son just dx with ADHD

[witsend]

Hi - went to see sons consultant this morning and he has now pretty much decided son has ADHD in addition to AS! Now this doesn't really surprise me because I've always felt this but when he was assesssed for it years ago they said he did not have ADHD, many assessments and much fighting later we got the AS diagnosis! So I feel a bit weird about it all, although I know a fair bit about AS I'd stopped researching it when they said he didn't have it and now feel a bit lost.

Don't really know what the implications are for the future with this dual diagnosis.

Also consultant said he thinks my son would be one who would benefit from treatment (ie Ritalin)

Now this has knocked me for six, I've always thought I would never medicate my child and I feel scared he would no longer be himself if he takes this drug. However his behaviour is pretty challenging so I suppose I can see where the cons is coming from. I just don't want my son medicated to make everyone elses life easier if you know what I mean.

I'm sure there are threads about this on the medications bit of the site, so will start reading those when I get over the shock.

In the meantime any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Luv Witsend.

[darky]

hi there, my daughter has a dual dx. she is on meds for her adhd and its helping her no end.

the best advice i can give you is to visit a webite like adders.org to find out about the medications in adhd. the website is very good, its a bit like this one with a forum for parents. there are a lot of people there who have dual diagnosis children, some are medicated some are not. in my opinion, it might be best not to randomly look on the web for information on stimulant meds as there are a lot of rouge sites with duff negative information that will scare the hell out of you.

i know how scary it is to consider medication, but if the medication does work it can really transform lives literaly. my daughter was unteachable before meds and spent most of her time out the classroom rather than in it. she was not learning. within the first week of taking meds she had learnt more than she had done in the 6 months previous. the medication hasnt changed her its inhanced her qualities in a very positive way. the meds have really shown just how clever she is.

 

i go by her, i would never allow her to take meds if she didnt feel ok on them, she tells me the medication stops her from being "higeldy pigeldy" and "all over the place" i ask her "where would you be at school if you didnt have tablets?" she tells me "sat on a chair screaming outside a classroom" the way i see it is she has a medical condition that can be helped with medication, much like diabetes. if my child has a fever i dont think twice about whether to give her paracetomol, i see the same here.

 

well, thats my opinion on things, others may offer a different view. this is our experience, but rememeber it dont help all of the people all of the time, but there is only one way to find out for definate, but no one can force you either way. its a tough decision, but one only you as a parent can make.

[witsend]

Hello Darky, and thanks so much for that it is great to hear you're experiance and I am so glad it is working well for your daughter, your post has taken some of the immediate fear factor from me. I know there's a lot to consider but I won't veto the meds without thinking it all through carefully. I'll check out the website you suggested too. I also take my cues from my son so will be talking it through with him when appropriate.

Thanks again,

Luv Witsend.

PS the consultant said if son has meds then the ADHD will calm down but his AS may seem much more apparent, just wondered if you've found that to be case?

Oh also how old is your daughter? My son is 11.

Edited February 22, 2006 by witsend

[Elanor]

Hi Witsend

 

You will find lots of medication threads that you can read when you get round to it - but take some time to get used to the dx first. There's lots to think about - but one option might be to give it a trial. You could look into trying ritalin, see what happens, and then stop it later (under appropriate medical supervision of course) if you're unhappy.

 

Elanor

[loulou]

Hi,

 

Kai has a dual dx of ASD/ADHD too. He has been on and off ritalin for 18months now, partly b/c i keep feeling guilty about medicating him.

 

However, he has now been on slow release Ritalin for the last month and it is definately helping him. He is learning at school and his teacher has really noticed the difference (she says he now sits on a chair rather than wandering around the classroom all day!).

 

I think it's a very personal decision to make. At the end of the day, if you try the medication and if it's not helping, then it can easily be stopped.

 

Also, try not to feel guilty about medicating your son to make life easier for your family. I've been feeling guilty for the same reason and it's not good for you. My son's cons said to me that if Kai is calmer, I am calmer/happier/more stable, which in turn makes life better for both of us.

 

Take care,

 

loulou x

[jools]

we were offered ritalin for G in october but as yet have not gone with it.

we are not against it, i just don't feel ready to give him it.

i do sometimes wonder if i'm doing the right thing

he isn't 'off the wall' but his concentration is very poor.

he is getting an alphasmart and i'm pushing for 1:1 support.

if he gets that and still has problems at school then i'm sure i will consider it

 

we are going back to the phsychiatrist end april and i know we will be asked again to consider it.....i'm constantly thinking of it!

 

my main problem at first was the same as you......i was always so sure i would never medicate him.....but its just not that simple is it?

[lil_me]

<'> to start with, always hard when they attatch another label

 

My son is also on Ritalin, he has been for some time now and he's just turned 7. I felt and still do feel guilty for giving him it, he only usually takes it at school, and what guilt I have is erased with the extreme progress he has made.

 

I won't deny, to medicate or anything dietary etc is a hard decision for any parent to make, adders is a very good site. I started my son on a trial basis to see what difference it made, I didn't agree indefinately and I know I can stop it tomorrow if I wanted to.

[pepper]

hiya, my son has ADHD and AS. He was dx at 11 ( first year at senior school) becuase he was so disorganised and wasnt coping. Dx other way around though, was told before hand that the likelihood was he had ADHD so had read up and accepted news.

 

When I was informed he had As - was sort of in shock for weeks so I can empethise with you there!! Doc said that there was no medication or help for aspergers and son would have to learn to adapt and i needed school to help out but basically she could help with ADHD - granted I was very very concerned about my child having daily drugs. But Doc said every child trails ritalin and is carefully monitored with checkups every few months.

 

My son was old enough to understand and give me honest feedback on how ritalin effected him. The change was dramatic, within a few weeks he could cope with classwork. Granted son isnt hyperactive, just always struggled to focus and then overfocussed, with the learning difficulties he has with As I felt he was dually penalised and hes a bright boy.

 

2 years later, with a change from ritalin to concerta (because he always forgot mid day tablet) He is top of school year in 3 subjects, top of class in 6 and on schools gifted and talented programme plus been invited to Warwich Uni's gifted programme for children. I'm not in any way boasting, trying to add life situations to help you with choices for your boy, but what i do feel is by allowing my son to take this medication - its let him reach his academic potential. Its difficult enough for him coping with poor social skills without him feeling hes failing in classwork.

 

Luckily he has no side effects - sometimes children struggle with apetite but my lad is small and chubby and any weight loss wouldnt have been a problem and his appetite was never effected! I dont put him on any meds in holidays, so thats 13 weeks of the year without, and only mild side effect he had with ritilin was slight shakiness in 1st few days.

 

I do remember the doctor saying that there is over 50 years of information on children and the effects of ritalin. She seemed quite insistent about how safe it was/is. It didnt reasure me that much! but I think I was desperate to find some help for son as he was so dejected and worn down and upset because he couldnt cope we both agreed to try it. In our case it has been an excellant descision

 

 

All the best for you and yours

 

xx pep

[carrieq]

We were the same when ds was dx ADHD. We decided a trial and the dr said we could stop at any time, not medicate at weekends. We did it as his concentration is very poor so weekdays he has his morning and afternoon dose. At weekends we usually give the morning if we are going out b ut see how he is for the afternoon. His autistic tendencies seemed to really come to the forefront so he is now on Straterra and ritalin. The plan is to withdraw the ritalin in a couple of weeks. I can really sympathise with you because I was against the meds and really felt awful when we first gave him them but he seems more confident and calm. It is such a hard decision.

Carrie

[lil_me]

My friends son calls his ritalin 'poison powder' because thats what his Mam uses to kill ants, and he uses it to kill the ants in his pants My son hasn't been able to give me any proper feedback but does say it makes the things that make him jump and bounce goto sleep and he can play games and do his work. Some days over the holidays and weekend he asks for it as he wants to do something and seems to know now he can't concentrate without it.

[sylv]

My son has a dual dx as well ADD/Aspergers Syndrom.

 

He was on Ritalin before and now is on Concerta since las August, which helps him no end. I can understand your hesitation to put him on medication but believe me it is worth a trial.

It helped here no end.

My son is now 9 and was dx ADD when he was 6 and since then was on medication. Firstly on off Ritalin as I was feeling so guilty but when he said to me that he likes the "new" Nick more then the "old" one it proved the medication was important.

 

Big <'> to you and good luck for your decision,

 

 

SylvXXX

[virtualvisual]

Also consultant said he thinks my son would be one who would benefit from treatment (ie Ritalin)

Now this has knocked me for six, I've always thought I would never medicate my child

 

I'm in almost the same position at the moment Witsend. Alex met his new psycologist last week and she has suggested medication to help with his ADD. I've always said I wouldn't medicate him (to be honest he's the easiest of my boys to cope with) but I'm now seriously considering it. He's 13 and start his exam courses in August, in Scotland they do the standard grades at the end of the 4th year in seniors. We know he's bright and has been doing well so far but he is not doing as well as he could purely because he doesn't have the concentration to do more than the minimum required. The consultant has said she would like to try medication for a specified short period to see if it helps and I'm beginning to think that a trial wouldn't do any harm and would be worth seeing if it makes school any easier for him. The only problem now is I have to try and convince his dad that it won't hurt to try. He is dead set against medication, the way he sees it is Alex is getting grades that are better than his dad got at that age so he must be doing ok but thats like saying you can't do any better than me so stop trying as far as I'm concerned.

 

OK enough waffling I think I've just talked myself into letting Alex give it a shot and sorting hubby out any way I can

[Lindyloo]

Luke was first diagnosed with ADHD when he was 4 1/2. We had suspected suspected he had problems for a while, and before seeing the phsyciatrist we were very much thinking along the same lines as some of you - that we would never consider medicating him just to make our lives easier. However, it the the phsyciarist who talked us in to giving it a try by explaining that we were not relly doing it to help us - we were doing it to help Luke. That he would be much happier and stable within himself if he was on the medication.

 

He was put on to Ritalin, and we immediately noticed the differance. He takes it at school, and it had made a big differance to him there. At the weekend we will only use it if we are going out anywhere, or if we can see that he is having a bad day. We did experiment leaving it out for school, and although he is not really old enough to say how it effects him, he was able to tell us that he did not feel right when he was not on it.

 

Having his ADHD symptoms supressed has, however, highlighted other issues, and it is now believed that he may also have an ASD, something that was not apparent before the medication. We are currently waiting for a diagnisis of this.

 

The medication has made luke's life, and ours, much easier. And at the end of the day, if we can do something to improve his quality of life we should jump at the chance.