I'm a college student who was first diagnosed with ADHD when I was 6 and have been taking medication every day since (I currently take 2x 36mg of Concerta daily which I believe is a relatively high dose for a 90ib girl). While I'm not very familiar with ODD, I would suggest talking to his doctor about raising his dose. While I am very successful academically, I have found that I am noticeably more emotional, quicker to anger, etc... when I am not on medication.
PLEASE HELP!!! I have an 11 year old son. He was diagnosed with ADHD 5 years ago and has been on medication for 4 years. Since December, he has RAPIDLY declined. Issues at school, such as fighting, back talking, inappropriate language, etc. His behavior at home is as bad if not worse. He back talks, doesn't follow rules, yells, screams, slams doors, etc. He has been in counseling before and just re-started the beginning of Febuary. They are now saying he has ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder) as well as ADHD. Are any other parents dealing with this? How do you cope? How are you getting your child to listen and follow rules? I have tried EVERYTHING!!! Time outs, grounding, spanking, nothing seems to work. I am seriously at my wits end!! Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!!
What medication is he on? How long has he been on this med? My son is 9 and has severe ADHD and ODD. Life is very difficult to say the least. I have always used time out in a chair in the middle of the kitchen in front of the clock. Believe it or not he is so used to it he now sits there... of course I get a NO first but as he says no and screams he walks towards the kitchen..??
I have found that ODD is much worse than the ADHD!! He will argue with me about ANYTHING!!His first response to everything is NO.... and then I see him do what I asked as he says NO... so I shut up at that point. Of course this is only sometimes. Getting him to brush his teeth at night is a nightmare etc.
We have done the sticker charts - reward systems etc... his family therapists recommended chips and together we wrote a list of rewards and how many chips he needed for each item on the list... it could be extra 30 mins. of tv at night or a certain toy he wanted... we did that but after awhile it wears away.
Sounds like he needs a "med-check" to review what meds he takes and the dose...
I would also suggest you get family based therapy. This is "free" program that offers children help in the home. (also have wrap around, TSS for home or school,therapy at their office each week etc) We had 2 therapists come weekly (one has masters degree and the other has bachelors at minimum) they worked on ideas to help us with him... not sure if I think it was all that helpful but it made us sit and think about how our parenting is working on a weekly basis.
Let me know about the meds... curious..
First of all, let me say thank you to all that have responded!! :-) All feedback is greatly appreciated!! Second, let me be a little clearer on some of my points.
He is currently on Adderall XR 30mg. We just upped him from 25mg to 30mg about 2 weeks ago and I can see a difference. He has been on Adderall for about 3 years now. Before that we tried non-stimulant meds and they seemed to have NO affect on him. He has an appt next week to evaluate if we need to bump him on up to 40mg. I'm not sure that he needs that but I guess I'm not the doctor...I don't want the behavior that we have now but I also don't want my child to be a "walking zombie" either.
I have been reading "The Defiant Child" (A Guide for Parents with Children that have ODD) It has very good points and I feel like I am learning "new" parenting skills so that I am able to discipline, understand and cope with his behavior.
Please continue to leave feedback and opinions!! I enjoy reading this because sometimes I feel so alone (none of my close friends have children with ADHD or ODD, much less both!) So, I sometimes feel as I don't have anyone to reach out to as I feel like no one will quite understand. So, thanks for making me feel not so alone!!
Witsend...you are not alone!! We started adding intuniv about a week ago along with all the other meds... today he had a PERFECT day!! I am in shock! Not sure why since they say that drug takes 3 weeks to show any results... and we have tried it before with little luck after first few days... Hang in there... I understand!! I created a topic on here under new idea... alternate meds... think that was the name... this was a blessing idea from a good psych. dr. that was all about research saw very few patients anymore... you should read it... give more background on my situation and ideas for med to work better...
hang in there!
Hi Witsend,