ADHD Medications for children?

My son is w/o doubt ADHD. I have also noticed he has anxiety attacks. He is 7 years old and since he has started school they have been trying to get me to put him on medication. I have always believed it was wrong but he has failed K and is not on level in 1st. I am afraid my beliefs on the issue are holding him back. He is very forgetfull and fidgity and when we do his homework he gets so frustrated and after about 15 minutes I am unable to get him to process anything, he will forget things that I make him repeat over and over seconds later. I know professional medical advice is necessary but I am curious of any experiences that can be shared.

How could you possibly prevent ADHD? especially w/o medication?

I felt the same way as you, but my son is failing, his frustration is turning into anger, and he isn't happy. He is now in the middle of an ADHD evaluation, I can't have my son look at me again and tell me he is stupid, or cry because he wants to be a "better' kid and his brain won't let him. Screw my beliefs, my baby needs help.

Against the grain again? I don't care.

EDIT:: NO .. My husband was on ADHD meds and his brain is just fine thank you very much, to say his brain isn't normal seems like an insult! ..AND he doesn't need them anymore. He is a supervisor with a well respected company and provides more than what is necessary for our family to survive. WTF?

KAT::: How old are you honey? You cannot PREVENT ADHD, and your 3 friends being on a daily medication is one thing, but when it is your kid your trying to raise the best you can, you try everything else first. Us moms only get one shot at raising our kids, we all screw up, but at least we know we have tried.

Thank you .. best of luck to you and your son. Report It

my sister is diagnosed with this she is 29 and is a true believer in medication. yes it does take trial after trial trying to find the correct medication but it is def. a necessity. I'm a special ed. teacher and understand how parents hate medicating children but when you see how much further they can succeed it's worth it. it's going to be hard for you to understand b/c you can focus but imagine being up in a room full of hard rock and your supposed to try and concentrate. it's very difficult. just be strong, and flexible. and things will get easier. let me know if you need anymore advice. hope this helps......

I think maybe you should've asked a doctor about this years ago when you first recognized the symptoms then you could have prevented it. My 3 friends have ADHD and they take these little tiny pills, trust me it helped a lot. They're very bright and their memory's great.

Well, Im not going to try to tell you which way is better for him, only you know, BUT, from my experience, I have 2 twin brothers that have ADHD. All throughout school they were on meds. It helped them pay attention, stay out of major trouble, sit still, etc. But it also turned them into zombies. So my Mom started giving it to them only when they were at school. She eventually took them off of it, It was very hard in the beginning. They got kicked out of school, they were very violent. But with time, patience and alot of work, it was better in the long run. With the mediciene it covered the ADHD up, and didnt teach them anything, like how to deal with things and how to act. Its very hard to say. One option you can look at is only giving him meds while he's at school, and not on the weekends or anytime hes home. If their on meds 24/7, they never actually learn anything, they dont learn how to deal with anything, it only covers it up and calms them down. Like I said, it took alot of work and counsling for my brothers when they were taking off the meds, but it helped them in the long run. Now they can deal with things alot better, without having to take meds to deal with it. In my experience helping raise 2 kids with severe ADHD, get alot of opinions and talk to different doctors. Find a doctor who specializes in ADHD, and also look into local organizations who help disabled kids. They will help you, and guide you. The organization that my brothers belong to stills helps them today, and their 24. But your first step would be is find a doctor who specializes in ADHD, and also a counsler who specializes in it. Set up a metting with them, tell them all your concerns, and go from there. Its a very hard decision, but only you know whats best for him, with the help of specialists. If you need anything, please feel free to email me.

you can't let this effect his schooling. My friend was the same and finally agreed to medicate. She wished she hadn't delayed it so long. There are other option you can try this

My son has AD/HD and I had all the same concerns you do. The last thing I wanted was to medicate my child.it just sounded like an horrible thing to do.However I did make an appt. for an evaluation and after a few sessions I learned how much this problem my son had was effecting my sweet little boys self esteem.By the way my son is 7 and he has been on Adderall XR for about 4 months now.My only regret was waiting so long he is getting along much better at school and home already!And he claims to feel better as well.After all AD/HD is a problem that can be treated and if your child was crippled you wouldn't hesitate to provide them with crutches.So why not give you re child the tools he needs for his handicap?

My son is ADHD. We have run the gammet with different meds to find the one that works properly for him. He is currently of Focalin XR 15 mg. He takes it one time a day and he functions well on it. He is himself and active, but he is able to remember and concentrate on it. He doesnt get into trouble in school anymore. I also never wanted to have my son on meds. But he also was held back in K, and was having problems. Kids know that something is not right and they know when something is working for them. Get him tested and find a support group in your area or online. Meds are not a cure either. We also do counceling and have very set schedules so everything has a routine. Good luck. I know how hard this is, but it really can get better.

My daughter has some similar characteristics of your son. I do not label her as anything. She has a very short attention span, and is very forgetful, getting off track very easy. Basically, I feel like you do, no drugs. I told her teacher if she had any trouble with her sitting through class I would go running in the morning with her before school. We would add a mile every week until she is able to sit still. It has not come to that yet, but I feel that the problem with kids today is we want them to be still too much. Remember when we were kids, at least when I was, we moved constantly when not in school. Played on the way to the bus stop, played when we got home until dark. By the time it was time to do homework, we were too exhausted to do anything else. Now parents want kids to set in front of the tv, or the computer, it is dangerous to let them out to play. I say, give your son a lot of physical activity and his attention span will grow. NO DRUGS, I agree with that also, once they are on them, then what??? Do they stay on them forever??

my daughter has adhd and it affects her grades.the important thing is if you decide to put your child on medication to go to a Dr. that you feel totally confident in thier ability to correctly diagnose your son and to have them monitor any meds they put him on.they have alot of slow releas pills on the market that release it slowely throughout the day to continuously help with the schoolwork.

The first poster said that once you start him on meds he'll need them the rest of his life WRONG. (please read on:)

With ADD the brain works differently. Compare it to a car's speed. A regualar car driving down the road would be going say 50 miles per hour, an ADD car, 80 miles per hour. An ADD mind works much faster & is able to process things & move on to the next thing with ease. Doesn't sound like a bad thing does it?

I have ADD & was diagnosed with it when I was 9 years old. I don't have the HD (hyperactivity) part and never have. When I was younger I had to be put on medication, but I havent needed it in years now. It's all about learning to deal with it, which will come with time & maturity.

I love talking with others that have an ADD mind like myself. We can cover a variety of topics in a small amount of time. So much more interesting than an non ADD mind that operates on a slower pace.

That being said though, at 7 years old your son wouldnt know or understand how to deal with it appropriatly & meds may help with that until he gets older and can learn ways of functioning with it. And if he's had to repeat grades, he's not functioning properly.

Did you know that most people with ADD are actually very intellegent people that get bored easily?

I don't know too much about ADD/ADHD, nor do I really hold much stock in it but my son does have some issues. He was diagnosed with ADHD (I really don't believe he has this) but we were managing on our own with out meds. Unfortunately due to his issues (he has transitional issues which are heightened due to mental/emotional abuse {not considered this by the state} from his father who has visitation {the guy bullies him hard} as well as being bullied in school). He was having difficulty controling his anger at home (this is where he feels safest and is not really concerned about the repricussions, he just knows we won't abandon him and that's all that mattered to him). It escalated to where he actually physically assaulted me. My son was nearly as big as me and I felt helpless so I allowed him to be put on meds, Abilify, and mixed with his regular therapy they have helped a great deal. I know it's no way to cure his issues but he was becoming a danger not only to others but himself as well.

ADHD/ADD meds stop the brain from developing normally and once you start will require him to stay on meds his whole life. You can't get his brain to develop back the way it would have without meds. I have been told by a friend of mine who is a licensed clinical social worker that he has successfully treated 100% of kids referred to him without medication with these diagnosis'. I would advise you to take that route and get a referral to a LCSW. All doctors and medical people will love to get him on meds, but as a mom and social worker I am begging you to look at your options. There are also many changes you can make at home to accomodate his attention span if you are working with professionals that share your opinions on medications. Don't give up on him yet, or your own instincts.