Trouble With Friends? | ADHD Information

My ds is 6 and in Kindergarten. We finally found the right meds and he is
very bright. He seems to have problems socially at times. Some days he
gets along fine with his friends and days like today, he doesn't. I think
that his teacher forgot to give him a dose of med today and that caused
him to act the way he did. He said that he argued with his friends outside
on the playground and started the argument. His teacher didn't mention
anything had happened. He is not typically impulsive at all and always
tries to be good. I am constantly getting him involved in many different
activities so he is exposed to different kids (only 5 other boys in his
class/ 6 girls). I set up playdates regularly although not always with
schoolmates because there isn't that many of them. The kids seem to
like him, but I don't know how to help him. I tell him to be nice to his
friends and to try to talk to some other kids in his class. He seems to be
listening and his teacher says that he is happier. He does have anxiety
issues which we are working on with a therapist. The Focalin makes it
worse. Am I overreacting? Also, at least 4-5 kids have been out sick and
the others probably don't feel well either. I just want him to be happy
and have friends. Anyone have advice?Hi Babygonz,  it sounds to me like he is doing great!  Remember, he's only 6.  And sometimes we moms tend to overly critique and scrutinize our kiddos behavior.  I'm certainly guilty of that.   You sound like you are doing a good job getting him involved with peers--good job!  He will make friends soon.

Was he upset about the argument or was he just telling you?  Also, how frequently is it happening?  It's quite normal for kids this age to have disagreements on the playground- developmentally they are still working out how to interact with more than one other person at a time, so playing in groups of three and more often can be tricky.

What I've most noticed about my son's (8 yr. old- ADD) interactions with his friends is that they are so much more aggressive, in a typical boy way, than I'm used to.  The boys are rough with each other when playing actively, with a mix of good sportsman-like talk ("nice kick") and good natured put-downs which make me cringe.  It's the same when they're playing video games, except the put downs seem even more prevelant.  If the girls were to act this way, they'd be in tears, sobbing about not being friends anymore, but the I guess it's just the way some boys interact.  I find myself biting my tongue a lot cause my first instinct is to tell them to talk to each other nicely. 

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that sometimes the things we perceive as problematic as moms are not always to our children, so be sure to watch closely and see if anyone is actually feeling hurt, or if it's just that they've said something that could have been potentially hurtful, but no one is taking it that way.  I hope some of this made sense.

Thanks for your input. He was upset that I would be mad at him. He always
wants to be good and knows if he did something wrong. He wasn't
complaining about his friends. These are all "active" boys and I'm sure it is
forgotten already. I just have to learn to step back and relax a bit I think.
He is better one on one with his friends. Is this typical? Groups tend to
overwhelm him a little. He does so much better with one friend over the
house at a time.

It is typical the nature of the beast.  My child has the opposite the other kids look at her like she is a freak and ignore her most of the time.  when she is outgoing she will meet someone but most of the time the friendship does not last long.  I have her in Girl Scouts, dance, to help her meet others.  We have good days and bad days.