anybody out there with the same problems? | ADHD Information

I am a grandparent with guardianship of an ADHD nine year old.  He has some particular symptoms that I'm wondering if they are connected to his disorder.  I have caught him peeling the latex paint off of walls and chewing it.  He also can not seen to go to sleep until after 12 midnight eventhough he has to get up at 7:30 in the am.  He says he hears voices and he hides food and toys. No amount or type of punishment seems to stop these behaviors. I've never heard of ADHD causing someone to hear voices but I'm not an expert.  I have heard that some ADHD medications can cause hallucinations.  It sounds like you need to talk to the doctor about these symptoms.  Is he currently on medication?Is he on meds?  Meds can do this.  Please don't punish him.  I am willing to bet he can't control it.  How sad.  I am sure he doesn't want this to happen it jsut does. The sleep issue is ADHD-related. Try Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra tea. Target sells it. If he takes stimulants it is a side-effect. If he does not, he cannot turn his brain off.

Punishment won't help because he cannot control the behaviors.

Since you have guardianship as the grandparent, I assume there are other issues that may be contributing to the voices, hiding food, and peeling paint. Maybe he needs to see a therapist. I'd talk it over with his Dr.  My 7  yo doesn't peel paint but he does rip paper and fringes off of blankets, I think if he found a spot the paint was peeling he'd rip that too though.  I told his Dr and first the thought it might be meds related and dropped him to a lower dose but that didn't work. He still did it but he has mood swings too, so the Dr, added mood disorder to his list, i don't know if that explains the ripping and chewing yet, we'll see if the meds help for that...we just started today, so I'll let you know in a wk.

Oh I forgot...have you tried melatonin for sleep, it was a huge help for us.
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It sounds like more than your run of the mill ADHD (if there is such a thing). I'd have him evaluated by a really good child psychiatrist who specialises in kids with ADHD and other conditions.

I agree, this doesn't sound like typical adhd. There could be a co-morbid. I would have him evaluated.

Poor guy!!