adhd and rages | ADHD Information
yes my grandson is on medication,,,,,concerta,,clonidine and depakote,,,,,and he has a dr he sees,,,,he gets frustrated real easy,,,does not like to be pressured,,,and hates loud noise,,,alot of different things,,,,i hate seeing both my grandkids this way,,,the other has adhd,tourettes,,and bipolar,,,i got alot of anger there because their mom,,,,my daughter was doing drugs when carrying them they don't diserve this,,,it is not fair,,,,so i am looking for alot of info,,,because i raise all 3 of my daughter's childrenMaybe consider counseling for them? There are specially trained counselors who treat people (adults and children) with adhd and are also trained to deal with their medication, and will offer help and tips on how to improve the performance of medication. If you mean he is already involved in counseling but doesn't like it, ask him what he would like you to do to make it easier on him. (Even if it is buying him some toy, just get him to cooperate)Personally, I find that for younger children, something that helps keep them occupied (not out of you hair though) is coloring. Amphetamine gives a person great concentration and will give people an obsessive compulsive need to do things, and coloring is something small kids can do to keep themselves occupied and less irritant.
Basically amphetamine makes mental tasks very entertaining and interesting and creative things such as that would be great for them. It's sort of like giving a screaming baby a pacifier.
Sensitive to loud noises is a known side effect of medications on some people. Maybe just give him some peace and quiet time to do something he likes would put him in a better mood?
My brother is also nine, and he has ADHD too (like me). He has definitely been known to have tantrums. I know I can too, definitely, but like Vickie said about her daughter, that might have been the stress of school (I was undiagnosed, and stuck in advanced math and science courses...I was stressing out about everything, as we all know, high school is hard enough, but add ADHD and, well...)
I'm not really sure what advice to give you, for my little brother, I just try to hold him still until he calms down, or if he's being REALLY bad just let him sit on the couch by himself. It's true that a psychiatrist could be a big help---but that's for your family to decide. Try to act as you would parenting any kid...be firm, let him know he has to calm down, make sure he knows this anger isn't okay and there will be consequences for it, etc...Of course there are exceptions to this, especially since ADHD people can be very sensitive (at least, that's my opinion). Just try to keep your cool when he has a tantrum, and stick to one kind of punishment/way of reacting. That can help a lot, b/c having a routine, even in just 'he's-having-a-tantrum-again,-what-do-we-do' situations, will help him.
Just my advice! I hope it helps you. 
It would probably be a great help. (medication)
What we found to help my daughter get through the rages (she would throw things, hit and kick us, etc) was to back off. We would calmly tell her that when she could calm down we would be there to discuss whatever it was with her (if we were to get angry, it would only escalate things). When she did calm down we would give her heavy praise for getting a handle on herself. Then we would go back to the issue that started the whole thing. If it was a melt down over homework (usually), then we would get her restarted on the homework (she would never get out of anything because of a tantrum). We have been successfully working with meds this summer and will be optimizing them when school starts. On meds, she is now reading for pleasure (she always complained that reading was too hard-she is dyslexic) and has become very cooperative most of the time, so we are hoping for a more successful school year this time.
Hi Sandi777,
My ADHD daughter had rages during the school year, which appeared to have been triggered by the anxiety of a new school and failure (they have settled down during the summer). This complicated her diagnosis because the psychiatrist had to rule out bipolar. Here is a link to some of the similarities and differences in ADHD and bipolar (which can look similar or be comorbid with each other):
http://www.adhdnews.com/bipolar.htm
Is your grandson currently under the care of a psychiatrist, and is your grandson on any meds?
does anyone here have children with adhd and rages,,,,my grandson,,,gets upset and blows,, he is nine,,,and i got the bruises ,,,need to know what is causing this for him and give dr ideas,,,thank youeuphoria,,,,do you have adhd,,,,by chance,,,if so,,,please give me alot of info,,tyi got a book called 1 2 3 magic,,,,man it drains you,,,but i can see progress with them and i have to change things too,,,i didn't think with them having adhd,,and more that it would work at all,,,,,well i have seen good,,,,but i have to stay on top of it,,,,,lol
sandi777,
You might want to look at the CHADD web site for ADHD and co-existing conditions for more information. It sounds like your grand kids have a lot going on. Here is the link to CHADD's "what we know" sheets:
http://www.help4adhd.org/en/about/wwk
Since much of this is genetic, is it possible that your daughter was dealing with some of these disorders herself and self medicating (some drug abuse is a form of self-medicating)? I know it is hard to see your loved ones suffer. I have found this board to be very helpful through our journey.
I agree, its very helpful.In fact, I'm most active and helpful on this board when I take my meds, so I can be amped up and support it at the same time
I am an adult with ADHD. I have had rages all through my life. My family used to think I was crazy. I didn't get diagnosed with ADHD(inattentive) until several years ago. Taking a stimulant was necessary to treat my ADHD but it did not help my rage episodes. I am also prone to depression so Zoloft was added but that still did not help my rage episodes. It wasn't until more recently that my new doctor added in 100mg of Topamax (in addition to 50mg Zoloft, and 60mg Ritalin) that I have found a new balance that was never there before. It it like I have a new lease on life. I was starting to think that I was a horrible mom & wife, always yelling at my toddler and my husband, but even my hubby has said that with the new med combo I am 100% different, and my family totally notices it too. Yah!! I was a very peaceful and spacey child when I was little, but then I immigrated twice and my only brother died a horrible death. So I lost alot of that peace. I have only recently been getting it back, I used to have bad episodes of irritability (but I'm too good of a person to ever hurt anyone, so I guess they werent that bad) but I considered them bad for what I am now. My parents and I noticed how I was alot more irritable when I was frustrated with my learning and focusing, and after two years of trying everything possible that was not related to stimulant medications, considering adhd testing began. No one ever noticed because through K-12 years of schooling, I was always the kid who sat on the back not listening to the teacher but still managed to get As. So when I started getting mentally stimulated and challenged, I realized that I couldn't focus like a normal person and that I had always been really unfocused and all that people could remember from my child hood was my space-cadet things, like once i asked my aunt where my toy was and she laughed and told me it was on my hand...and I had not noticed! My parents also pulled all my report cards since I was a little kid where the teachers consistently said "he's very intelligent but pays no attention in class". Anyway, ADHD medication has a complete positive effect on me. Instead of making me irritable or agitated, it settles me down and when I accomplish the tasks I set for myself I feel really happy...so the irritability actually went away with ADHD treatment! Since I don't believe in the power of medications alone, I am constantly searching for new methods of dealing with concentration and mental health, like meditation, martial arts, self hypnosis, trying to reduce my intake of things like caffeine. I live in New York and go to school there, and it is a really stressful town/lifestyle, so you really need to balance yourself if you want to have a healthy life.
anyway, that was a very long and winding post, but basically, ADHD medication (adderall for me) and homeopathic therapy that induces mental relaxation have reduced the irritability.
However, sometimes people just piss me off. that happens to everyone! I try really hard but every now and then my mom and I have a nasty fight...which I've come to accept as completely normal in a mother-son relationship :)
It might be really hard for this kid to accomplish tasks and that's where you should focus. accomplishment and building self esteem instead of medicating him silly. but medication helps a great deal...basically like I said, keeping a balance. Enroll him in karate or judo, it's always a great thing to do to release the energy. Encourage creative forms of energy, like painting and music. I play guitar, am an amateur photographer and I have some poetry published. I use creativity as a place where i can focus my mind when I'm tired of dealing with logical thinking.
Also, finding a role model...that's always life-changing. Fortunately for me, one of my greatest heroes is my dad, but I know I looked up to many people during my forming years and that positive role models or heroes were essential for my personal formation. However, don't think that 'positive' role models can be misunderstood!! During the time I was very irritable/angry...I was a little older than this kid, I was in high school (14 or 15 years old) so about Euphoria's current age. I was the kid who spiked his hair in a mohawk and listened to punk rock. But alot of the artists I listened to talked about helping human beings, standing up for the weak, studying to be able to help the causes...they were a positive influence! My high school counselor did not think so...he tried to get me to listen to less angry music instead haha. But I still maintain that the source of my anger was not my lifestyle, but rather my inability to focus and the effort it would take to complete tasks.
Ok, so I went a little too crazy on this post, but hopefully you can get something helpful out of this.
OUR SON IGNORED HIS COUNSELOR WHEN WE WENT.