My 12 year old son starting doing the same thing this year. He acts like he doesn't even know he's done it. My son has been on his meds for quite a while, and I was wondering the same about them not working correctly. He is, also, getting into more trouble at home and not listening to me much anymore. We go to the docs next week and I'm hoping that she will be able to help with some solutions.

Even though this is an embarrasing problem, I'm glad to know that I am not alone with these types of problems.

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My son is also 8 and has the same problem.He just completely ignores that his pants are wet.He is taking adderall xr.I think his dose is O.K.I have had him checked out for physical problems and everything is fine.The docs do not know why this is happening.He also wets his bed on a regular basis.Please help,I am at witts end.

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I am writing this from my personal experience as a child when wetting my pants. Also I have ADHD and my son my oldest also. Wetting or accidents can be caused by the meds but it also can just be plain old bladder control and waiting to long coupled with ADHD. You have to remember that when you have to go the bathroom your bladder sends one signal to your brain saying i am getting full or i am full. Most of the time that is when you stop what you are doing and go to the bathroom. Okay, lets think about how many times you have to ask your child to do somethings somedays. Well the bladder is having the same problem. Also keep in mind that these are kids who have the ability to get so focused that a bomb can go off and they will not move. The bladder like you are trying to get threw but are having a hard time.

The best way for accidents is to be proactive. Plan bathroom breaks, make routines, and most of all go together if possible. The best time to ask is when changing gears are already happing or when going past a bathroom. I will tell my son that i have to stop so why not him go in a try instead of waiting on me. We have set times like before dinner all go to bathroom and wash hands. We start when everyone has returned. When i was in school i had some teachers would always ask or remind me to go or at 1pm give me the hall past to go. It was not a mater if. This was also a good time for me to get out and walk. Kill two birds with one stone. When i was pulled out of the classroom for Spelling i would stop for the bathroom. If not when i got to the classroom the person i was working with would send me to go. That worked really well for me also. I had one teacher in high school that at the first part of class she would let me leave to go before class really started. This way i would not be late. I could just drop my stuff of and go to the bathroom. Expecting me to stop during pasting time or lunch was crazy. I had other things on my mind. It was when my mind was clear and focused on the class did i realized that i had minutes to get to the bathroom. Then i would have to wait for the teacher to let me go. That is when problems came up. I found that when i asked to set something up the teachers were very cool about it. As long as i was honest with them and worked with them.

Another thing that we did for my son was we had a dry chart. For a set amount of days and night that he stayed dry he got something. That chart started with 15 days, then 30 days, then 50 and so on. When he hit his goal we took him someplace and made a huge deal about it. His doctor even made a big deal and we had to bring him the build-a-bear that he got for staying dry for 50 days. It was so much fun to see him so proud of staying dry. During this time we made lots routines and behaviors that stuck and worked for him. Because he was so willing to put in his impute and talk about it. All becasue he had a goal and motive.

I am not saying any of this will work for your kid but it worked great for mine and me. I have a soft spot for this topic because of my issues with it. But like with most ADHD things being proactive and planing for things is better. But most of all keep positive to much shame and blame happens already in life.

Kristin

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My son who is now eight went through something similar until about a year ago. He would pee his pants or hold his poop until he couldn't hold it anymore and sometimes just rip down his pants and poop on the floor out of desperation. It was awful. I was told several things; one, he is too preoccupied with other things to stop and pee, he knows he has too but is having too much fun. I stopped making a big issue out of it and explained that we needed to clean it up together. I was also encouraged to get a Gameboy, so he had something fun and distracting to have to sit on the toilet. Then when he went to the bathroom or he was dry, I wouldn't make it a huge deal but made sure I said something encouraging. My son has always enjoyed negative attention and likes to be in control of the situations and I was told this may be another occasion. By helping him clean up (not rebuking him but explaining that this is what we have to do), having something entertaining in the bathroom and acknowledging when he went on his own or was dry.

My son never did well on Ritalin or Concentra, it was never enough until they kept raising it until he was a zombie and had no personality. He is now on Strattera and Clonidine. He stills has ADHD symptoms and he also suffers from ODD and Tourette's Syndrome (which includes foul languange which he has learned to his advantage to use) but his bright personality still shines.

Don't give up...I know how hard it is and how much work it can be...but this is probably a stage that will pass...until the next one that is LOL....trying to be funny, because if we don't laugh sometimes at our situations than we'll cry.

Hope that helps,

Aries31

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My son is "only" 6, but he pees in his pants during the day off and on for weeks at a time, then it will stop and start again. A doctor told me that his bladder is actually smaller than it should be and he doesn't seem to receive a signal in time because he doesn't feel the pressure. Also, it usually happens right after he's already gone to the bathroom, which means he doesn't have enough pressure built up for it to all come out at once. So, I have to just make him wait a little while to make sure it all comes out. Unfortunately, the Kindergarten teachers don't have time for that so I have to constantly remind him to do it in Kindergarten as well. He never wets the bed.

Jackie

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One of things I know from studying ADHD and having it myself is that the brain can recognize the need to do something, but somehow the process of doing something about it gets messed up.

I often know I have to go, ignore it for some reason, and then I have to go again...

So it's a psychological reason, that is related to how ADHD affects the brain.

However, don't overlook the fact that it could be that your child is having a growth spurt (body too big for bladder).

The idea of making it a routine, going when you don't think you need to go is one of the most proactive ways to go.

Build a pee break when transitioning - get that put on your child's IEP (school treatment plan) and you can also work bathroom breaks into your routines when out with your child.

I can see the validity of the argument that it is the meds affecting the way the brain send/recieves messages and sensory input.

GP's wouldn't neccessarily think to consider it from a neuropshchological perspective. :)

good luck! (in the meantime, you could use those pull ups for older kids if it's an embarrassing issue for your child, and teach them how to deal with it at school - permission to use the accessible washroom rooms, instead of the regular stalls, time it so they're not going when other kids are going)

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