Afraid of Medicating ADD Child

Hi J.,

I'm no Tom Cruz. But I do have to say that putting any child on medicine because of ADD is just wrong. I think there is a way for an ADD child. Loads of the right attention and disipline is what that boy is missing.

I would have your friend verify his parents rights as this does not sound correct. How can a school make a parent medicate your child when you don't believe in it? They don't even know the long term side effects from this drug that they want half the children to take. Tell your friend to do a lot of research on his rights as this is just wrong!!! Good luck!!! D.

Hi J.. I have two boys medicated for ADHD but ony after they were properly diagnosed by a psychiatrist - not a school who legally cannot diagnose. A school cannot kick a child out of the school or district without the child doing something worthy of being expelled. Long before that happens, it is the school's responsibility to find an appropriate placement for the child. Have your friend go to http://www.frcnca.org/directory.html and click on the county which she lives in. Call the Family Resource Center in her area to get some help. They can help her get free advocates to deal with the school. Schools do not do things willingly and in fact most of the time getting the schools to do what they need to do is quite a fight.

The other thing your friend needs to do is make sure her son has been assessed for sensory issues. Sensory Integration Disorder is misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD very frequently. The school district can do this. She needs to ask the school, in writing, for a complete occupational therapy evaluation and done by an OT that is certified in SID therapy.

She can get this info and more from the family resource center. If you want, give her my e-mail ____@____.com. I have 6 special needs kids who are now homeschooled because we got tired of fighting schools and not getting what they needed.

I am a grandma of 2 grandchildren, with one more on the way, I have worked in a school district before and I think your friend has been given some false information. The school can continue to suspend until the child is kicked out but the school can not threaten to kick him out if he doesn't take medicine. The parent has the ultimate choice. The parent needs to talk to the super intendant at the district office to help figure out a solution.

On the other hand my daughter gives my grandson a half a cup of coffee every morning before school, you can add a little sugar but no milk because it stimulates the brain, and it calms him down. Coffee has the same chemical in it that Riddlin has. She was told that he would have less side effects to the coffee then to the Riddlin. It has the opposite effect with hyperactive children. My daughter has been doing this for about 8 months and has received less complaints from the school. Goos Luck!

Try Mega Smarts for kids. It is a capsule of Omega 3 that is chewable. It is made of kids 5-12 years old. 2 pills a day are equal to 6oz of salmon a day. Very good for the brain and proven to help kids to focus. I have had my 5 year old on them for a little over a week and have seen a HUGE improvement in school. I got mine at Rite Aid $9.99 for 30 capsules. You can also find it on CVC Pharmacy online. Good Luck.

being affraid of medicating a child who has been properly diagnosed with ADD/ADHD is like saying you're affraid to medicate a child who has been properly diagnosed with diabetes.

My 9 year old has been on medication for his ADHD since he was 6 and it was THE BEST THING we ever did for him. The decision was not made lightly AND we saw a specialist in the field. His doctor did extensive testing on him as well as getting LOTS of information from me AND his teacher.

My husband was totally opposed to medicating my son, until we did. Now, my husband helps make sure that my son takes his meds on the weekends. The meds did not and DO NOT make my son a "zombie" nor do they change his personality in any way. All they do is make him able to focus. If a child is a "zombie" on ADD/ADHD meds, they aren't the right meds or they aren't the right dosage. Lots and lots of advances have been made in this area and the "horror" stories of the past should really be ignored.

I don't know if your friend is where you are or not but I can HIGHLY recommend Dr. Catherine Ross in Santa Rosa as a specialist in this field. Even if that's too far for you
Dr. Ross would probably be able to give you the name of a very good specialist in your area. Let me know if you'd like her phone number.

Good luck to your friend and feel free to let me know if you need more information.

It sounds crazy but try coffee, a cup of coffee in the morning, I knw coffee and kids dont mix, but after tons of research when I had my childcare one of my students moms discovered it helped him to handle the day more controlled and mellow.

If he doesn't want to put his son on medication he needs to look at other alternatives for behavior changes. Has he or you heard of the Feingold Program. It is a guideline for making dietary changes and is awesome for helping ADD children's behavior. I would highly recommend looking into this. M.

First, I would say the school district should never be giving a parent the directive to medicate their child. It is a very personal choice.

With that said, I have a VERY hyperactive and ADD boy, who is brilliant, funny, athletic and charming. We tried diet, OT, exercise, and homeopathy, with no real results.

Finally, when we had exhausted all other avenues, we went to medication. It has absolutely changed his life, and ours. Instead of spending all day telling him to stop this or that behavior, we have a boy who listens, is cooperative and feels good about himself.

I firmly believe that many people can go it without meds. I AM VERY SURE that we made the right choice for our son.

I would just add that you should get a good psychiatrist (their job is to determine the best medication with the least side effects for your child)...and trust your gut. Good luck!

K., Mother of 3 wonderful but challenging kids

What district would kick a child out? Up until I had my son 8 weeks ago I was a Preschool Special Education teacher and never heard of such a thing! I know the psych that worked with my students often opted for children with ADHD to go on medications. I am not sure how I feel on the subject but if the ADD is impairing his learning then it would be interesting to see how it would change that. Sounds like he needs teachers that are understanding a willing to try to accomodate his needs. Maybe he needs to see the psych to get the opinion... poor guy, hope it works out for him!

We did not realize that our son could benefit from meds until he was in the 6th grade. Once on meds, that made a world of difference. He could stand in line, read better, had better control of himself, etc. If there is a med that can help your child be successful, he needs it. If he can learn what self control and success in school feels like, he will be a better student, have better self esteem and learn how to do this without meds. Isn't helping him grow up "normal" and successful what it is all about? I have seen my child succeed with meds so try not to be afraid of them. Find the local chapter of CHADD for more info. Work with a child Psychiatrist and you may have to try different meds until you find the one that really helps your child. As children grow and gain more weight, especially as he grows into a teen, meds need evaluated and increased. Keep a journal of his behaviors and attitudes, sleep patterns and eating patterns, growth spurts, etc., to share with a Dr. In the tough times remember that you are not alone and it is not your fault that your son has these difficulties.
K. E.

Hello J.,

Tell your friend to get a doctor's opinion. While schools think they know how to recognize an ADD child, they don't. It seems that most any child, (mostly boys, who have a difficult time sitting still for long periods anyway) that does not sit quietly, display interest in a subject, or needs extra attention, is labeled ADD or ADHD. This is SO WRONG!

Example: My sister and her 8 year old daughter moved into my home. My sister has spent my niece's entire life moving from place to place. My sister did not work (or didn't keep a job for very long), and was the sort of person who woke up in the morning mad at the world. My niece grew up with no stability in her life. There were no incentives or rewards for doing well at anything.

While living with us, her teacher sent home a four page questionaire to be completed and requested a meeting. I made it a point to leave work early and be at that meeting. The questionaire, no matter how questions were answered, inferred the child asked about had ADHD (although it did not use the call letters anywhere in it).

At the meeting the teacher gave examples of my niece's "in-ability" to concentrate, which ticked me off no end. This teacher said my niece MUST be medicated or it would not be possible to teacher her and have her remain in class. After explaining to the teacher how incorrect she was, and reminding her she was not a doctor and, therefore, not qualified to make such a diagnosis, we left the meeting.

The following day I took my niece to my Chiropractor (now my employer)for an evalution. He recommended a vitimim supplement and some diet changes. He urged the continuation of a steady, routine lifestyle, including the one-on-one attention for homework at night.

Two weeks after our visit, my niece's teacher called me, on my cell phone while I was working, to tell my how much better my niece was doing "since she has been receiving medication". When I told the teacher we were NOT medicating my niece she was floored. She asked me why the big change. I told her it was two things; a supplement and diet change, and stability in the homelife situation. At this point I reminded the teacher she was not qualified to diagnois ADD or ADHD.

The point of my story is; your friend should seek the opinion of those qualified to diagnose medical conditions, be it a MD, DC, or PHD. Look for lifestyle experiences that may be contributing to unacceptable behavior.

Hoping for all the best,
L. B

A little about me: I am a married, working, 53 year old mother, of two children adopted as teenagers from non-English countries. After two-and-a-half years in this country my daughter (17) carries the second highest GPA in her school. My son (15) has only been in this country for 3 weeks now. While he hasn't demonstrated his new sister's "gift" to accomplish, I know he has the abilty for more success than he has shown up to this point in his life.

Look, for some children correctly diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, medication can make all the difference. There is absolutely nothing wrong with medicating a child who has been thoroughly tested by a professional and diagnosed by a doctor - and as long as those medications are administered under the supervision of a doctor that the parents trust and the child taking those medications is responding positively and showing the desired effects, by all means, medicate that child. Medication should never be given as the sole end all treatment as it is only meant to aid in treatment in tandem with behavioral and occupational therapists that can treat the root of the add problem. I have seen more lives changed for the positive than for the negative when it comes to medicated children with ADD, but at the age of your friends child, a definitive diagnosis of ADD or ADHD can't really be made. In older children that are obviously suffering, medication can change their whole lives for the better - academically, socially and emotionally.
I would, however, urge your friend to take her child out of the school he is at now and have him tested by a medical professional that she can be referred to by the pediatrician. Often, district testers do NOT appropriately test for ADD in young children - she needs to get second and third opinions before she even considers medication as an option.

i have a close friend in the same situation. the schools are not equipped to handle kids with ADD. so they exhaust all posibilities before sending them to a special school. i know it sucks. but i do know that the medication has helped tons. another friend of mine has an older child 13 who is on his meds when he's in school but she gives him a break when he's out of school and weekends from it. i don't know if this is safe but it makes her feel better about medicating him.

I am the person Antionette K was talking about. My son is almost 6 and has ADHD and a functioning form of Autism. I tried everything to not medicate him, however his behavior was so bad, i had to. He is taking 10MG of Adderall a day. And let me tell you it is the difference between night and day. He behavior had improved tremendously. He can sit still and actually function in school. His teachers noticed a difference within the first week. There is no medication to help with the Autism so we still deal with that on a daily basis. I also know that as he gets older there is a chance he will learn to deal with his emotions and i will not have to medicate him anymore.

Also the school CAN NOT tell a parent to make that decision. The school has to do everything in their power to help that child. However i have noticed that my son's school was not that helpful. Everything i have done for my son, i have found on my own. I also had to raise hell to get him an IEP so he can get him more help in school. I personally would complain to the district because what they are telling your friend is Wrong.

If your friend chooses not to medicate his child than that his decision. I know that changing their diet does work for some children. It did not work for my son, but that's not to say that it will not work for his. Its his son, and only he knows whats best for his child.