differential diagnosis the sooner together with your child's doctor you can devise a treatment plan tailored to your childs needs. This child is indeed crying out for help and my heart goes out to you and your child. Heres a big hug

Prayingmom, what you have to realize is that inattention can be part of Asperbergers and NVLD.  And I agree with other posters that crying uncontrollably is not part of ADHD.  It's great that you're going to a neuropsychologist, even if the appointment is after school lets out.  It is really the only way you're going to know what's going on with your daughter; once you have the right diagnosis, you can put the proper interventions into place.

 

And it might just be ADHD related, and having an LD is frustrating to anybody.  It doesn't always indicate the need for another dx.  It could be anxiety related.  You sound like you are doing whats best for your child.  Helping her cope with her feelings is important too.

Thanks for all the replies. Currently, my daughter is not on meds. She was seen by a neurodevelopmental pediatrician. Which recommended counseling and a speech and language eval. Based on the eval and the data collected at neuro doc, she suggested an eval by a neuropsychologist to determine Asperger's or Non Verbal Learning Disability. Earliest appt available is after school is out, meanwhile her counselor thinks it is ADHD. I see the AD part but not the hyper at all. We are currently working on her diet eliminating milk, increasing water, reducing sugar, she also takes a lot of vitamins.

I am sorry to go on for so long. Any other suggestions or comments are appreciated. 

Being easily frustrated is typical for ADHD. Have you talked to her about why she is crying and how she feels? Is this her particular way of handling extreme frustration?

My son would cry too. It was from frustration. At the time his adhd was undiagnosed he had a harsh teacher with expectations beyond what his swirling mind could deal with. When it started happening I immiediately got him in to see a child psychologist along with initiating the diagnosis process for adhd to rule out everything else (visual, auditory,motor processing) and a load of others. Meds was never an option for us and somehow I got my hands on a book that turned everything around for us, Ritalin Free Kids by Dr. Ullman. Our homeopath gave our son back to us I don't know a better way to describe it. You have a lot of research ahead of you and this site is a wealth of information and the folks here will support you and help you find answers.

When she cries it is usually out of frustration because she feels she didn't do a good job on a paper, she ran out of time to complete a task, or her paper has mistakes that have to be corrected. It is harder for her to do the work and she is frustrated because she feels she is inadequate at times. Usually the crying starts with her trying to hold it in, and she just can't. She does not want to cry and is not using this as a way to get her on way, as sometimes outsiders at school may think. I have been really trying to bring up her confidence and let her know she is loved and it is ok to make mistakes. When I made the appt with the neurosych I tried to get in earlier but was told most people needing to get in was also in a "crisis situation" so it could not be expedited. I was told that neuropsychs are scarce around here.

Happy Friday to all of you. (end of the school week, whew!)

Thanks for all your help.

NeuroPsychs do have long waiting lists, if they are good. It felt like forever when we had to wait. Your poor kid. Can't they make some sort of accomodation so she can leave the class when she feels frustrated and like breaking into tears? Can't she have a place to wind down, like the counselor's office or the bathroom or the office? Does she need condemning? I believe, with all my heart, she isn't doing it to get attention. The "getting attention" card is way overplayed. Most kids cry because they're sad, frustrated or upset. Please keep your appt. Outside help can be powerful within a school district to get the help you need. If she has Aspergers, which is on the autism spectrum, they HAVE to offer your child lots of help, and be sure to demand it. I feel for you and your little one.OlderMom38772.3326967593It sounds like your daughter is hard on herself, and you're doing a good job of teaching her to lighten up.  Its hard to change a persons personality.  I assume she has an IEP to get extra time on tests.  It could be an option to have access to a computer, for errors etc.  Its really frustrating if teachers believe she is attention seeking.  Don't they get it that we know our children best.  I'm sure you've spoken to them about your beliefs, and how they may handle the situation the best.  I bought a bunch of little crafts and things for my son to keep at school.  If he felt he was going to get into trouble or was frustrated, he had permission to go in the hall to use them.  He never did use this option, but I think it helped to know he had them there.  It also helped me consequence him if he didn't make the right choice.  Im not suggesting your daughter need a consequence though, just an option to get control of her emotions.From my own son's experience, in hindsight, I would have sought out the school counsellor earlier. I would have insisted that he be allowed to leave the classroom without delay when the frustration/tears were coming.  We did arrange this later, but not before some damage was done. The counsellor arranged for a private, comfortable room for him to retreat to when needed - crying in the hall was only a marginally better location as there are always going to be kids out there too. Just knowing that it was an option helped him a great deal, and he knew that it was not to be a privelege to take advantage of. By the way, my son is of the non-hyper ADD variety too.

And to OlderMom, congratulations on raising 3 kids to adulthood. Well done. But would you mind actually reading the posts, maybe a few times to be clear, before you conclude a mis-dx? ALL of the answers to your questions are actually in the post you responded to. But for the record YES we've seen a Neuro-Psych, Child Psychologist, Pediatrician/Psychologist, Asperger's Team and Allergists. He's been tested for everything under the sun, yes - even in Canada. He has ADD. I know you mean well and want to help people find the right dx's, but please read the posts you are responding to and see if it anwers your questions first. Just because your autistic son wouldn't cry in class does not mean my son is misdiagnosed. Thanks, PB
PuckBunny's advise sounds GREAT to me. I think your child's self-esteem is suffering! (can you feel my sympathy pains?) I would talk to the school psych about an accommodation very soon.Let her see a psychologist even now to help her cope with her emotions. I cried a lot in elem school as an undiagnosed adhd student. Perfectionism and frustration with School work issues can wreck havok on the emotions.

I agree that the school should be able to help her even now due to her mental anguish. She should be allowed to go to the counselor's office or somewhere "safe" to get some space.
Let us know how she is doing - best wishes for her!
I used to cry in high school! It was always because I was so overwhelmed. I don't remember people making fun of me for it, but then again I was not very observant. I have ADHD, Turettes and had a learning disability. I was just having trouble adjusting to regular classes. Prior to 9th Grade I was primarily put in special ed classes. I did adjust and stopped crying by 10th.