Please help - Newly dx’d ADHD kid | ADHD Information
At 28 months Katy was dx'd with dev delay and ASD. Now we have an ADHD dx. She just started Focalin with scant results. Her behaviors range from defiance, occasional biting, spitting, hitting, and reverting back to baby behaviors for comfort. ( I guess ) She is very bright - can write her name, friend's names, etc.....but cannot hardly ever sit still long enough to do it. She has what they call combined ADHD. Now recently, with Kindergarten approaching, she has regressed on her potty-training, which we just managed to get a good handle on over the past 4 months. She's been soiling herself at daycare and at home. She's back to wearing pull-ups at night and sometimes during the day. I'm wondering if this isn't a way for her to try to manipulate her entering Kindergarten, as a friend of mine told her she couldn't go if she kept pottying in her pants.
On the up-side, Katy is a sweet, loving, caring little girl, especially with the other students in her daycare who are severely disabled. She is very attentive to them and very sweet - she brings them colorbooks and toys and tends to them as a caregiver would. On the other hand, she wants to be like them. The other day she asked for a "case" ( cast ) for her leg and she often imitates a severely disabled girl who cannot walk or talk. I hope that this part of things will subside as she enters a classroom of typical kids but I'm just not sure.
She sees an occupational therapist once a week and I am resuming her psychiatric appointments once we get past her Kindergarten shots and enrollment - hoping for a three day vacation before school.
Advice? TIA.
[QUOTE=edbson]Have you considered another med, or maybe another diagnosis? Has anyone mentioned BP?[/QUOTE]
We just got this ADHD dx last week. Just started the Focalin two days ago. No one has mentioned BP. I'm afraid you'll need to tell me what that is. 
Ok. I was afraid that Bi-Polar is what you meant.
Her pedicatrician is trained in ADHD disorders. She made the dx.
5 is not too young for the autism diagnosis though. Who diagnosed the ASD?Have you considered another med, or maybe another diagnosis? Has anyone mentioned BP?I dont think she is soiling herself to manipulate Kindergarten. How have her other behaviors been since starting the Focalin? I am curious as I have a friend with a son who has autism and when his meds (Adderall) are off he tends to have potty accidents. It's more about his focus being off. Kids on the AS spectrum as well as some ADHD kids have a hard time potty training.
I agree the role models in an integrated classroom with some mainstreamed kids will be GREAT for her!
[QUOTE=Diane V]I dont think she is soiling herself to manipulate Kindergarten. How have her other behaviors been since starting the Focalin? I am curious as I have a friend with a son who has autism and when his meds (Adderall) are off he tends to have potty accidents. It's more about his focus being off. Kids on the AS spectrum as well as some ADHD kids have a hard time potty training.
I agree the role models in an integrated classroom with some mainstreamed kids will be GREAT for her!
[/QUOTE]
Hi Diane. Thanls for your reply. She just started the Focalin yesterday. Her 'compliance' was improved - I didn't have to tell/ask her to do things over and over again like usual. However, she was much more hyper than usual. I'll give the Focalin a week or so and it there isn't more improvement all around I'll call her Doc to see what the options are. She has been taking Clonidine at night for sleep since last November.
She's going to her doctor today for three shots she needs to enroll in Kindergarten. I'm so nervous. I wish there were a way around it but I know there isn't. Yesterday was really bad - she'd been having loose bm's and some really contrary behaviors. I don't know if it's the new meds or what.
Thanks for your replies. Every little bit helps.
good luck! Will she be in an integrated classroom?
[QUOTE=Diane V]good luck! Will she be in an integrated classroom?
[/QUOTE]
Yes, as far as I know at this point she will be. I've not decided for sure yet which school I am sending her to. I have phone calls to make today with questions in regards to special services - ST, resource aides, that kind of thing.
[QUOTE=Diane V]5 is not too young for the autism diagnosis though. Who diagnosed the ASD?[/QUOTE]
Her pediatric developmental specialist. Dev. delay is her formal dx.
sounds solidHi,
I really don't know much about children with BP but what in this child's behavior suggests that possibility. Just curious.
When my son first started Focalin XR the doc started him on a low dose that didn't do anything except cause him to rebound (behavior gets worse when it starts to wear off). As soon as we moved him up to a higher dose we saw great results. Is your daughter on the xr or the short acting? My doc gave my son the short acting pill to take when he gets home from school to help with rebound and get him through homework time, but while it did help with the rebound (that only lasted a couple weeks) it doesn't seem to do a whole lot for him otherwise so we don't even bother with it anymore.
Could it be that your daughter is feeling nervous about kindergarten as well? That could be a possible reason she's regressed with the potty issues. It's not that she's being manipulative, but that when children (even ones that aren't adhd or dev. delayed) are faced with a big change they often regress- not just potty wise, but thumb sucking, security blankets, clinging to mommy.
Good luck with the shots. 
At 28 months Katy was dx'd with dev delay and ASD. Now we have an ADHD dx. She just started Focalin with scant results. Her behaviors range from defiance, occasional biting, spitting, hitting, and reverting back to baby behaviors for comfort. ( I guess ) She is very bright - can write her name, friend's names, etc.....but cannot hardly ever sit still long enough to do it. She has what they call combined ADHD. Now recently, with Kindergarten approaching, she has regressed on her potty-training, which we just managed to get a good handle on over the past 4 months. She's been soiling herself at daycare and at home. She's back to wearing pull-ups at night and sometimes during the day. I'm wondering if this isn't a way for her to try to manipulate her entering Kindergarten, as a friend of mine told her she couldn't go if she kept pottying in her pants.
On the up-side, Katy is a sweet, loving, caring little girl, especially with the other students in her daycare who are severely disabled. She is very attentive to them and very sweet - she brings them colorbooks and toys and tends to them as a caregiver would. On the other hand, she wants to be like them. The other day she asked for a "case" ( cast ) for her leg and she often imitates a severely disabled girl who cannot walk or talk. I hope that this part of things will subside as she enters a classroom of typical kids but I'm just not sure.
She sees an occupational therapist once a week and I am resuming her psychiatric appointments once we get past her Kindergarten shots and enrollment - hoping for a three day vacation before school.
Advice? TIA. 
Actually she sounds adorable and loving
Coming from someone who's 49 with ADHD and I can 'forget to go' ALL DAY [i get home and realize I'm gonna bust a kidney] ---I'm not surprised with all the excitement of other kids around and "taking care of everyone" that Katy is "forgetting" to use the bathroom frequently. I doubt it's deliberate at this point--after all she probably wants to be a "big girl" and she doesn't like to feel wet or dirty either.
I was in Grade 2 before I stopped wetting myself at school etc. and I have an IQ of near genius. I literally could ignore my "need to go" because there was so much distraction and excitement.
Potty training isn't a straight line and I wasn't the only kid I knew that had "accidents" in Grade One. So I wouldn't get too worked up about it, yet. If it goes past Grade 2--then I'd panic
Like Katy I read and wrote and counted BEFORE I ever went to kindergarten. But I couldn't sit still, either.
Frankly, it just sounds like Katy's adjusting to schedule changes and her excitement with all the new stuff going on in her life. The bigger deal you make of it--the longer it will probably go on. Try just having her rinsing out her own things [yes I know she won't do a very good job yet] as the consequence and see if sliding the rest will move her on her way.