New--couple of questions. | ADHD Information

I'm not familiar with the meds that you have tried but I am somewhat familiar w/your school situation, since we too have a DS8 in 2nd grade who goes to a private Catholic school!  We went thru the series of testing to get help from the public school district, tho our help was more related to his sensory issues.  Our DS is way above his grade level with his acedemic level, I think he gets bored which may be part of his problem.  Unfortunately our DS didn't qualify for any help because of his intelligence, which is sad.  If your district is like ours and it sounds like he is struggling somewhat academically, the district may work closely w/your school to provide the help needed.  Whether they have someone come in to help or have him go for additional tutoring to the same place he goes for speech, both are possibilities.  Stay closely connected w/your school to find the resources, they are out there.  Hopefully your school (teachers, princepal, etc...) are cooperative & willing to find what works to help out, that makes a huge difference.  Good luck!I'd say, go with your gut. You're questioning the effectiveness of the
medicine. Tell the doctor. There's no point in giving a child a medication if
it's not working.

Hi--so glad to find this board. Found it by accident in my desperate search for information. Son is an 8yr old fraternal twin with fairly recent diagnosis of ADHD. Was on Ritalin LA--then Concerta. Stopped that after developing scary tics where none existed before. Is seeing folks at Riley hospital in Indy which is two hours from our town (small town with few resources). Our family doc will not mess with meds (which is probably for the best).

Now on Strattera 25 mg. for five weeks-- weighs 55 pounds. Teacher and I see NO change in attention and school focus. Concerta was great--but the tics ruined that. I am discouraged. Will the Strattera work if it is bumped up a little, or is has it not been long enough?

He goes to a small Catholic school (second grade) and is way behind in reading, horrible handwriting, good in math, as long as it is not a reading problem. He is being tested Dec 16 for LDs. If this is the case--I know that there is help available in the public schools. But, what are the implications for a child that attends a small private school with fewer resources? He has an IEP for speech and takes a bus to public school for speech therapy once a week.

If he has dyslexia, how do you go about finding a tutor that knows how to teach a dyslexic student (beyond just a normal teacher). Lots of bulldogs on this board. Looks like I am going to have to become one :-)

Any advice will be appreciated.

My son is on Strattera (along with other meds) and it took a full 8 or 9 weeks before we saw any real improvement.  My son takes 20mg/day and he weighs about 55 lbs also so I think 25 mg is about right.  The dose for Strattera goes by weigh and my son's doc said his max dose for his weight is 30mg.  We've tried twice to bump him up to 30mg but each time he gets wildly hyper! When we back it off to 20mg then things go back to "normal".

The Strattera works very well for him but it definitely does not do the trick by itself!  We've worked very hard at finding the right combo for my son and I think we finally hit the "magic" cocktail!  Part of his cocktail is that he NEEDS a stimulant.  Nothing works well enough for him without a stimulant. But the stimulant side effects get too bad when we put him on the dose he needs.  That's how we ended up adding Tenex (to help control his moodiness caused by the stims-but it's also good at controlling tics).  We ended up adding the Strattera because even with the Tenex he still need a little more. 

It's complicated but when it works it's wonderful!  Hang in there and good luck!