My little angel | ADHD Information

My son was doing much better at school since we put him back on strattera and gave it to him at night. (He is in kindergarten.) He was on concerta but it made him very moody.  The teacher always said that she bent the rules a little with my son because he was adhd.(Diag. 6 months ago)  We were using the incentive chart that he brings home daily.  The other day she decided to get stricter with him if he did not listen the first time and change his card.  She changed his card to yellow becasue he did not finish washing his hands when she told him.  He became very upset and started to have a temper tantrum.  He actually hit and tried to bite his teacher which has never happened.  He told me the kids were making him mad because they were laughing at him. (He was suspended for two days.)  The teacher told me she did not know what happened and that he has a anger problem.  She actually said that he was going crazy.

My son only displays this type of behavior at school and not home. (Getting upset when his card is changed.)   When he came back home that day, he apoligized to me and his father about what he did.  He wrote five I am sorry letters to his teacher and 20 I will behave sentences on his own will.  He asked me could I get him some better medicine so he would not get so angry.   

What I want to know is anger associated with adhd.  I always thought that ADHD was concentration and hyperactivity problems which he has.  Why does he display this behvior at school.  He does not get his way at home.  The poor boy gets punished so much because of his actions at school.  If we could fix the school problem, we would be a wonderfully happy family. Should I be looking for another medication?  Do you ever feel like you will never find the right one?

(Addreall made him crazy, concerta made him moody.)

 

Bless his heart!  It brought me to tears because it reminded me so much of the problems that I had with my son.  I really have a great son.  He can be so tender, caring and considerate.  His problems started all the way back in Pre-K.  They gave him detention!  In Pre-K!!! I won't go into all the details right now but after 5 years of trying to make him "acceptable" for them, our son's two Dr.s both told us that we may want to change school systems.  By moving 10 miles down the road and entering him into a different school system it was as if we had turned on a light!  I think that all the years of the teachers and especially the kids(who can be really brutal)were too much for him to handle.  It came to be that in every instance(whether it was his fault or not) he was the one that got blamed,ridiculed, and punished.  It really got ugly!  Love him!  Listen to him!  And listen to the Dr.!.IMac38945.473912037

How did the teacher prepare him for the change in discipline? If he wasn't properly prepared, it probably threw him when she changed the rules and he didn't understand why he was in trouble when he wouldn't have been before. That would bring out the frustration and the more the kids got into it, the more upset he would be.

I would find out if thats the case and then work with the teacher to help him usnderstand the rules.

ADHD is fluid--displayed at home and away from. If you wonder if the diagnosis is right, you may want to try taking him to a NeuroPsych. They can diagnose ADHD and beyond and run many tests, rather than just talk to you for an hour and get out a prescription pad. It worked for us. Our first dx. was ADHD too,b ut it was wrong. If your son has an ADHD mimicker with anger, he could get worse until you figure out the right med. ADHD meds work only for ADHD and can make other things worse. If you can't find the right med, I'd say a good re-evaluation is a good idea. Good luck.

Christie,

Your post is breaking my heart!! What a wonderful boy you have!  He wants to be so good.  He is amazing to be asking you to get him medicine that will help him.

He reminds me of my son who struggled with emotions and trying to do things just right.   I can't help my son right now, he is 21 and doesn't think there is anything wrong with him. But I might be able to help others, so I post here about what has helped me.

I have ADD also and have been helped so much by exercise therapy in a book called Stopping ADHD by Cook and O'Dell.  I have a post about it in the alternative part of this board.  It is called "crawlers unite!" and it details my progression through these exercises.  It has been amazing to me how much sense this book makes and how helpful it has been to me. 

It might help your son too, who knows.  There are other people trying the exercises.  Some have posted good things, but none are as far as I am in the exercises.  There is no other cost than the book unless you want to get the DVD that they offer on their website.

Good luck to your and to your son.

 

i don't think anger is particularly associated with ADD but the constant frustration and ALWAYS being in trouble or shouted or just not understanding and people talking too fast - you can't compute - and then they shout at you for not doing what you didn't understand you were supposed to do ---- can lead to anyone just having a melt-down!

in this case it sounds like it could be the Strattera that is the problem but then again the teacher just may have been dealing with him in such a way as to completely frustrate and overwhelm him... 

in a way perhaps he said it himself (probably without realising quite what he was saying) in can you put me on some medicine that won't make me so angry...

it could be read two ways (can you put me on medicine so I won't be so angry - or can you put me on medicine that doesn't make me so angry).

strattera can have fairly severe withdrawal symptoms btw (for adults too).  not in all cases but it definitely can happen so be very watchful if you are thinking of taking him off the Strattera. 

perhaps if none of the medications seem to work for him - you could try some of the alternative methods here (in the alternative and complementary thread) in the meantime while you consider your options and see if they can help at all?

he sounds like such a sweet child.

good luck. 

ChristieP,

The same exact thing has happened to my son.  At home, he is wonderful, loving, and caring.  But school is a different issue.  He is in 1st grade and he has been sent home and suspended from school several times.  Even if things are not his fault, he still gets blamed.

The other day, the principal called me at work, and told me that there was an incident in PE.  Told me that my son had made a terrorist threat to another kid.  That it would not be tolerated once he was in 2nd grade.  Come to find out, this was all in play.  A group of boys at PE were playing cops and robbers, and they were all running around pretending to shoot at each other, saying stick your hands up in the air, or I'll shoot you, etc.  The coach on duty even verified that this was the case.  Needless to say, because my son has a "history" of behavior issues, he was singled out.  I was furious!!!  I called the principal and let him have it!  Told him that I was tired of him singling my son out.  That the next time he does this, I won't even bother with him, we will just take it up int he Superintendents office.

So, I know where you are coming from.  We have taken my son off all stimulants and he now takes Wellbutrin.  He is really doing well on it.

A "terrorist" thread???? Gimme a break.I think you should get a second and third opinion.  I know my ds is adhd.  But at that age, the typical anger displays are going to be a bit more amplified, but this just doesn't settle right with me.  There might be some thing more to it than just adhd.  Older mom is right. We took my ds to a NeuroPsych and i tell you what, you cannot even tell my son is adhd! 

Strattera is known to cause aggression issues when not given at the proper dose.  What dose is he on?  I too agree that I don't think Strattera is useful for many kids with ADHD.  Many people have to add a stimulant.  

In addition, a suspension in kindergarten usually means the principal wants to "teach the parent a lesson".   There is no reason whatsoever to suspend a 5 year old.  It teaches them nothing except "cool, I get to stay home".

However, these outbursts should not be ignored, and I would definitely suspend meds until I knew what was going on.  ADHD can mean impulsivity (a quick hit or punch if antagonized) but it usually does not have rage (that aren't caused by meds). 

 

DON'T suspend the meds without proper medical supervision tho - and talking to your doctor!  as strattera is not  a stim and shouldn't be started and stopped just like that.



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