dealing with ADHD and combative behavior | ADHD Information

I've found the trick to TV is the built in timer. If the screen goes blank my ds gets frustrated, but doesn't blame it on me (*as much*). He knows he's on a timer and I make SURE that I set it to be at the quarter hour when breaks for cartoons are usually set so that he doesn't miss any of what he is watching.

I don't usually let him watch tv in the morning, but when I do this is how I try and do it. I usually have to do this in the evening, as my ds won't even join us for dinner without a major meltdown if it's in the middle of a show. I try and pick my battles and just preprogram the tv so I don't have to deal with it later.

This might be too simple a solution, but is he getting enough sleep? My son
is much less manageable when he's tired, and on weekend mornings after
I've let him stay up later as a "treat" (that doesn't ever end up being worth it.)

Mornings are always a struggle but finding what works for your child is the key.  My 11 year old son takes a shower in the morning.  This actually helps to wake him up.  Also, together we made a schedule for getting ready in the morning.  I let him help with it so he would buy into it.  So since he has a set schedule of times when things like getting out of the shower and getting dressed should be done by, we have a clock in every room.  This includes the bathroom.  I help him in the morning to keep on task by reminders as well.  My son also has a full hour to get ready and he uses every minute of that hour.  But it works for us.

When he was younger we did a lot of task lists for rewards.  One of the tasks that he would get rewarded for was getting up in the morning.  Kids love rewards and this actually helped to develope a rutine. 

arial I also have major problems in the
morning before school. Not so bad on weekends we usually have
more time. I have a 7yr old daughter. Currenly on Focalin 12.5.mgs
in am; 12.5 mg at noon and 7.5 afterschool. Dr just changed us to
Straterra. Problem she has stated she does not want capsules (she
did not like Focalin xr caps) has difficultly swallowing pills.   I want to
do the patch, but tried 10 mg patch to no effect, dr says we have
start with 10 mg . [Dr doesn't have to live with her]/
Like most of you she is pure hell until meds kick in, and then
sometimes it is like meds are not working. Any suggestions/ help u
can offer greatly appreciated.      Have tried using xbox and ipod as
incentive. She brushes it off like does not care. I know different. Tried
Chucky Cheese- same response. I have managed to create a monster. How do I get my angel back.
? She has constant back talk, disobedience , disrupting classroom,
total negative behavior. Sullyman,

My son has been on Daytrana for quite awhile and it works really well for him. I had a horrendous time in the mornings with my son because the meds weren't in effect. It takes about 2 hrs for daytrana to be fully effective, so I put the patches on my son while he is asleep. I put them on about an 1 1/2 hrs before I wake him up. That way I get the benefit of him being mostly medicated. Mornings are much easier. The only problem this may cause is that it now wears off earlier in the day. It still works for him throughout the school day, just not so long after school. My son also takes Tenex/Guanfacine twice a day. This works well as it helps when the daytrana is not in his system. The tenex has really lessened his aggression and melt downs tremendously.

When my son was taking Ritalin LA we had trouble in the mornings because that took about an hour to be effective. I would wake him up about an hour before he needed to get up and bring him his med while he was still in bed so he could take it and then go right back to sleep for another hour. This made our mornings easier but because the ritalin effected his appetite i couldn't get him to eat breakfast. The daytrana does not effect his appetite so I have no problem getting him to eat breakfast.

Good luck.
If the patch takes that long to kick in you may want to ask the doctor about a short acting dose of something right when he wakes up to help with the transition.  It will all depend on how quickly the dose kicks in for your son.  Thankfully my son's Ritalin kicks in in about 20 minutes or so.  He's not on the patch but the first 20 minutes are still hard but it's better than 2 hours!  Good luck! You post is our life!  Our DS is 7 yrs old & also on Daytrana, which works very well for him.  He does take 2 mg Guanfacine right away when his feel hit the floor to help him at school in the time it takes for the patch to kick in.  Unfortunately, I don't see the affects of it until we're on our way to school, prior to that it's very difficult.  Hubby feeds him, dresses him & brushes his teeth before he leaves for work, which is very helpful cause I don't have the patience in the morning.  I'm not a morning person & have a 4 yr old to get ready too, he can dress himself faster than the 7 yr old!  Our DS tends to be very lazy and goofy during this time, which drives me crazy.  Lots of not listening and repeating of directions when it is finally time to get out the door.  We've tried timers, sticker charts, nickel jars and all work about 50% of the time....frustrating.  We recently got a new puppy so now I send both boys out the door to play for about 20 min in the morning just before we leave.  Fortunately it does seem to help somewhat, although some days I spend more time yelling at him for doing things outside that he's not supposed to be doing.  We used to let him watch TV to have his "rest" time to let meds kick in but then we ended up fighting every time it was time to turn off the TV, so no more TV in our house before school.  It can be frustrating, that's for sure...good luck!Doesn't want capsules - have you talked to the doctor about breaking them
open and sprinkling the meds in applesauce or something like that? My son
doesn't like to swallow pills either. I give him his pill and place it in his
throat so he can swallow it easily.I'm hoping someone can give us some guidance.  We have son, 10 yrs old, 5th grade,  diagnosed with ADHD.  We sent thru a couple medications and now on Daytrana path which is doing a great job at keep him focus and his grades as significantly improved - he just got all A's this marking period.  He also comes down off this medication very slowly so we tend to have decent evenings.  The problem is the mornings.  He is just unbearable until the medication kicks in which is normally not till he gets to school.  Weekends are bad as he constantly teases and picks fights with his younger sister and mother so the medication is helping with the ADHD but not the combative behavior and I wondering what others do to control the mornings / make them more pleasant.  We are at our whits end.  Please let me know.  Thanks much!

We have the same problems in the morning.  The only thing I can do to make them bearable is to make sure I am ready for him the minute his feet hit the floor.  He wakes up starving, so having his breakfast on the table is the best start for us.  I give him his meds before he takes his first bite.  After breakfast I try to keep him focused with getting dressed, brushing his teeth, etc.  I also tell him that if he is ready to go without a fight and we still have time left over, he can watch tv for a few minutes before we leave or he can sit and hold our puppy for a few minutes.  Whatever his current "obsession" is. 

If I ever sleep until he wakes me up, we always end up in full meltdown mode!