Anyone with a teen with ADHD

Traci - posted on 01/17/2009

July, I also took my son off of medication and just worked closely with him, it was challenging at first.

Traci - posted on 01/17/2009

Hi July I have a son who was diagnosed at 7 with ADHD and it was quite a struggle. I tried couseling and Concerta medication for about three years. The problem arose when the teachers said he had distractive behavior. My son just needed to be challenged more with his school work. My son now is taking honor classes which keeps him busy and out of trouble. The best I can recommend is be patient talk to him about everything he does daily and encourage him offten when he responds with positive behavior. July remember that we were once teenager and it can be quite a trying time, just hang in there.



God Bless

Janai - posted on 01/15/2009

Hello Julie,

My son was diagnosed when he was 3 and now is 14. We have been through everything you could imagine with Cody. He currently takes Daytrana which is a patch. I would suggest seeing your doctor and adjusting or changing meds... also find out if chadd.org has any suggestions. ADHD is very managable but very time consuming... Let me be the 1st to tell you it will be worth all the time you put into it... Cody is very successful and I am sure your son will be also

Janai - posted on 01/15/2009

Hello Julie,

My son was diagnosed when he was 3 and now is 14. We have been through everything you could imagine with Cody. He currently takes Daytrana which is a patch. I would suggest seeing your doctor and adjusting or changing meds... also find out if chadd.org has any suggestions. ADHD is very managable but very time consuming... Let me be the 1st to tell you it will be worth all the time you put into it... Cody is very successful and I am sure your son will be also

Janai - posted on 01/15/2009

Hello Julie,

My son was diagnosed when he was 3 and now is 14. We have been through everything you could imagine with Cody. He currently takes Daytrana which is a patch. I would suggest seeing your doctor and adjusting or changing meds... also find out if chadd.org has any suggestions. ADHD is very managable but very time consuming... Let me be the 1st to tell you it will be worth all the time you put into it... Cody is very successful and I am sure your son will be also

Deecii - posted on 01/15/2009

You are not alone. I too have a 13 year old. It is always a challenge. He takes Ritalyn and I am not truly convinced that the medication is the be all end all. My son is very bright, scores high on all the standardized tests, but struggles with his behavior and motivation in the classroom. I find that if it is a subject he likes and is interested in, the focus is much better despite the medication. Classes that he can care less about is like pulling teeth to get him on task. I have observed though that medication or no medication, he has no trouble at all focusing on video games. Hmmmmm. I wonder if there are any other Moms out there that have had the same observation. Anyway, the only way we get through it is by staying closely connected with his teachers. I think this group is great. My first time visiting and it's nice reading about how others deal with this challenge.

Michele - posted on 01/15/2009

I also have a son with ADHD and let me tell you that we had many issues also. more so when he reached High School. his classes were 80min long blocks. ok you know where im going with this. Kids with ADHD can not sit in a class that long w/o meds. I might add my son would not take them. I also agree that his IEP helped us out alot, your child is protected with that. you must know your rights and your child's rights. I also went to a book store and got a book on ADHD (the Laws) it gives parent everything you need to know and what to say when you have to deal with school, everything, example.. what to say in meeting, what not to say, forms that you can use to request just about anything. and that IEP should follow he through college, However my son started college and It was not for him, so he joined the USMC. Its not for everyone, but it was a god sent for him b/c he works wonderful in a strictured setting and has done very well for himself. he just turned 21 and boy what a change. for anyone out there with younger teens it dose get better as they get older and they mature they are able to control their inpulse's. My son tell me today that his ADD is cured. LOL little dose he know he just matured. FYI kids with ADHD do much better learning on computers then they do in a classroom. our school dist.has a setting just for that its called " Plato" My son might have learned about 80% compared to a child with out ADD, however in the classroom he was learning only about 40%, and the rest of the % was getting in trouble.

Good Luck too you!!

Lynne - posted on 01/15/2009

I have a son who is 19 with ADHD. We live in The United States in Michigan. He is in college now and is not taking any meds. He is doing well in school now but we had many issues with teachers as he was going through School K-12. I had to be in constant communication with his teachers and came up with an idea. When he got home from school he would give me his homework sheet. We would have the teachers write down his assignments and send the homework sheet home with him every night. We would have an duplicate set of text books at the house ,if possible. I was also very confused as to what was normal behavior and ADHD behavior. You have to be in constant contact with the teachers so you are all on the same page as to structure and be consistent. Get a weekly progress report sent home either by e mail or given to your student to bring home to you. Does your son's school have any type of IEP Indididualized Educational Plan? or MET Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team. If you do not know what is available to you and your student contact your school superentendent to find out what your options are. I know how frustrating it can be getting answers. Don't give up!!! Good Luck

Robyn - posted on 01/15/2009

Hi Julie...I have a 12 year old (pre-teen) who is on Adderall....he never had problems misbehaving, simply "concentrating". His school and teachers are very supportive and have come to learn that he simply needs challenged, so here in the states they have tests the school administers which I had to give permission for them to do, they results came back, he is considered "gifted" or "accelerated". He is now in more challenging classes. He is still on the meds, against my better judgement, but he seems to be able to concentrate more and is much more cooperative (without his meds, he is very whiney). Hope this helps!

Sylvia - posted on 01/15/2009

ive got a 15 year old with adhd. i took him to doctors and they advised me to take him to a psycoligist. they made appointment for me and they diagnosed him with adhd. also torretts and tic syndrome. its hard to cope at times he is my only child with it i have 2 other children they were fine

Sylvia - posted on 01/15/2009

hi i got a 15 year old with adhd. its hard to deal with him sometimes. he is on 4 different lots of medication. his main one is concerta xl 56 mg everyday. he is so hypo at times. concerta calms him down for while

Anne - posted on 01/13/2009

hi hun i have got a 13 yr old he  as adhd  but he is not on concetra he  on equasym 20 ml they are gd for constration for school when he takes them plus all school find it hard with children who as got adhd as they havent got the ability to look after them as my child been to 5 schools already

Michelle - posted on 01/13/2009

I would speak with his doctor who prescribes him his meds. Maybe he needs an increase or a combination of meds. Maybe concerta isn't the right med for him.

Victoria - posted on 01/13/2009

http://add.about.com/od/childrenandteens... this site helps x

Victoria - posted on 01/13/2009

Welcome to the teen world Julie. I have fought my son's school all the way and often fall out with my son because i won't let them ignore him as a person and have often pointed out to his teachers at parents evening his good points, his great personal achievements and the fact that he is a young man WITH ADHD -not an ADHD young man! In all cases of teens (i'm onto my last one of 3!) when they get to 12 1/2 they want to be an adult-smoke, drink stop out late etc etc plus puberty-where the hell do we start as parents! well all i can say is stick in there,remain consistent, be supportive and shout his corner-if you can organise a meeting with his tutor and the schools SENCO take a friend who knows yr son and thrash it out with them-I have met each teacher singularly and set up 'Learning agreements' with them. a contract of expectations of both sides agreed and signed by all 3 parties 9remember your son has to attend the school so MUST be involved. Get involved with his schooling, get to know his teachers, attend meetings and tell them what YOU expect from them. sorry its a long reply lol once i get started i cant stop -hope this helps Julie good luck x

Lisa - posted on 01/13/2009

Hi Julie,

My son is ADD and is 14 now. Yes school and teachers can be challeging! I'm not sure about the UK but here in the states we have special plans put in place that we have to apply for so that it is a law that he recieves the help he needs. it's called an IEP plan. It's great because we sit down with several people...a phycologist, school counsler, teachers, social worker and more to develop guidlines to what extra help he needs in classes. Like extra time on stuff and much more. It really helped for a long time but Middle School has been a challenge. First year in MS he made Honor Roll all year. last year not so great. We got simillar complants from a few teachers but he did not have a good repor with those. He kept telling us they were not teaching him well. William is the kind of child that given the right encouragment he will excel! But I have had to learn to back off and let him learn stuff on his own. You will not always have teachers and bosses that you like and agree with but you have to do your work and obey the rules!! This year I've really backed off and not checked every little thing. He did fail one class but learned a hard lesson. I am also ADD and I know the struggles I had as a child and did not have any medicine or help! You also run into the problem of them waiting for you to do everything for them!!

I would keep on school as much as you can and let them know you are not going away and you will be checking your childs progress often. Once they know that they are usually a little more helpful. Threats also work. :) I wish you well and don't hesitate to email me and ask questions. I'll be glad to help as much as I can??

Lisa