I have only visited this site a few times, but I have a couple of questions. My son has been on Vyvanse (currently on 70mg) for almost 2 years now, and it has been amazing - except for the afternoons and especially the mornings. He has always been exceptionally hyper and disruptive, and in Kindergarten we almost admitted him to a hospital for evaluation (until we found out what KIND of hospital it was). We went through behavioral modification for a few months that ended with a prescription for medication. We tried Straterra (didn't work), Daytrana (wouldn't stay on), and ended up with Vyvanse.
Anyway, after starting the Vyvanse, he was a completely different child! When he started first grade the ENTIRE school was baffled by the massive improvement. He has always been a bright student, straight A's, very helpful, mindful, and polite. That is, while he is at school.
Mornings around here are like WWIII, and I rarely can get him to school on time. I don't know if it is in my sig, but he also has Type I diabetes, so this plays a huge part in that I HAVE to wait until he finishes eating, have him comply with BG checks and insulin delivery.
Evenings aren't as combative, but it is virtually impossible to get him to do ANYTHING that he needs to do. Mainly, homework, brush his teeth, go to bed. I've seen that others have problems with their children going to/staying asleep. He has always stayed up late, even before meds, but now I give him 3mg of Melatonin. It helps a little, but not much. Bedtime is at 9, we start around 8, but he's not usually asleep until close to midnight, and he has almost never stayed in his room the entire night.
Gosh, sorry for the novel, but all this is leading up to this:
This week he started having an unusually large amount of homework (I think for second grade). This is how it is going to be from here on out. The work really should take maybe about an hour to finish all of it, but we can spread it out over four days. Last night, it took US an hour and a half to finish one worksheet (it was very detailed). He is one of the few really advanced in his class, so he has a much harder reading level with much harder related sheets to do.
I have a 504 for diabetes, but not for ADHD. He hasn't had to have any accomodations for school since he is a perfect angel while he is there. The problem I have is getting him to do the homework that he has to do at home. I don't want to give him anymore medication at home because it is so hard to get him to sleep as it is. Is there something that helps in the evenings but doesn't make bedtime any harder? Do any of you have a 504 that includes accomodations for homework? And if so, what are they?
I don't want them to think it can't handle the work, because intellectually he can, but attention wise (at home) he can't. Any suggestions?
I can relate to the meds wearing off and the homework/studying issue. It's never, ever a fight with our 12 yo dd (she is inattentive only) but she's drained by the time she gets home. As a matter of fact, Concerta starts wearing off around 5th period for her.
Like you, I will not give her more meds since she's already on 54mg. What I am trying, though, is giving her 36mg in the morning and 18mg right after lunch at school. We're still experimenting since she's only been on meds about a month.
Have you tried giving him maybe 40mg in the morning and letting the nurse give him 20mg in the afternoon? That may help with the evenings and the homework issue. Hopefully that won't make his sleep pattern worse.
Don't hesitate to tell the school he can not handle the homework load. If he's doing well during the day and struggling in the evening that means the homework he's completing probably isn't doing much for him anyway. He's probably able to get all he needs to during the day anyway.
On another note, we may try Vyvanse for our dd. We're going to continue with the concerta family for a while longer because I think that drug may work for her. As parents, we must continue to experiment with meds and situations to find the correct balance. Keep us posted.
First thing I would do is call the teacher to talk about it. Believe it or not,I would have considered split doses, but our insurance just changed, and I am going to have to pay just for the one prescription. The doctor had mentioned a long while ago about possibly using something that was shorter acting on special occasions like if we had to attend a function or something. I just don't know what is out there like that.
I just don't know how to approach the school about lessening the homework without sounding like I'm trying to get him out of doing the work. We already have such a wonderful (NOT) relationship with the school over all the accomodations for diabetes. I feel like I'd be whining. I'm not sure what a reasonable request would be.
My son has homework modifications at home like less work, more time, where he sits in the classroom , but I am going in February to add things to my 504 and possible put him in special ed for writing. He is gifted but has an exxpresive language disorder and is not doing grade level work.You have to go to the school or the school board in your district and put in writing you want an IEP Meeting. they will test again brieflyAnother option is to do some of the homework on the weekend, assuming you give meds on the weekend. My 3rd grader has to read for 20 minutes per day and then give a written response to a question about the book. The teacher agreed that he can do this over the weekend instead of reading after doing homework. My child can't process the content of a book when the stimulant's worn off, so this alternate strategy is working out great for us.