Hi. My son is now 5 1/2 but diagnosed when he was about 3 1/2 years old. Not many children are diagnosed before school age but I had the same problems you have described startting before 3 but just thought it was his age and being a boy. We went to a highly recommended behavioral psychologist who helped us with disciplinary issues but continued to have problems with discipline and attention deficit so he we was sent for neuropsychological testing which showed definite ADHD with a potential for other disorders (like bipolar) in the future. The Dr. highly recommended medication for him even at a early age. We had trouble accepting it but after visiting with another psychiatrist we gave meds a try and noticed a huge difference. We also put him on fish oil (the Nordic naturals) and try to watch his diet which is hard with him being a very picky eater. We tried several meds and had to change for one reason or another. He had severe behavioral changes on Adderall so we put him on Dexedrine which is a more pure amphetamine and he did great on it but developed tics and even worse appetite suppression. After visiting with a pediatric neurologist he suggested Strattera (which I was highly against because of the bad things I had heard) . The Strattera has worked great, no more tics and he is better all around. He still has the same "spunk" that we loved about him which the other meds seemed to wipe away and has gained weight which we were battling. We still have some minor behavior issues but find it is manageable when we are consistent in dealing with him. We struggle a little with his social skills but hope with time and working with him they will get better too. He is in Kindergarten now and the teachers say he is doing wonderfully and able to stay on task and complete work. I recommend lots of reading materials to give you some guidance and to give meds a try, at least the fish oil. Worse case scenario you take him off and find alternatives. We just had to find what worked best for us. Please don't think I am pushing the Strattera, it has just worked well for us and each child will have different needs. There are lots of options. You can know that by reading this website. Good Luck.

Quote

Hey thanks for getting back to me. Actually I am glad you mentioned Strattera to me bc I was leaning more to it than the rest of the medications that I was researching. However, you are right with having to find the right medication(s) that will best suit him. I am glad that there are positive side effects that has come out of this situation with your son. Right now I am pretty much freaking out bc tomorrow he is suppose to start preschool and with no meds. Our therapist stated that I should wait to see how he handles the 3 hrs of preschool and from there if I still wanted we could proceed on with talking to a psychiatrist. I mean I've worked in the psych field even before I had my son, so at first when we found out @ 3 yrs. old he was diagnosed with ADHD and severe hyperactiveness I handled it well. But as the days, weeks, months passed I realized a huge change with behavior. One minute we are doing GREAT with time outs and listening to me, next minute we are having the most difficult time just having him be in time out without having to get out or talking back. Now that he's a year older and his father is gone again, I feel like he has definitely gotten worse with his ADD and now he doesn't seem to listen to anything I got to say to him. It is frustrating being a single mom and having to do this on my own, being a military family and having his father gone for months to a year out on deployments. Right now I am pretty much open to giving him medication. Now the fish oil what does that do again? And is that an over the counter where I can get that? I mean I worked in a dr's office before that gave out samples of fish oil vitamins which I took but I didn't notice a difference, so I'm not so sure what that will do for him. You can see I'm new to all this. I am still doing a ton of research and learning different things about the disorder. But today we have therapy and of course I am going to mention the medication and perhaps maybe after he starts he schooling I might be able to put him on one and get it started. The key word that you mentioned in your reply back to me is "managable" that's what I am looking for right now. Bc everything at this point with his behavior, emotions, my frustrations and all is out of control and not managable. So I would like to get back to when things can be managable!! If you have any other advice or opinions, please do not hesitate to respond. All the advice in the world is what I need, to be honest reading your reply made me feel a whole lot better. Thank you! Discplining your son.....what methods aside from time outs did you use?? Time outs are the only thing that seem to be working ok but could be better. I am having a hard time with him being in time out for the full time. And that he constantly talks back....thanks again for the advice!!!

Quote

My 5-1/2 was diagnosed as ADHD at age 3-1/2 and has been on a variet of meds since then. Prior to diagnosis, we had visited several child psychologists and tried different discipline and methods "effective timeouts" based on their recommendations. Now we know from experience and readings that timeouts and similar methods of "discipline" only has negative effects on ADHD child. Only positive parenting works here. He is now on Concerta and is doing great at kindergarten. Concerta is probably the most prescribed med for kids. It is long lasting and so does not have as much ups and downs . The major side effects are losing appetite and sleep difficulties. We are still trying to find solutions for the appetite. He is taking Clonidine every night to help with sleep. When not on medication, he is the one who suffers the most. Our main concern is social skills and tried to get help from school. However, they refused IEP based on academic test results that was well above average. They can not tolerate him for one day when he is not on med.

Quote

Asking for help is hard!! My oldest was ADHD even before he was born. I struggled with dr's calling him highly active. I demanded a ADHD dr get with us to help me...my son was so over active he was violent - overstimulated. No one would - he was in "formative" stages and they didnt want to get sued.

So after several years of fighting with "the system" to get help for my son, I was finally introduced to a woman that truly wanted to help us. She got him on Ritalin and it worked out!! Since then the Ritalin stopped working we went to Focalin and it's been working well!! We tried a ton of meds in between and some made him worse, some didnt work at all - what a rollercoaster some days....

Keep searching for the right person to help you and the right meds for your lil one. You WILL find the right combination...keep a journal, track his progress from day to day. Ask tons of questions!! If he is ADHD then it is possible that he is ODD if he is aggressive - but without evaluation, you wont know for sure. Keep pushing to help him be successful. The longer you wait the worse it will be for him but MORE for you!

Quote

My son was diagnosed in first grade, but we had been watching the symptoms since he was in preschool. We started the meds in 1st grade and it made a big difference. We have had to adjust the dosage and also the type of meds used over the years. Currently we use Adderall XR. We have used behavior therapy for 5 years, too. My son is now 11 years and in 5th grade. His grades are good, but it has been difficult to get an IEP. Fortunately the school realized that the grades would not be good with out the IEP, meds, and behavior therapy. You can get an IEP, you just have to be persistant. Also, we are now working with an Occupational Therapist for sensory issues. Some of my son's "hyperactive" activities result from not enough stimulation for his senses. I highly reccommend giving this a try for your preschooler. Also, you may need to take a look at yourself; I have now been diagnosed with ADHD which was affecting my parenting skills. And from a former preschool teacher, make sure you child is in the right program. A good preschool program has organized play as the focus of a child's day, not sitting at a table with worksheets and flashcards. Your child can actually thrive in the right preschool environment. Just remember that it takes many pieces of the puzzle to make it all work....medication, nutrition, behavior therapy, positive reinforcement, IEP, evaluation for other possible disorders, etc., but the most important is what you give your child...unconditional love and acceptance for who he is.

Quote

Hi there, I have two boys, (10 & 8) the oldest has ADHD and the youngest has ADD. They are both on medication called Concerta, with my oldest boy the doctor tried him on Adderall XR and it made him go psyco (picking his finger nails and toe nails until they would almost bleed and other weird things like that) than he tried him on Concerta and at different doses untill he found the dose that worked for my son. I had taken him off Concerta to try the new patch medication Daytrana and my son ended up get a big rash from the adhesive on the patch, so I put him back on Concerta and he is doing better than the first time he was on it. My youngest son with ADD is on Concerta and is taking a lower dose than his brother and does not need to take it on the weekends or anytime he is off from school. My advice would be to work closely with a pediatrician that specializes in ADHD or your family doctor if he or she specializes in that field. My son's doctor also suggested giving them Melatonin to help at bed time because that is what the body produces naturally at bed time anyways and it is a natural herb that you can buy over the counter ( I get theirs at the GNC store it's about $4.00 for a bottle of 60 tablets and it works great for them but always talk to your doctor first about trying any kind of medication with your child). Best of luck and hang in there, remember you are not alone.

Quote

Although my 4 year old son has not been diagnosed, he exhibits the same signs. Our family physician is reluctant to "label" our son at such an early age, but given our family history of ADHD, believed we should take some precautionary steps.

We placed our guy on Child Brite vitamins for children who struggle with attention and focus. We also added their Omega 3, 6, 9 supplement as well. We noticed a difference in his behavior in about 3 weeks and definite increase in focus and decrease in activity about six weeks. His preschool teachers continue to rave about the improvement they have noticed in ability focus, social skills, and communication skills. Although natural supplementation may not work for all kids, it might be a good place to start.

We also focused on our behavior as contributing factors. We found a local ADHD parent coach. She worked with us to add structure to our home environment and to establish rules and consequences our entire family could understand and adhere to. She offers many free resources on her website. If you're interested in more information please post a private message. I would be happy to share our plan with you.

Hope this helps. Good luck and we will keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

Quote