14 yr old boy off medication
An electronic organizer has been extremely helpful for my ds, age 17.
To find a councellor, you could look into a Child or Adult Mental Health agency: They may be able to help direct you to some one in your area.Does he have an IEP?No--he hasn't needed one up til now. We were thinking of requesting a 504 since it is only a problem in this one class, but we are also concerned that he will be embarassed if he receives any treatment different from his classmates. In his own way, he is trying to assert independence as a young man and do things on his own. He wants to go to college and do it on his own.I am writing for help with a 14 year old boy who has been on ADHD medication for years. Now that he is in high school, he refuses to take his medication because it makes him feel "not himself" and he wants to make it on his own. He is doing well in all classes but one, which he is flat out failing, due to missing work, work done in class that he didn't do, assignments not done, etc., all undoubtedly due to his ADHD. He is already going to have to go to summer school to make up for this failure. We would like to respect his decision not to continue medication, but he will jeopardize his future if he fails high school classes. Are there any resources that might help him learn to manage himself so he can learn to succeed without medication? Does anyone have any non-RX recommendations?Elizabeth, try visiting us on the Alternatives to Meds section of this board. There are plenty of things you can do either instead of meds or in conjunction with meds. There is also info on there about eating, etc. that may help. I wish you the best of luck!
These kinds of posts are irritating.
My kid refuses to take medication anymore.
Are you a troll stirring trouble because you dislike meds, Or are you pissed off because medications work, or are you selling a program?
No, I don't beleive you have a kid who is taking medications.
I think you are -- I saw the post about Oldermom as well -- I can tell by her posts that she is the former screen name psm (and she has said as much as well). I think you alienate more folks by questioning their movtives. If they are trolls (which I really don't think this poster is) you are just giving them the attention they crave.bugz.... why all the paranoia lately???? I don't often post on this section anymore, but I read from time to time and you are so quick to hop on the troll wagon! I know you are a legit member of the board, but back off on some of these folks!
Some of us don't use meds and don't want to -- we have found ways that work that don't require a prescription. I don't fault those who choose to use meds. This post sounds sincere to me and I would like to think that this poster would feel comfortable to come back and seek info that might help. If you believe there is a "bogus" post, just refrain from posting back to that person.....
Because if your child has been on ritalin for years and years, your not going to use the generic name "medication".
Your going to say. little tommy is now 16, he refuses to take his ritalin anymore, claims that it makes him feel not himself.
not, little tommy is 14 now, he refuses to take his medications any more because he feels funny. and then uses medication 4 more times.
maybe i am being paranoid, maybe not.
Well, this certainly has been educational.
The 14 year old boy I wrote about is my daughter's boyfriend. He was on Adderall. My daughter is on Concerta as well as a migraine prevention medication. My husband takes 5 heart medications. I take pills for migraine prevention, depression, and anxiety. My younger daughter is fighting acne. My husband has a law enforcement background. In institutions they call them "meds." Maybe now you can understand why we don't always call each medication by it's own name.
I am gathering information for this boy's mom. She is not in good health and is beside herself with worry over her son--whom we have also learned to love. I offered to help.
From what people have posted and written me personally I gather the first thing we probably need to do is clean up his eating habits and make sure he gets adequate nutrition and vitamins, including whatever supplements they can afford. He is currently living on french fries a lot of the time. If he is adamant about not being able to live on Adderall, then he needs a physician to back him up so they can get an IEP lined up to not only fix the prolem with his current class, but also to address accommodations in future classes and most importantly (hopefully) teach him the skills he needs to succeed on his own in the future so by the time he leaves high school he will be able to handle college on his own. Hopefully this can be done through the school district, because this is not a family with a lot of money to spend on counseling services.
Did I miss anything important? If so, please let me know. Of course we are still going to talk him into going back on Adderall, or at least working with his doctor to find something else that might work (this is the third medication they've tried.)
My own daughter has had spectacular results with Concerta--the first medication they tried--and so far as she can tell she has no side effects whatsoever. I guess we are really blessed.
Thanks for everyone who gave valuable input, and for those who thought I was a "troll", please take a deep breath and realize there are plenty of people in this world who have good intentions and say exactly what they mean.
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