medication question | ADHD Information

My son has been on metadate for almost a year now.  He has had great results.  At first he had a little trouble with sleep and moodiness but that dissipated.  He is a little quieter and a little more introverted.  But his teachers are extremely pleased with his attentiveness and ability to get work done in class.  I think they said something like, "It's like giving a kid who can't see glasses".  We have not tried anything else, because the metadate seems to be working.  our 9 yr. old DD just went on metadate at beggining of this school year and got the best report card of he r life 1st .quarter. then she stared to slide downhill. refused to take meds  for a while, started again to regain tv privlages. can't get a straight answer from anyone one on side effect of sleeplessness sometimes. they say at that point the meds should have been long gone from system. call and write to many people at the school till you are satisfied. then call and write again often. they will start to get the message that you mean business and that your not going to go away. we have found the level of knowledge and expperience with kids w/ad/hd varies alot amoung the staff. the pricipal usually seems to minimize things at our meetings as he is looking out for his bottom line in next years budget. call and write to the school board members and then complain in writing to the state and then the feds. your child deserves an education set up that "levels the -playing  feild" just like all our kids do. good luck

Hannah's mom

I recently posted about a discipline strategy that we are using with my son (also 6 yrs) at school.  If he is disruptive or argues with the teacher or refuses to complete an assignment then he must go to "practice academy".  While the rest of his class is at recess, he must go back to class with the counselor or asst principal and practice the desired behaviour 5 or 6 times before he is allowed to join the class outside (it usually takes about 10 min).  I think this is an effective discipline strategy for my son as it requires him to complete the desired activity/behavior and yet he still gets to have some fun.  I am sorry that your teacher is being difficult.  I cannot see how denying your child the fun of a party is effective discipline.  Surely this is not the first child with adhd she's ever met?  Is there anyone you can talk to at the school (like the counselor or asst principal or principal) that you can get on your side to suggest a better discipline alternative that works for everyone?  I know the school can put a lot of pressure on you but be strong.  You're the mom and you know what is best for your daughter and sometimes you have to really push back to get them to back down.

How do you go about dealing with the pressure from the school when your child is trying the best he/she can to follow the rules but can't? I have had conversation after conversation with her teacher and she is aware of the testing, etc. that is going on but still continues to do things like not allowing my child to be a part of the class Christmas party because of her behavior. I don't want to go off on this woman because I am afraid it will make things worse in the long run for my daughter. But at the same time it just is making my daughter feel worse to be kept apart from the "fun" parts of school and only be made to participate in the things she finds difficult.I am happy to hear about the progress in school that he has made.  At the same time, I don't think it should be limited to school and not to home when we are doing his homework and trying to eat dinner, and other things at night time.  I feel as if that he does well in school, then comes home, and is hyper, like the meds did not even come into the picture, and the behavior is still there.  I am sure I am not the only person that this has happened with so I am curious as to what happens in these situations?yes regular release Focalin, you could give him 5 mg after school and it should be out of his system by bedtime. Your only issue may be if it affects appetite during dinner. I think it's worth a try. Absolutely you need afternoon coverage...........Would the school adminster that to him at the end of the day?  Are they allowed to do that?sure you could do it that way. You would get a note from the doctor and you would leave it with the school nurse, he would have to go to the nurse to get it.  Or you could give it to him as soon as he got home. Diane V39436.4849189815Just remember, there is no emergency. You can tell everyone to back off so that you can carefully evaluate the situation. Pressure from the school is common. You don't need to jump.

Hello and Welcome

We did not have a good experience on Metadate, but many have, so please don't let my reply discourage you.

My son is 5. We tried it, once. We didnt see any improvement (we had w/others, even immediately), but once rebound occured, it scared me to death. He yelled, screamed, was totally irrationable (?) for hours. My DH was at work, so my parents came over just to help me deal with him. I was concerned he was having a bad reaction. He demanded total silence from us, the dishwasher, t.v. , everything, he would cry for no reason, with his face becoming bright red and blochy. Nothing would console him. This went on for hours. About 6 hours to be exact. When I called his psychiatrist the next day, he suggested we try it again to see if this episode was indeed the medicine. I have NEVER seen him act this way, so I had no doubts. It literally scared me. We are now on Ritalin. My son does way better on the short acting, such as 5 mg of Ritalin twice a day, rather than the long acting, such as FocalinXR, Metadate, Ritalin LA etc.. It may take awhile to find the right med, but don't give up.Good luck to you!

I have had the same experiences you have. My son's school will take away a class party, even a field trip. My son's teacher wanted to take away his Kindergarten Thanksgiving feast because he "nudged" another child. Luckily, my husband was there helping with the feast, so he and the asst. principal agreed to let him go, he just had to sit alone  Still not my first choice though!

Schools discipline kids w/ADHD just like they do other children, unfortunately. I see it 2 ways, on one hand NOT disciplining him would actually be a disservice to him. On the other hand, he may be doing things totally unable to think of the consequences.

My philosophy...ADHD may explain his behavior, but it doesn't excuse it.

I agree, I completely understand the need to maintain order, especially with a class full of 6 yr olds who are already wired for the holidays, but at the same time I just wish there was a little more leeway with this teacher. My daughter has definate boundaries at home and at her dad's house and doesn't stray outside of them very often. And she has been talked to until I am blue in the face about obeying and respecting her teachers. She just doesn't retain it for very long, especially when parties or special projects are involved and she gets excited. Then she gets upset and feels bad about herself because she tries to pay attention and remember what her teacher told her to do and can't.

Hopefully things will get better once we start her meds and fine-tune them.

this is such a hard situation, and SO many people are facing it. There HAS to be some fun at school or they wont want to go and why bother trying. It is SO hard for these kids to "behave". But realistically they have to learn how to. It stinks that is so much harder for them, it really does, and it really is SO much harder for them, but..........well, you know.............there has to be rules and boundaries and everyones child should be expected to adhere to them. I just think the consequences need to be looked at more closely. Also, the help in them avoiding triggering situations that increase unwanted behavior. Expecting a 6 year old four days before Christmas to do anything quietly is just not fair. Taking away holiday party priveleges is also just not fair. I agree there needs to be consequences, but not holiday party. Maybe if you came up with some suggestions instead, they would be amenable to implementing these ideas? Every child is different on what will work for them, both as a "hook" for rewarding good behavior and consequences for unwanted.I have tried a couple of times to talk with her teacher about alternate consequences, but it just doesn't seem to be working. We go back to see her Psychiatrist the 1st week of January in order to find out which type of ADHD she has and to move forward with a game plan...they told us that once an "official" dx was made that the school system would be legally obligated to work with us and with my daughter to provide whatever type of learning environment she needs. Is this true? Would that give us any leverage with her teacher and principal? I mean, I don't want her running the classroom or not having to obey her teacher, but I do want them to back off of her a bit.yes they will, BUT it wont happen real quick, nothing with the education system happens quick. Once you have an official diagnosis you can move forward and try to get her some accomodations.My son is now on Folacin for almost two weeks.  I spoke to his teacher today who told me the difference is like night and day.  He will be 6 next month.  I haven't noticed a change because by the time the day ends, and I pick him up from school the medication has worn off, and he is now as he was before the medicine started, what happens in a situation like that?  Please help?Is he taking regular release or the XR? If regular release, you maywant to switch to XR, or if he's taking the XR, you may want to add a short acting regular release right after school. It lasts about 4 hours.He is on the XR 15 mg right now.  We have a check up with the dr, this Saturday, do they have another pill that they give for another four hours?  Anyone out there had any experience with Metadate CD? My 6 yr old daughter has just been put on it and we start her meds over the Christmas break. We just got the ADHD diagnosis yesterday.Thanks!

Welcome Hannah's mom,

Not Metadate but both of my kids have been on concerta (same med with a different delivery). Has the doc discussed with you starting doses and titrating up to an effective dose? You may or may not see any effects at the lowest dose. Because you are starting when she will be home, you can observe for any effects rather than get the information second hand.

Everyone responds differently to the different meds and even the different delivery forms of the same med. It can take some trial and error to find the right match for your child.

He hasn't really discussed much of anything with me...just that we will start on the lowest dose and observe, then adjust as needed...she has been seeing a couselor for about a year now and was tested 2 weeks ago but after this last week at school the counselor asked the doctor to squeeze Hannah in between his last 2 patients so everything was really rushed and unexpected....we have a follow up appt in 2 weeks tho. i take her today for an EEG and another computer test. So far she has seen her regular counselor, the couselor administering the tests, and now the Psychiatrist. i'm kind of overwhelmed, to tell you the truth.

hannahs mom, welcome.

Boy it IS overwhelming isnt it. Theres no way to prepare, even if it wasnt rushed.  My daughter has not taken metadate either, but has used several other forms of methylphedinate. As Vickie said, starting low and building up is great. You can watch for side effects this way. By increasing slowly by increments you can settle on the dosage that best controls symptoms without causing side effects, or minimal side effects.

It will get better. On the lowest dose you may or may not see anything. The titration helps pick up side effects while they are mild and stop the meds if needed. It will also help your daughter get used to the med at each dose before moving to a higher dose (if needed). We will be here to help as you go through this. There are lots of people here who have had lots of different experiences with the different meds.I can't tell you how great this is making me feel. I am sitting in my office now trying not to cry! I have felt so alone in trying to deal with this...feeling like it's me against her teachers, my workplace, my family, and sometimes even her. Thanks to all of you !!!!!