tantrums vs. zombie | ADHD Information

You have a good heart and it sounds like he was on too much meds.  I would see a psychologist to help with behavior plan for he may not even need meds. Good luck.My son is from foster care and we adopted him That issue is a whole differnt equation. Was his birthmother a drug abuser during pregnancy? My son's b-mom was. If so, he could have fetal alcohol effects and other things on top of ADHD. THese kids also often have attachment problems if they don't have early nurturing, and that can affect development. Is there a history on the birth family? My son's birthfamily history is virtually unknown since his b-mom, high on crack, kinda just left him in the hospital and disappeared. That makes it harder to figure out what's going on. Has your son had a total evaluation? Since we had no history on our son, we made sure he had several evaluations until they could figure him out, and, boy, it took a long time. I highly recommend a NeuroPsych. I doubt this is stand alone ADHD issues here. THey said my son had ADHD too, but that was the tip of the ice berg. Much more going on. What meds is he on? LOL (although not funny) my son was probably on them too--there were few he hasn't been on. In the end, we found out meds weren't what he needed at all. I know how frustrating it is with a kid who is adopted at an older age. Actually, he sounds like, when he is himself, he is a very good, helpful, sweet boy.  My husband and I recently got custody of his 8 almost 9 yr old son. We have been told he has ADHD. He was given 2 meds together making him a zombie who doesn't want to eat or do anything(we think it was because he was in foster care and they didn't want to deal with him). We took him off the meds till we can get him to a doctor in our state. Over all he is ok, wants to help out and everything. But when he is asked to do something that he finds frustrating (like school work) he screams and cries. He tells me no , i dont want to , leave me alone, and is verbally mean to everyone around. After his "mood" is over he acts like it never happend. We cant punish him durring his "mood" because he screams like we are killing him even if we send him to the corner. I even tried punishment chores for after is "mood" but he enjoys it. I am not sure what to do please any suggestions???Get your son tested by a neuropsycholigist.  They have the training and will do the diagnostic tests that will help pinpoint the problem.  Some meds can cause a "rebound" effect in some kids and some have withdrawal type side effects when they come off medication, but that's not something that happens to everyone.

When do his moods happen?  What is he doing or eating just before one comes on?  How long does it last?  Do they happen at the same time of day?  How often do they happen?

Most ADD/ADHD kids have a problem with getting frustrated easily.  I have found that it helps to give very explicit directions.  Ds made dinner today with my instructions.  I said "First, put the stool in the pantry.  Second, stand on the stool and get the crockpot lid down.  Next get the crockpot itself down..."  Breaking it down into very simple steps might help.  I think it's something that gets better as they get older, because last summer ds wouldn't have been able to handle this job.  Of course, the fact that I pointed out that if he cooked dinner he wouldn't have to wash dishes after dinner might have helped!

I had the same thing happen with my child. Please see my post on Strattera. Good luck.

If he was a zombie he was probably on to much medication. It could be a very simple fix just finding the right dosage for him. He sounds like, from your post, that he is pleasant aside from having to do things like homework, which is a very typical ADHD trait.

In the meantime when you see him starting to get frustrated, take that as your cue to take a break. Tell him that you can see he is frustrated, and "hey lets take a break and try this again in a minute".

Good luck!

Sounds like the meds are wrong, as mentioned by others.

A high-EPA Omega-3 supplement helps with mood.