My son is 12 and is taking vyvanse. I to have the trouble getting through to my son at times. He has outbursts and yells at me and I also cannot do anything right at times. My son's counselor says it is a combination of hormones and ADHD. Puberty is bad enough for kids without ADHD. I am an adult with ADHD raising an ADHD child. Its tough. We have our fights and our moments. Before i go to bed, i go in and sit on his bed and explain to him what i am thinking. If i have no idea about what the fight was even about, i tell him. Sometimes he just stares at me, but other times he tries to communicate what was going through his mind. Even when he just stares, at least he is listening and knows i care. It's a start.

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Hi:

It's so hard to say whether the Vyvanse is to blame for your daughter's behavior at home. Every medication impacts every person differently, and your doctor is really the expert here. But that doesn't mean you can read up on common side effects and try some alternative ADHD treatments like behavior therapy in addition to the meds.

Also, I would suggest checking out our most popular articles about minimizing side effects in children taking ADHD medication: Tweaking ADHD Treatments and Changing Medications When a Child's Behavior Worsens

You can find more articles like that in our Treating ADHD Channel.

Best of luck!

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My six year old son has been on Vyvanse for a month now and is doing wonderful. He was diagnosed with ADHD, ODD and anxiety. I had to learn that medicine is not a cure for ADHD. It helps make symptoms manageable. When we first put him on the meds they made him sick. He had headache, stomach ache and insomnia. After the first 3-5 days he was fine and is doing wonderful! He still has breakthrough moments where he is oppositional but we know how to handle him because we have had him in Occupational Therapy and Behavioral Therapy for about a year now. Get to know your children. I had to learn about my child, i.e how he learns, his likes and dislikes, what made him mad, what made him sad, different ways to anticipate and diffuse potential situations that may cause meltdowns. We explain an break things down for our son before we do most chores or routines. I think my best advice to any mom going through this is to RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH! Read as much as you can on ways to help your child. We did not want to put our son on meds but we knew that Behavior Therapy alone was not going to work for our son. Maybe for some children it does, but not ours. Also, be an ADVOCATE for your child at school because no one else will. Develop a cohesive team relationship with the teacher it is so important to stay informed. Be PROACTIVE and early intervention is key. Most children aren't even diagnosed until at least 8 or 9 years of age. I knew my son was ADHD long before we received the diagnosis.

At the end of the day all we can do for our kids is to love and teach them. Savor their victories and learn from their setbacks. These children are bright, imaginative, and loving children, they just need our help to achieve success!

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