Dear Dad,

My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD last year and is in 3rd this year as well. She is a combination of inattentive & hyper/impulsive. It sounds to me like your son may be primarily inattentive which is also ADD. I can't tell you what to do, but we did put our daughter on meds because school work and especially homework was such a struggle, not to mention her penmanship. The meds are working great!! Every child reacts a little different to meds so you may need to try more than one, but I feel it is worth it and school is going great right now. We tried Concerta first and it made her more emotional, we then switched to Adderall. The Adderall worked great, however it did seem to wear off early in the evening and then she would get emotional. I was told the absorption rate wasn't always consistant and we have just switched to Vyvanse, which is a new med (a little more expensive) and it didn't affect her any different, we are still observing to see if it helps better in the evenings or if we should just do a short acting adderall in the afternoon, since all the meds we give her are long lasting and it's only 1 pill in the a.m.

The first week or so on meds her appetite wasvery limited (I tried to give her supplemental shakes to keep up nutrition) and trouble sleeping, but after the first week she was fine. I did notice a difference even on the first day we started the meds. If your son is still struggling so much, I would give it a try.

Hope this helps!! :-)

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Have you investigated therapy programs such as cogmed working memory training? About 75 to 80 percent of kids show improvement -- inattention is reduced. You might also want to investigate neruofeedback. If you aren't totally comfortable trying drugs right off the bat, there are some very effective alternative ADHD treatments out there.

Check out this article on Brain Training to Treat ADHD

I hope this helps. Dena

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Eventually, children will have to find alternative methos for managing the symptoms. The drugs lose their efficacy over time, and long term side effects have not been documented. You son's mild version does not seem to require Schedule II stimulants, but subtle management.

Each ADD/ADHD case is different, especially among children. So are the ways to deal with the symptoms. I am wary of the new found influence the pharmaceutical industry has on teachers.

http://www.adhd-information-exchange.com

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I spotted this article about deciding to medicate or not to medicate and thought of you. The advice is good: Take your time, do some fact finding and honor your feelings.

Good luck, Dena

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My son sound a lot like yours. He does well in school, but his teachers often report that he lacks focus and organization (he loses things left and right). We don't have a formal diagnosis yet - it's expensive and we're not sure it's necessary if we don't want to go with medication.

We're focusing right now on teaching him some skills he'll need to succeed. Of course, we're not tackling everything at once, but we are working on:

organizational skills ways to remember things (both stuff and facts/deadlines) reviewing his work before he turns it in (he tends to speed through things without thinking) setting and maintaining routines identifying his feelings and acting appropriately on them (he's full of extremes)

We're also trying to keep him really active and social. He's not at all hyper, but he is a fidgeter...getting outside frequently to burn off some of that excess energy helps him stay still and focus.

Medications are wonderful tools, but they are just tools. You wouldn't use a bulldozer to break through a sandcastle...the same principle applies to your kid. He may not need meds right now. Use whatever tools you have at your disposal to help him out. Remember that medication is just one tool in your arsenal. :)

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My children are both ADHD combined type, so I can't really relate fully. My oldest son (now 16) was diagnosed in Grade 5 and he didn't start meds until grade 7. The school work really started to pile on then and success in an ADHD child's mind is half the battle. My daughter (now 12) started meds as soon as she was formally diagnosed in Grade 3. She was able to learn more easily because she could actually focus on the teacher. (We actually didn't tell the teacher about starting the meds, and she approached us within two days to ask whether we had put her on meds, that's how drastic the change was). My children couldn't sit still so there was a visible difference in everything they did, your son is a different story. Don't discount Learning Disabilities either. My son has 2 LD's and even with meds, gets resourcing. My daughter is being assessed for LD's because even with meds she is not fairing well with her grades. It's trial and error, but in the end the decision needs to be the best for your family. Good luck.

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What about trying Omega 3 fish oil instead of meds? Just a thought. There is a lot written about it on this site right now, if you are interested.

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Elizabeth said: What about trying Omega 3 fish oil instead of meds? Just a thought. There is a lot written about it on this site right now, if you are interested.

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Hi Dad,

We're in the same boat - excellent kid, no behavior "problems", etc. - but just isn't consistent with work completion. We've put our 3rd grader on a rather strict, but active, schedule. I have her keep her calendar that has times & dates (awareness of time is a huge issue with her) and so we check it each day (and/or hour) so she can see the obligations she's accountable for before free-time. Because everything's written down and is a concrete visual of what's coming ahead, she doesn't seem to be as scattered. It's not always perfect, but it's usually because I forgot to write something down or some crisis came about.

Hope this helps!

M

P.S. We really are proponents of medication, but recognize it to be helpful in severe instances. I'm sure you'll do the right thing.

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