ADHD Adopted Children | ADHD Information

I am the mom of an 8-year-old girl who we adopted from Ukraine when whe was 2.5 years. She was hyper from the first day we brought her home. This is my first and only child, and I was 39 at the time of her adoption. I thought she was going through the "terrible two's" at first and later when she was too active in pre-school, gymnastics and was asked to leave ballet classes, I finally realized that we had a problem. She has been on medication now for two years and I am drained and tired. She just started the new patch this week and it has shown some good effects, but she needs an adjustment.  She is violent, disrespectful, and now is finding it difficult to make/keep friends.  Is there anyone else who is going through the same problems that I am? I don't know if the issues prior to her adoption is a factor or just bad parenting skills on my part. I can't seem to find a psychologist I am comfortable with and we are on a waiting list for in-home care. She attends a private school and they will not allow a TSS worker in or really work with me as far a plan.  I am new to this site and I guess I am just looking for any kind of advise.  Thanks!Search the posts on the first few pages of this section -- I believe there have been several who have posted lately about adopting ADHD children.  Welcome to the board, I hope you find the answers you seek Thanks for the advise and welcome.  I have been feeling so frustrated and alone in this. I find myself not wanting to be around my own child at times, and wish I could just retreat to a quiet place for a week to just sleep. I feel so guilty about these feelings and just find myself crying. I know that my dd is a wonderful little girl who can't help what she does or says. Last night she actually broke our kitchen table after picking it up and slamming it on the floor a few times. She does this often, but last night two of the screws that hold the leaf in place fell out (I guess they had been coming loose over time/tantrums) and the table collapsed! My husband is in Asia and has been gone for 3 months and I have had to be both mom and dad as well as Ms. Fix-it (I am not that handy). Anyway, after about an hour of trying to fix this...which I finally did she threw a fork and her food at me along with anything else she could grab. These things happen every day. We do see a psychiatrist who prescribes her meds, but has not mentioned any evaluations...such as a neuropsychologist. This is something I will explore. She has also been diagnosed with ODD (from the psychiatrist and her ped).  She was started on Adderall, but continually picked the skin off of the pads of her fingers to the point of her getting an infection and was taken off that and placed on Focalin which worked okay for about a year, but she still displayed anger and her behavior was very violent at night. We only see the psychiatrist every two months and we were advised to apply for SSI so that we could get denied and take our denial letter to the welfare office for a medical card (Pennsylvania).  We needed the medical card in order to get in-home therapy. We did this only to find out that there is a 1-year wait for in-home tx. In the meantime I have signed her up for a youth anger group that will start in a few weeks.  I am thinking about taking her out of private school so that she could get more help in school. This breaks my heart because she and I both like her school. I like the small population and most of the teachers, and she has a "few" friends. I have tried to keep her busy with Karate, soccer, & scouts. She was in gymnastics but didn't well if she had to wait her turn and ballet was a disaster. Sorry about the long reply. I really appreciate your input! The only comment I can add that has not been addressed. Is that some public schools offer better help for children. We started off in a private school and switched to public school November of K.

Have they addressed attachment issues?  Is it possible that she is having problems with that?

Also, I am wondering if there is an organization in your area that helps adoptive families deal with issues that arise with adoption.  Here in Wisconsin, we have an organization called Adoption Resources of Wisconsin.  They hold a lot of classes and learning sessions, and can be a great resource.

 

I am sorry for everything your daughter is going through. 

My son is 5 and is adopted from Guatemala. He was recently diagnosed with ADHD and we are just beginning to try to find the proper meds for him.  He is a sweet, wonderful little boy.  He bonded with us immediately when we brought him home at 8 1/2 months, and we really didn't experience many problems with him until he was 4 and began the preschool room at daycare.  He has always been passionate - when he is happy, he is very happy and everyone around him is drawn to him.  He could be equally passionately unhappy or sad.

I don't know much about Ukraine adoptions, or the incidence of behavioral or other problems from there.  I am glad that you found this board - just knowing that you have support and a place for information is a huge help.

Hi and welcome.  Have you found a parent support group for Ukraine adoptions?  I found one pretty easily by googling Ukraine adoption support group.  You may find out more information specific to your situation there.  www.frua.org

One of the first thoughts to cross my mine was Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE).  Don't know if that pertains to your daughter, but I thought I'd throw it out there.  There is information on that in the above web site.

Have you gotten her a thorough eval with a neuropsychologist?  Having that information on her cognitive abilities could be very helpful to you in finding the right intervention for her.

You may want to google bipolar also.  A psychiatrist would be the one to diagnose that.  If she has bipolar, I have read that stimulants can make them behave worse.

Go to your nearest Children's Hospital or University Hospital and make an appointment for a full eval.  That would be a good starting point.  Then you need to read, read, read and educate yourself as much as possible.  Good luck!

First, you are not alone.

My 10yo has only recently come out of her "terrible twos" with the help of a behavior plan and meds.

Was her diagnosis made by a child psychiatrist or neuropsychologist; and what type of doctor is managinge the meds? It sounds like she has at least oppositional deffiance (ODD) with the ADHD (not uncommon). A psychiatrist with experience in ADHD med management usually has many strategies for managing the ADHD and the co-morbidities that come with it and would be less likely to undermedicate (common with pediatricians). My daughter's doctor has told me that there are lots of ways to customize meds to a child's individual needs. It may take time to find the best med and dose for her. Also if additional help is needed, meds such as guanfacine (Tenex) or clonidine can be added to help with hyperactivity and defiance; or a combo of stim med and strattera. These are all posibilities if you get to a dose on the patch that seems good but not good enough in these areas. Discuss this with the doctor; you may need to keep a log of behaviors to pinpoint when the problems are occuring and what adjustments could be made.

Behavior can also be helped with a positive reinforcement behavior plan like is described in the thread called Ogram's marble system. My daughter had one for school last year and then we added the home behaviors and came a long way in reducing the rages, disagreements and other conflicts. The meds have reduced her implulsiveness and have helped in school (reducing her frustration-she has gone from Fs to As and Bs). It is not perfect but pretty darn good.

One footnote: My adopted daughter appears to have inattentive form which is not bad enough to treat with meds (we use behavior plan and organizational skills). My biologic child is combination ADHD and is described above. They are 11 months apart.

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