off meds and doing great | ADHD Information
I wrote a few months ago about my 12 year old dd. He's in 7th grade and has an IEP. He tested high on his state test so we decided to put him in honors math.
Anyhow, it's like he woke up this year. He decided that he no longer wants to be adhd or special needs and decided to go off his meds, and refused all supports he was getting in school.
so here we are months later and he's doing great. He has new friends, his grades are good, and his behavior is fine. It's like a different child.
Ironically, his teacher said he no longer has meltdowns (about the time we took him OFF meds they stopped)...strange, I never even considered the meds might cause those???
Well cross my fingers this kids stays the path.....
Great news! A little maturity can go a long way. It may also be that the work is more challenging and interesting to him so it maintains his attention better.
My daughter's doctor likes to take a med break every year during school to see if the child has matured to the point of not needing meds or requires a reduced amount. If the need is still there, you get that feedback as well.
vickie -- how long do the trials need to be for you to know?She is on concerta (is out of the system quickly as opposed to strattera). We went for 2 weeks this year. That takes into account the natural ups and downs my daughter has and gave the teacher a chance to really evaluate her. It is probably best not to do it at the start of school when they are in that honeymoon period.
Recently, we had a very bad homework afternoon. I started worrying the meds were no longer working for her. When I commented on it, my daughter scolded me for forgetting to remind her to take her medicine. 
I had not realized she was without medicine that day. Ever since, she reminds me that she needs her meds in the morning.
I'd be careful about telling teachers you're taking them off meds. Then they look for things. We tried that last year and it didn't work.
This year we told nobody he was off meds and the funny thing is at conferences one teacher said his behavior has vastly improved and asked if we increased the meds!!
I said we were doing something but wasn't specific....HA!
I think for my son at least, there was a point where he took ownership of his needs and decided that it was important enough to him to hold it together. I honestly, a year ago, never thought that would happen so for those out there with younger ones, have hope!!!! I think all 7th graders have this need to fit in with the group and he viewed taking meds as something that made him different (even though nobody knew). He still has an IEP at school but has no supports at this time so he doesn't even know he has one.
I also think, that the meds might have had a negative side effect of anxiety that gave him meltdowns during stress points at school. These seemed to disappear after we took him off the meds. He had these meltdowns at camp which caused major problems at camp and he was on the meds at camp.
My advice is when looking at behaviors on/off meds, look at ALL behaviors because while some may be better on meds, some may be worse. And don't tell the teachers. I think teachers mostly want kids on meds cause it makes them feel like something is being done so if you tell them they are off meds, the teachers try to find things to tell you. I don't think it's the teacher's fault. Most are taught that these meds "fix" kids. Of course meds can help, but we all know they don't "fix" our kids.
In the end, he may choose as an older teen or adults to take meds for major exams, but that will be his choice.
Anyhow, the biggest improvement for my son is his social skills. He still has a way to go, but for the first time he is making friends, and nice friends. And trying to make more friends.
Ironically, he went to a birthday party and there were 2 kids there who either had ASP or some sort of PDD and he came home and he totally recognized why their behavior was different and he said to me, "they must have special needs". To me, that was huge that he could recognize behavior that wasn't appropriate.
We stopped meds on my son 1 1/2 years ago, and while we now deal with alot of hyperactivity, his social improvements have been huge also. He has many more friends and kids really like him now, as opposed to when he was much quieter and more intense on meds. He was also more aggressive on meds. (he is now 11 and in 6th grade)