New to all this... :) | ADHD Information

Hello, my name is Nicole and I have an 8 yr old son who ws offically diagnosed with ADHD last March.  I began him on Ritalin LA 10mg and he is currently on 20 mg as I found no difference with 10mg. 
I do have a question though.
What I am finding is that on the weekends and in the mornings before school, I give him his meds and he is as calm as can be.  We have a great relationship.  He gets to school and something clicks and lately his teacher has been telling me that he is interupting every chance he gets, yelling out answers, climbing all around etc...  Same symptoms as he showed prior to the meds.  I dont understand why he is acting this way ONLY in school.  Some days are great she says and others are comlete disasters. 
I want to help him, but I dont know how.  I xplain to him to try to control with he feels he is going to have an outbursts, but he says he cant and it just happens. 
I dont want him to be labeled a troublemaker either cuz he really isnt.  Is it possible that when he other children and himself play, he gets rialed up and cant come back down to settle himself?
I just dont know what to do anymore.  I hate scolding and punishing, but I just dont know what to do.
any suggestions as to why this is happening only in school and now after a year of being on the proper meds??

Thank you.
Think about it - there's 30 odd kids, there are posters on the walls, the
kids get up and move from room to room, there are noises, colors, people
bombarding him all the time.

My son doesn't need medication at home at all. School is way too
stimulating for him - he needs it to function.

Have you discussed with your son's doctor what else can be done? It
could be that he needs to do his work outside of the classroom in a quiet
room. It could be that he needs extra motor breaks, or he needs a wiggle
seat.

Kids are experts at taking care of themselves. They will find a way - the
quickest easiest way - to get what they need. Your son is having an
outburst because he needs a break from the stress of the classroom. My
son used to love going to the principal's office, even if he was being
disciplined, because it was a small room and there was only one other
person there - he could finally think straight.

Keep the doctor informed, but look into environmental changes, too. The
medications aren't magic pills. They can only do so much. Try
everything, keep doing whatever works best.

Good luck!Ericsmom: OMG! I could have written this! Only diff is my son is new to
meds, only since January. Stiil, this weekend we watched him closely on
his 10 mg of Focalin XR, and he was a perfect angel, in two busy, very
over stimulating stores and he was calm , focussed , listening etc. I
thought today in school would be a breezed for him- he didn't go
yesterday- but I got an email with a terrible report. He's in a very small
class, in an excellent special needs school that's completely equipped to
handle ADHD among other things. Caring teachers and therapists
who"get it" and it STILL happened. I respect Corrinna's response, but even
with the modifications, it still could happen differently in the school
environment like it did for my son, and I too am BAFFLED! We and the
teachers know how helpful the meds were early on- he was initially
taking short acting Focalin and they saw DRAMATIC improvements. His
whole school experience turned around. We were having issues with it
though with the peaks and valleys so in Feb he tried Vyvanse, but it didn't
work for a number of reasons. Then in March we started Focalin XR.We
just upped it from 5 Mg to 10 mg the last couple of weeks, and we were
seeing really good results at home, but in school?? Nope. Today he was
back to behaviors we haven't seen since the pre-medication days! I'm so
confused too. Could he need a higher dosage for the school setting? I
need to talk to my doc as well. Just know, you're not alone, and that the
environment is somehow creating a different need for him. Also, even in
a less stimulating school environment, it could STILL happen, so don't
think it's solely the largeness of his class. Let me know what your doc
says. I"m desperatley looking for answers to make sense of this myself!Hi Nicole, and welcome to the boards. I can relate to what you are saying as well. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe the reports from school because he is usually so much better behaved at home. I am thinking now that the reason for this is because our son has more of a problem with impulsivity rather than hyperactivity. Maybe that's a reason for your son's reaction in school as well. I know that whenever there is ANY type of provocation, our little guy is immediately on board! It's not that he instigates things, but we've often said he doesn't have an "off switch" once something gets him started. Obviously, there's alot of that at school! At home, when things are calm, he doesn't have the same opportunities and therefore it's easier for him to remain calmer. Medicine has definitely improved things, but we are still in the process of tweeking to try and find the right balance for him. I know there are certain meds that work better when impulsivity is more of a problem. Maybe you could ask your doctor about this?my guy is the same with regards to impulsivity! I would love to know what
works better for that! BTW sending you a pm now Kathleen!