Raising a child with ADHD

Linda - posted on 08/22/2011

Hi Kim, We have our 10 year old grandson with us. and are raising him. He has ADD we think and his dad was certainly an ADHD child. We have had J almost since birth. He lives with us and we are the ones who follow his health needs and had him evealuated by a neurologist. We tried many different meds to find the right one that would help him and not make him feel dopey. his dad had a bad reaction to Ritalin at a young age and I controlled him with food choices. J is being well controlled with adderal. The current dose is 30XR. The XR is important because it helps him all day and does not keep him awakw at night. he must have the medication by 9AM to be able to go to sleep at night. I am on 30 mg that is not xr because of Narcolepsy. We recently lost our neurologist so I am going to have to keep a close eye on him and monitor his homework and grades. he completed the year on the honor roll but he must maintain a strict schedule with lost of praise for good grades. he is doing much better than his dad did. Please feel free to contact me.

Faye - posted on 08/20/2011

i am raising a 10 year old with ADHD, ADD and IED and he has chased his 13 year old sister down the hall with a steak knife and threatened to kill me what do i do we did try to medicate and stuff but he is still hyper active and wants to carry a pellet gun every where he goes caz he thinks the world hates him and we think its weird caz he gets wat he wants and also he stays up for literally 73 hours then sleeps for 3 hours and is pinging again for another 73 hours and he tortures his sister yall should see her bedroom door there are dent marks where he kept slamming his body into her door and stab marks where he stabs her door and his dad is adhd too and does not help i need some help please

Dana - posted on 08/15/2011

I agree. I have a child who was diagnosed at the age of 4. He is a wonderful child (11 yrs) but when the frustration comes quickly it's difficult to calm him down. He is also ultra sensitive feelings and sensory wise. I'm thankful that I have a husband to help out and stop things when my son and I have it out. He has the hyperactivity to the extreme and I have been diagnosed with the inattentive type only a few years ago. I agree, what makes him so frustrating can also make him the most loveable kid, He's an only child so we don't have the sibling rivalry going on.

Kristina - posted on 06/06/2011

Hello kim. my son is 6 and has ADHD we have had him on a low dose medication for a few years now and once we got them regulated i could see a 180 difference in additude and in learning. his mind was racing so much he was always getting mad and not retaining any information. now he is in kindergarden and he is doing great. he still has his moments but so do we all. I agree with Celeste on the respect and good behavior every where but home but i think that is a comfert thing. I have raised him to be respectful to all and he is very good at it and very loving as well. He is a very bright child but sometimes cant slow down enough to complete a task or stay "into to". He hates to do his homework so it is a fight everynight, and i am still trying to make it "fun" and easy as possible for him. I do feel so over whelemed sometimes when he wont do what i ask and throws fits just to get it done. as celest said he knows what he is supposed to do and if it takes him longer to do it then so be it as long as it gets done. I remind my son to stop and think about what he has to do which helps him refocus on the task at hand. counting is a good thing to refocus. i told my son as long as he behaves at school then when he comes home i let him outside to "go crazy" and let out all of his bilt up energy.
both me and my husband didnt want to medicate him at first but once we did we are so glad we did, really he became a different child. he is not lathargic and i dont want that for him, i dont stop giving it to him on weekends or durning the summer, because come monday morning it would be like starting all over.

Dora - posted on 05/05/2011

When my son was in Elementary school, they constantly said he was ADD or ADHD. We took him to 5 different Dr. and none thought he was. He graduated, joined the Army and was later discharged with Schizophrenia. We are doing the Gluten Free Diet now. My Daughter is sick as well with issues of not being to gain weight and also stomach problems. The diet has helped us all so much. I recently started a support group in our area. I have had many tell me it helps with Autism, Chrons Disease, MS. And recently with ADD or ADHD. Just read a post on FB where several Mothers are doing it for the ADD and ADHD. If I had known about it when my son was little, I definately would have done the diet for him then. It has helped now, but I know the sooner the better. My cousin does it for her sons Autism. She said he is a different child due solely to the diet. If you have not tried the Gluten Free diet for your grandson, it might be something you want to think about. It is a lot of work but once you get the hang of it, it is so worth it to have a healthy, happy child. God Bless you and good luck with your Grandson.

Celeste - posted on 10/11/2010

MINE IS JUST 10,SUPER TOUGH AND SENSATIVEAT THE SAME TIME.... WE DO NOT MEDICATE BUT IT IS A CHALLANGE....WE HAVE TRIED SEVERAL DIFFERENT SCHOOL SETTINGS AND HAVE FOUND THAT YOU DEFINATELY DON'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR......HE IS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL THIS YEAR AND HEADED FOR AN IEP AND HOPEFULLY THAT WILL DEAL WITH THE LEARNING STYLE ISSUES.....AS FAR AS BEHAVIOR....HE IS THE NICEST KINDEST CHILD WHEN HE IS OUT OF THE HOUSE, OR AT SCHOOL ...NEVER HAD A BAD REPORT, WITHIN THE HOUSE IS A DIFFERENT STORY....EVERYTHING IS A POWER STRUGGLE, EVERYTIME WE REMIND HIM TO DO HIS CHORES OR HIS OWN PERSONAL HYGENE IT IS A FIGHT, I AM TAKING THE " CLINT EASTWOOD' APPROACH AND AM NOT ENGAGING AND BEING VERY SPECIFIC TO CONSEQUENCES AND IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING....(NOT THAT I DON'T LOCK MYSELF IN THE BATHROOM AND CRY SOMETIMES) VERY CHALLANGING....I WAS TOLD BY THE DR. THAT EVALUATED JOHN, SHE SAID,"WHAT IS A TASK FOR ME IS A PROJECT FOR HIM" ....I HAVE TO REMEMBER THIS ALWAYS AND IT HELPS ME TO REMAIN PATIENT.....HOPE THAT HELPS, WE HAVE ADHD-INATTENTIVE TYPE......FYI