Is he on 4 meds now or have you tried 4 different meds? Anger and weightloss are side effects, weightloss being one of the most common.
Is he more angry than before or just at angry at certain times like the evenings? Some of that anger, if it is in the evening, could be from rebound. That is what happens as your meds wear off. Try getting him to eat a good snack right after school, that helps a lot. Also since they tend not to eat during the day, their blood sugar is all out of whack in the afternoon.
It does sound like you need an educational advocate for your son. Sometimes the school will tell you they can't do something because they don't want to and they think they can bully parents into doing what they want. Sometimes they do because the parents don't know any better. The schools are mandated by federal law to provide the services listed in his IEP. There is a website called Wrights Law that you can go to for accurate, reliable information about special education law, education law, and advocacy for children with disabilities.
Yes my son has a program called IEP and he goes 4 days a week. No reading specialist, but he does have a 5th grader who tutors him and my son tells me that this tutor helps him out a lot.
I am now researching something called ODD. His dcotor thinks he has ADHD plus this ODD and from what I read it does sound like my son a lot. I am calling around to a specialist who deals with kids with ADHD. We are going to have him evaluted and go from their. Would a dietitian help? Has anyone tryed talking to a dietitian or is that not the way to go? I am not sure. He seem to be ok without the meds so far, but I know I have to get him into see someone soon. If anyone has more advise or comment please tell me. I am taking notes on what I need to do or dont do and all the advise I have got so far is coming in handy.
Thanks you all for your advise.
Your son's ADD is not your fault.
The first thing that I would recommend is that you start educating yourself about ADD. Learn all you can about the disorder, the different treatment options etc.
You could also have him assessed for his learning style and see if teaching him using methods that cater to his learning style makes any difference. From your posts it seems as if he is a visual learner so play to those strengths and praise any little bit of progress that he makes.
As far as behavior issues are concerned, you seem to be going in the right direction by focusing on what he is doing right. Just keep in mind that sometimes his behavior may get worse before it gets better. Be consistent and stick to your method of discipline for at least a month before throwing in the towel and looking for an another method.
Good Luck! And don't give up on your son or stop believing in him.
Has the school provided a reading specialist? A math tutor? An aide?
You should ask to visit the Special Day Class, and see what it's like.
you're going to need to duecate yourself on the lawas or get help though an advocate. I have to agree with Jessica, that they havent tried everything here. Even if he repeats first grade, that's not the end of the world. He may need a one to one aid. This person can be with him all day and help him to stay on task and focus on his work. A psychologist should be able to help you the behavioral concerns.Before considering a special education school, the current school needs to provide an IEP with services that allow the LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT. That includes a full time aide, time in the resources room, tutoring, OT, and a behavior plan. Is your school stepping up to the plate or not? If not, hire an education advocate.He already has the IEP and hes going 4 days out of 5. We were told its the max. Hes way behind the other kids and we have a IEp meeting coming up this month. I also having his teacher send some work home that he needs help with. His test scores are way below. He gets 1-2 right, he does not test good at all. i found out the only way he learn is visual and the school is working with us. Hes in speech for some speech problem but his speech teacher say he doin great with the things they are doing in speech class. His teacher on the other hand say hes not doing good. The last resort his teacher and IEp teach wants is for him to go to a special school. Im not sure what to do?I could use some advise. My son is 7 years old and does have ADHD. Hes been pn 4 different meds and I thought we found one but just recently hes been very very angry and lost weighy. I am trying to find something to help him out. I been in meeding with his teacher and it looks like he may have to re[eat the 1st grade. He is testing as a kindergarder and I tryed talking to him and trying to help everway I can. I work and go to college and so doe his dad. We just saw his doctor and he said my insurance will not cover any more meds. I have to find a doctor who knows about ADHD. I need to know if this is something I should do with my son? Someone like a psycholoist to help us. Is that the right path to go through. Also I am not sure what to do about his schooling. He is in a special Ed kind of class to help him and he is going the max, the next step is to have him go to a special ed school if he qualifles. I keep telling myself its not my fault, but it keeps playing in my mind I did something wrong. We have tryed awarding him when he does good and when he does something wrong he gets a timeout. He does better when hes off meds but I do not have any focus from him. He does not listen and he does not follow rules. If anyone has any advise for me I will take it. I am streesing out myself and that not good for me or him. Please can anyone help me out if I am going the right way? Thanks for youe time and advise.
Sincerely,
Sweetheart7