medications?
our son is 4 and in the process of diagnosis for adhd.
as you can imagine, i am just trying to find out all the information i can, because knowledge is power, is it not?
i wondered if anyone could tell me the rights and wrongs on meds? can they have them before 6yrs?what types? how do any work?
ANY INFO WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!
At 4 IMO meds are not an option, but I also feel strongly 4 is too young for a diagnosis. There are just too many variables of "Normal" at that age.
MOST meds are not approved for use in kids under 6, but that does not mean that they are not.
the behavioural problems lewis has have been continiously getting worse for over 2 year. at he age of 2 was expelled from nursery and since then, has strugglede to cope in the school environment.
he is at the point where he cannot be left alone for even a second. we are at a loss as what to do next. lewis is our only child and we love him with all our hearts but just dont know how to cope anymore.
you very much need to address issues if you are having such significant behavior problems. I happen to agree with edbson about meds at 4, but it is your situation and people DO use meds at 4. If you are opting for meds your choices may be limited by age and if he can or cannot swallow a pill. I think for the most part when kids under 6 start meds they tend to stick to Ritalin, it's been around the longest for one thing, plus it comes in 5mg and can be split I believe so you can try even 2.5. If you do choose try stick it out without meds longer, a GOOD behavior plan, high EPA Omegas and maybe some play therapy would help significantly while he has time to mature. I am not syaing he does not have ADHD, just that SO much changes form 4-6, my 6 year old is a totally different child than she was at 4. Our life was CRAZY with her at 4 and now she is very well behaved. We still have our issues believe me, but I am so much less worried (and WAY less stressed). Please know ADHD or no ADHD it WILL get better as he matures.Hello -
Wow - your experience is exactly like mine... we just put our 4 year old son on meds more than 3 weeks ago - Adderall - 5mgs. Our family has been going through so much since he was 2 -- he has been kicked out of 3 pre-schools in 1 1/2 year. He had 1 1/2 hour tantrums for 3 months in a row, every single day... I was loosing my mind.
Our family has decided to try meds for a couple of reasons which may or may not be right for your family:
1) Our family has been suffering significantly as the result of my sons behavior
2) the Father / Son bond has deteriorated to really poor levels. My husband yells / screams and gets angry. He has totally lost patience with my son. I would like my son to be confident and my husband to be able to cope better... it would be a "Win / Win" for both
My son is in the preschool program at our elementary school and has improved significantly. The problem is we have not experienced the same at home despite all the behavior modification techniques offered by teachers, doctors and pychologists... (BTW - we don't use a pychologist anymore... didn't find the experience worthwhile - school program much better for us).
Meds:
Nothing great to report. We are going on about 3 weeks now and only had 1 good week to show for it. The first week...no change; second week - worked; moving into third week -- on and off, not consitent and very moody.
I am not sure if increasing the dose is a good thing or not.... Sometimes I think he has a sleep disorder and not adhd because his off days are when he did not take melitonine...
Thoughts / comments?
It is a personal issue based on the specifics of your family situation and the severity of your son's symptoms. It sounds as if the behaviors place him at risk or cause enough conflict within the environment to affect family ties and self esteem.
What type of doc are you seeing for diagnosis and posible treatment? I ask because psychiatrists are better for this than pediatricians, especially if it is not a simple case of ADHD (no co-existing conditions, young age, not too severe, straight and easy diagnosis, etc).
Treatment is not just meds. It also includes behavior modification, IEP at school, and posibly social skills training or other help as needed. You can look at ogram's marble thread (top thread of parent's board) for a behavior modification plan that you may be able to adapt to a 4 year old. Keep it simple.
You will find help and support at these forums throughout this tough journey, where ever it leads and what ever choices you make for your son.
http://www.help4adhd.org/en/treatment/treatmentoverview
vickie39511.6781481481I personally don't know that I would increase adderall in a 4 yr old. My son is 6 when he took 10mg of adderall and he became a very different child, he was constantly angry, violent, emotional. And it did not help him at all in school. His teacher begged me to get him off of it. It was so horrible.One other question... during the birth of my son it was very rough... he was 9 '8 and came out facing up... used the "vaccume" ... I have been doing research to see it there might be a link.
My other son 2 years is your typical 2 year old -- SO easy going. Easy birth (he was only 8 '10)
Great info - thanks for sharing your POV.
My son is in the early childhood program at his elementary school... 504 plan. They work with him on sensory issues (OT), speach, etc and have a behavior plan in place that we are all working on. Since he has been on Meds he has been doing wonderfully at school. I had a meeting with his teacher last week and she showed me an example of his work pre meds / post meds... she even said that she can see next year not requiring a "coach". Good news!
We are also working with her to incorporate a behavior plan at home that works like his plan at school - using visual ques on what good behavior is -- choices etc. So far, not much success... so the teacher is coming over this Friday to observe and help us develop a behavior plan that will work in our home environment.
Presently, at home, we have 3 rules: Safety rule, Health Rule and Respect Rule -- keeping it simple is important. If he breaks these rules he used to goto time out ... wasn't working. So now, it's the "Time Stands Still" punishment until he recognizes what he did and appologizes. He is not able to participate in family activities and/or he is no longer able to continue with what he was doing such as TV, art time, etc.
Time-out has never worked for us at home for our son. He would be in time-out for over an hour... 3 minutes... then repeated if he isn't calm, quite and talks nicely -- with visual cues... he would hit the door, slam it, poop on the floor etc. So we opted for the "time stands still" - seems to be working for now.
We used a pycologist in the past and she would give us some techniques on how to get him to behave - beat the clock, etc. Which worked but then everything became a "competition". She suggested we - my husband and myself create a plan... which we did... but what more can she do ? Working with the school and their program is better to increase consistency in a behavior modification program. Further, we have a nanny that is working on the same plan as us and the school...
We are seeing a highly recommended ped neurolgist to manage his adhd through meds. I also have a friend who is a dr. that specializes in kids like this which I consult with. She is totally open to meds -- even for a young guy like my son. Meds/tied with a behavior program will go far to prep him for school and retain his self esteem -- not crush it when he is 4. The goal is to get him on the correct path now.
I don't know that increasing the meds is the best solution... but we can try it ... My son was very angry and aggressive before the meds... he doesn't exhibit anger on the meds... he is more moody and teary.
I am going to try that Omega supplement that someone referenced earlier. I have an appt with the doctor next week so I will inquiry about this along with the meds. I ordered the liquid form online - Omegabrite... keep you posted. If that works then perhaps we can stop meds until he is older.
At this point, trial and error until we find the right fit for him and the family.
Q for the group... were your kids "colic" when they were young???? My son was sooo bad.... I feel like I am going through the same thing again with ADHD... research / trying anything... etc. Is there a link?
Thanks so much for listening :) We have felt so alone in all of this with NO Family support - my father said I was a bad mother and I don't know what I am doing and I am disconnected with my kids. That hurt.
Just as children comer in all different sizes, shapes, hair and eye color, so children can be genetically 'wired' differently. You are NOT a bad mother but a VERY caring one... and you are not alone here.
My son was very preemie, couldn't nurse, was sensitive to almost all formulas and could only ingest 1/2 oz at a time even when several months old.
Try cutting out all food with food colorings, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup and the 'fake' sugars. Use honey or pure maple syrup to sweeten or rice sugar. Use organic dairy, eggs and meats if you can. You will probably see a difference in a few days as a lot of children's bodies are very sensitive to a lot of chemicals. Try to give him a high protein diet and the vitamins such as a good multivitamin (without the above additives), the omegas and calcium w/magnesium. There are also products to naturally calm children in health food stores.
The second thing you can do is implement some behavioral policies in your home. A good behavioral psychologist can recommend what would be best for you or go to other threads on this forum.
Good luck to you.
This info is very helpful! Since he is a "red head" I am sure he does have some type of reaction to foods. We had him tested for the basic stuff ... wheat, etc...nothing conclusive.
Thanks for sharing!
I have a 4 year daughter, almost 5. She has always been very, very active. I could not take her many places because I could not control her behavior. At 3 her preschool called me in to say she was not achieving as the other kids and suggested I hold her back. I thought she is only 3, just immature, but I could see she did not act in her little class like the other kids did. I did not hold her back, thought she would mature. This year she started in the PreK program. After 8 weeks they called me because they were concerned. We decided to give her until midyear. In January the gave her a midyear eval. which she failed miserably. They suggested I take her for an eval. which I did. I took her to our Pediatrician who happens to have a 22 year old child with ADHD of his own and subsequently seems well versed in treatment options. I took her midyear school eval and school work. He reviewed her school folder, observed her, talked with her and questioned my husband and myself extensively. He said in his opinion she was classic ADHD and showed us trends in her handwriting, coloring, etc. that were classic findings in children her age. He counseled us that we should be encouraged because we had caught it early, before self esteem issues set in. He recommended that we try meds and told us we would know almost immediately if they were helpful. We started on Adderal 5 mg, it was amazing, the next day she wrote her name for the first time ever and went on to go from the bottom of her class to the top! That's the good news, the bad news: Adderall made her very moody with crying jags in the evening. We switched her to Vyvanse and saw a marked improvement in her mood. She is displaying some OCD tendacies in the past few weeks, but her physician just wants to watch her for now as he does not think they are enough to be worrisome and may just be some manipulative or typical preschool behavior. It has been a very stressful past few months and I worry that I am doing the right thing for her. So I can readily empathize with having an ADHD diagnosis at such a young age. Any input you have is greatly appreciated. Thanks for listening. Pam61Go to the library and get a copy of the Feingold Diet, it is a preservative free diet developed by an Allergist. It is a well known diet and it may help.
My son is a pick eater so I supplement with Omega 3s, calcium with zinc, vitamin D and magnesium, vitamin C and then more magnesium. His doctor is fine with it. He is growing and gaining weight at normal pace.