Meltdown only for homework now. | ADHD Information

Well it seems that he is back on track with his meds, boy I never realized what missing 1 pill will do. Never again. the psych also reccomends no med holidays on Concerta. My son 10 weighed himself last night and he was 70 lbs! we have been trying to bring him up from 63 for the past year. He finally did it as he eats on his Concerta quite well, and at night he is ravonous. Cool at least he has been gaining weight. Now he reserves his meltdowns for homework only. It is driving me crazy. No amount of taking away privledges affects him with homework. He gets a ton of praise when he does it but that doesn't help either. He just is so done with school by the time homework comes around (early right after school and a snack break)ne is no longer on meds and will never be at this point, just to do homework. He has accomodationsfor this but they don't seem to be helping at all. we will give him some game time if he does his homework but he isn't caring these days.I agree with you his appetite has come back full force and he gained 5 more lbs! he went from 62 to 70 lbs so far yoo hoo!

My son eats quite well so far on the Concerta too.  Much better than he did on Adderrall and Ritalin.  Some days he didn't eat much at all while taking Adderrall or Ritalin.  Since switching to Concerta his appetite seems to have returned. 

I think his weight will go up at a more steady pace now.  When he wants to eat, I let him.  He certainly doesn't need to be skipping any meals, that is for sure!  I would rather him eat like he is now.  Get some meat on his skinny bones!

 

Well I made him commit to at least 1 hour per day of homework not a minute more. Then maybe his grade will make it up a little. I think she is nuts giving so many things to memorize and study what if you went away with your family? do 8 hours a day of homework of course not. this woman is unreasonable and expects too much out of these kids!Oh no!  Spring Break is next week for us too, I hope my son doesn't have any homework!  He is only in 1st grade, so hopefully he will get a break!Homework over spring break stinks! Again, I think the teacher is stressed out about standardized tests and thinks heaping on homework (quantity rather than quality teaching) will get good results.

It seems no matter what I do helps with homework time either. My son just absolutely despises it. He gets so mad if he answers something wrong or if he doesn't like the way he wrote a number or word and has to erase it. Homework time if basically hell in my house so I feel you on that. This homework thing is killing me. Hw came home yesterday with full backpack, claiming to have virtually no homework, that is what he said. So I broke out the agenda and of course there is a ton of homework for over spring break! when does this lady stop?

I completely understand.  We absolutely hated homework time.  Still do.  He always tells us that he didn't have any or that he already did it.  Then we would get a notice at the 3 week mark saying he was making a 17.  Seems that we can't get the teachers to communciate with us, even though I email them constantly.  We only receive letters in the mail.  He constantly gets in trouble, now more for anger issues that he told us was because they would give in and give him what he wanted so that he would "calm down".  Used to be because he was hyper.  But, then he was happy, now he's not.  The school system can't seem to handle a hyper active happy outgoing child.  NO, they need to conform them into little adults that are perfectly still, don't talk or be outgoing, only do what they are told, and pee on command.  The most recent write up was for reading a chapter in the book ahead of the class who was reading it together.  So WHAT!  I always did that too.  Now they are wanting to send him to alternative school, or special ed because of "behavioral" issues and how many times he's been sent to BIC (what they call in school suspension). I want neither for him.  I can't wait till he's out of this school and goes to Jr. High.....which will hopefully be next year if we can help him get through this year. 

He used to be an A B student, in honor roll.  Then the doctor messed with the meds to keep the anger side affects away.  Medication ='d angry child, unmedicated ='d happy HYPER child that couldn't concentrate.  How do you go from honors class one year to being recommended for special ed the next year. 

11 Year old Boy in 6th grade

Tried: Adderall, concerta, vyvanse (caused "kill people" thoughts), metadate, focalin, etc.

Currently on:  2 (20mg) ritalin (generic version) taken in the morning and in the afternoon.  1 (10 mg) prozac (generic version), and 1 (1 mg) respirdol taken in the morning and one in the afternoon after school.

Ritalin with current dosage seems to take care of the sudden downfall from the medication.

Prozac seems to help with the super sensitivity to issues. 

Respirdol seems to compensate for the anger issues caused by the other medication.  Helps with the anxiety.

We haven't had the eatting issues lately with these.  Before he would gorge himself before bedtime and hide food opened or unopened anywhere in his room he could.  He's now back to a heathly weight.

SO FAR SO GOOD (at home anyways)

snmnstrs39906.753275463

[QUOTE=inspiredbymusic]

snmnstrs,
Does your son have an IEP or 504 plan? It sounds like he needs one.
Also, are you sure you don't want to look into that alternative school for him? Or are there any other schools (charter, private, other public schools...) that he could go to? His school sounds like a military school!
Also, the lack of communication sounds horrible. I would complain to higher-ups about that until something gets done.
Hope you are able to find solutions for the school situation ASAP!
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They are wanting to do the idea thing, but we don't want to.  He did just fine until he got to this school.  We just had constant communciation with the teachers, which I can't seem to get now.  I don't see what's so hard about replying to an email. 

The alternative school that we have is where they put the "trouble makers" or the kids that can't keep from fighting, cussing, or just acting out.  I just don't want him to get hurt.

I've checked into private school.  We only have one close to us, and they only go through 6th grade.  He'll (so far) be in 7th next year. 

snmnstrs39907.4869560185snmsstrs,
This is just my 2 cents for what it's worth. I can certainly understand your frustration with the school, the lack of communication, and the fact that your son was doing well until he started at this school.
However, if I were in your position, I would definitely consider working with the school to get your son an IEP or 504. I can understand your not wanting your son "labeled," but it sounds like he is in danger of having to repeat 6th grade (?) An IEP or 504 could ensure that your son gets whatever help he needs to succeed through the school year.

I'm more familiar with 504s than IEPs since my daughter has a 504 (she got it toward the end of 5th grade and I was SO happy that she had it when she started middle school the following year). 504s are not technically special ed; they just specify accommodations for a child with a "health condition" (ADHD) that is interfering with education. You can help choose what accommodations will benefit your son, such as sitting near the teacher is a less distracting area, extra time for tests, being allowed to get up and walk around, etc. You can even specify requirements for teacher communication about homework, etc. in the 504. So, if I were you, I would definitely find out all you can and work to get this in place for your son.

As far as the communication problem, is the principal aware of the situation? How about district administration? Have you tried calling the teacher or going in to meet with her (frequently, if necessary)?
As far as schools, sounds like he will be changing schools next near anyway, so hopefully the new school will be a better fit.

Spamula,
I hope your son ends up at a middle school that suits him!
[QUOTE=spamula]Well I made him commit to at least 1 hour per day of homework not a minute more. Then maybe his grade will make it up a little. I think she is nuts giving so many things to memorize and study what if you went away with your family? do 8 hours a day of homework of course not. this woman is unreasonable and expects too much out of these kids![/QUOTE]
Yes, that is crazy! I thought the point of spring break was to give kids a break. I bet if they could relax, have fun and not have to worry about homework over the break, they would come back much more refreshed and ready to learn. I remember my daughter's first 504 meeting, when the principal said something like, "You can't just keep cramming information into kids' brains." I wanted to stand up and cheer!

snmnstrs,
Does your son have an IEP or 504 plan? It sounds like he needs one.
Also, are you sure you don't want to look into that alternative school for him? Or are there any other schools (charter, private, other public schools...) that he could go to? His school sounds like a military school!
Also, the lack of communication sounds horrible. I would complain to higher-ups about that until something gets done.
Hope you are able to find solutions for the school situation ASAP!
We have a solid 504 that the teacher doesn't follow. We have put his name in several alternative schools the problem is that he doesn't want to be with the special needs crowd even though he is one. he isn't that bad that he can't get through a good middleschool with the teachers following the 504. We have 2 months to hear back from the schools.