My son was diagnosed with ADD (not ADHD) at the beginning of first grade and is now coming to the end of his third grade year. At first by his teacher and school psycologist, then by his doctor, a specialist and a seperate pyschologist.

His symptoms have always been pretty much the same. He is very impulsive (calling out, getting up, ect) and is easily distracted. Also he would also touch the other children a bit too much (never in a “bad place” or hitting, just shoulder tapping and such) but has at least stopped that since about the 2nd grade.

All of these symptoms seemed much worse when he was in large groups of kids, classrooms, team sports, boy scouts ect. At home he always seems a bit hyper, not out of control though.

Since he was diagnosed he has been on the following meds
1. Straterra
2. Concerta
3. Straterrs/Concerta mix
4. Dexedrine
5. Addersll XR/Straterra mix
6. Adderall XR

All of these meds began with the lowest dose and then we constantly increased the doses until the highest recommended dose was reached...with little on no change. Also we tried almost every combination as well as different times of the day. The best results (if any) usually appeared right at the beginning and then tapered off. At best these meds only “took the edge off” with the exception of the Dexedrine.

The Dexedrine literally turned my son into a listless, unemotional zombie kid that showed almost no emotion whatsoever. We took him off that after 2 weeks.

Now he is taking the highest dose of Adderall XR he can safety take at his weight/height (which is in the bottom 10%, this concerns us as well). We thought he was doing OK but after a phone call from his teacher. We’re told that he has become increasingly disruptive to the point that he CONSTANTLY corrects and question the teachers and bossed around other students. He fidgets, he hums, he sings, he has to keep almost all of his school supplies at the teachers desk because he’ll chew them or twirl them or tap them ect...

This really concerns my wife who is a 1st grade teacher!

Now all this from a kid that gets all A’s & B’s, who says “Yes Sir” and is no stranger to having privileges & possessions taken away due to inappropriate behavior!!! He is not spoiled!

OK, I’m rambling on...:)

We are now going to try a very strict organic food diet (this just means food that doesn't have any additives, preservative, MSG and exciotoxins) at the suggestion of a nutrition expert who is a client of mine. She swears that by doing so we’ll see positive changes inside of 60 days. She says she has “cured” many children just like ours, she has given me several references as well.

Also are considering “herbal” remedies such as “Focus” and/or “BrightSpark”. Any thoughts on these?

Any thoughts, ideas, help or suggestions PLEASE!:confused:

Thanks in Advance!
Jay

Did the doctors rule out Aspergers? Just curious.

My daughter is eight years old and has adhd.


It sounds like that you could be talking about her when you describe your son.
My daughter is on concerta but I also give her omega fish oil. Over here in England they are saying that there is some good results just from giving this suppliment.

My daughters behaviour has improved, I think that it takes the edge off her mood swings as she is able to concentrate better. Can't say it is totally down to the two but as I see it the omega is natural, so can't do any harm.

As for the constant twitching as I call it!! You know the constant fidgeting and calling out. Unless they are really spaced out on some kind of medication, I don't really think there is an answer to that. I just think it is something that we just have to learn to except as parents!!:)

Mind you that is just my personal view.

Good luck with your son.

ms_sunshine,

Well to be honest this is the f1st time I've heard of aspergers, but after reading bit online I don't think my son has any of those symptom. but I will bring it up to our doctor just to be sure...

Thanks for the info though!:)


****************

crankie,

I'll also look into the omega fish oil, it couldn't hurt. Our family isn't very fond of fish and maybe we all could benefit from it!

And good luk with your daughter!:)

Just some clarification here. Your son would have a diagnosis of ADHD. There no longer is the acronym ADD. From the sounds of it he displays hyperactive symptoms and has difficulty getting along in group situations. This sounds like classic ADHD.

How was the diagnosis made? Is there a report? If you could, would you type up the conclusion of the report?

There are kids who don't respond to stimulants. Then again there are a few stimulants that you didn't try. Each is subtly different. Good luck with all the alternatives. There is no body of evidence that supports that they significantly alter the symptoms. There have been loads of anecdotal reports on the board that suggest otherwise.

scuro,

My son was diagnoised not by one specific evaluation hence no actual single "report" exisits to my knowlege. The story goes like this...

A few months into the 1st grade my wife and I went to a parent/teacher confrence to find that the school pyschologist would be sitting in as she has been "observing" his behavior at the request of his teacher (who was a great & caring person BTW). They expressed their concerns about cour sons behavior but never said anything about ADHD until my wife asked if they thought it was possible...boy did the flood gates open then! They were all over that! It seems that there is a law or rule about suggesting that to parents or something. (Every year we have an almost exact same meeting with the new teacher who asks the same questions...so he hasn't improved much at all)

So we went to our peditrican who happened to be a ADHA specialist for 7 years and after talking to us and our son said "he is a classic case" and told us to seek a 2nd opinon and also take him to see a pyschologist to rule out any mental and/or stress issues...which we did. 2nd doctor also said "classic adhd" and the shrink said his mental state was very good.

So case closed as far as we were concerned. ADD (or ADHA I guess)

We started meds shortly thereafter (after alot of talk, research, and soul searching) and here we are. Every month we go in for a "med-check", answer questions like "Is your son at the same level of attention as his classmates?" ect and either up the meds or try a new a one(s).

And so it went and so it goes...

Sorry to hear that you're having such a frustrating time, but it sounds like you're working with a good doctor and are open to trying combinations of therapies.

My son is severe ADHD and medications alone were never enough to completely manage him. We also did family therapy (so my husband and I could better understand how to communicate with him), physical and occupational therapy (to work on the issues of fine motor skills and the tension levels he was always working under), and individual behavioral modification therapy.

Your son may just be one like mine whose metabolism very quickly breaks down whatever medication he is given. My son also was always at the limits of dosages. Now that he is older the weight issue isn't such a problem and I always made sure he ate well before allowing any treats. (He was also very sick with asthma).

I can only encourage you to keep on with what you are doing. You sound like very caring, concerned parents and it also sounds like you have a good school to work with. You are not alone and I hope you find some tips here in the forums that are useful for you! Keep us posted...

Kim

First off go for a full Psych/educational evaluation from a professional who specializes in ADHD. Sure, any Dr. can make a diagnosis on the spot and odds are they would be right most of the time but...
i)if meds are not working, I'd like all the facts to point to ADHD before I went away from mainstream treatments.
ii)ADHD often has other conditions that pair up with it like a learning disorder. That would be really important information to know.
iii)an earlier IQ test would give a better picture of true potential. IQ scores tend to go down over time for kids with ADHD.
iv)behaviour checklists would be scored and also indicate the magnitude of the problem and other "secondary" behaviours that may have to be considered...or possibly have never really been considered a problem

Secondly, don't give up on meds until your Dr. has thrown in the towel.

You have described my son to the tee.. We have had him diagnosed when he was 3. Along with ADHD comes other wonderful things.. such as Anxiety (yes my son has this) and ODD (this is just the best of all of the diagnoses). I have tried all the medication to no avail. I have him in behavior therapy. (which is charts and such). He is responding to the behavioral therapy. He also acts out when in groups, but not at home. I am in beginning stages of herbal therapy. At the moment I see a bit of a change, but am determined to continue on. If you need to talk, please feel free to email me. You are not alone. You will make it through this... just keep hanging on and try to see all the bright sides of your child. ADHD certainly has bright sides, you just gotta look :-)

JayandKaren, welcome to the forums! (You to Lilbon!):)

In answer to your first question, it's probably not anything you're doing that is causing this. ADHD is incredibly genetic and unfortunately 10 - 20 percent of ADDers don't respond to current medications very well. A couple of useful books that might help your understanding of this and give you some concrete behavioral strategies are Taking Charge of ADHD by Russell Barkley, Driven to Distraction by Hallowell and Ratey, and Attention Deficit Disorder: The Unfocused Mind in Children and Adults by Thomas Brown. The last two books are usually in big box book stores, but Barkley's book might have to be ordered on line from www.addwarehouse.com (http://www.addwarehouse.com) or amazon.com -- it's the one I'd look at first.

Regular exercise, multiple times a day is also a helpful adjunct to whatever other treatment you use. It boosts the blood flow to the brain and increase serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain (kind of like taking Ritalin and Prozac holistically). Exercise that has coordinated movements is especially helpful.

Take care -- it sounds like you are very caring, involved parents -- your son is lucky to have you. The good news is that maturity will probably help with the hyperactive/impulsive tendencies -- those generally fall off to some degree during adolescence.

Scattered

PS: Another really good book is Raising Resilliant Children by Sam Goldstein. He talks about the things that help with good long term outcome for all children. You can also read articles by Sam Goldstein on line at www.schwablearning.com (http://www.schwablearning.com).

Scattered

Thanks for all of the information and advice, we are happy to see that there are so many that care! We will continue to visit here, give updates and hopefully be able to help others in their quest for answers!

BTW our newest kick is this "no dairy" thing...any thoughts? see the site www.notmilk.com (http://www.notmilk.com) for details...

We have our two kids off dairy (me too) -- we use Silk soymilk. They both have mild allergic reactions (mild facial rash if they get much milk). Unfortunately, the ADHD persists for them and me. I don't know if having milk would make it worse or not. I know allergies can make ADD worse just by virtue of the fact that congestion such can make anybody's brain foggier. They do not however cause ADD. That appears to be a problem with dopamine and norephrine being "sucked up" too fast in the synaptic gap before the whole message makes the leap. Thomas Browns book Attention Deficit Disorder does a good job of explaining this process.

I do believe an overall healthy diet helps minimize (not eliminate) ADD symptoms. I went on an all natural, sugar free vegetarian diet in high school combined with lots and lots of jogging and biking and my symptoms improved greatly. I don't know how much of that was diet related or how much was my music, spiritual life, or just hormones kicking in. I also had a wonderful supportive family that helped provide the structure, support and scaffolding I needed to build a successful life.

Scattered

I wish I could say that I have hope your diet plan will work, but I've seen nothing that would make me think it will. I encourage you to try, however, since the meds haven't worked.

As some have posted, there are some that don't respond at all to medication, but I would SERIOUSLY consider the possibility of a misdiagnosis.

Inform your child's doctors as much as you can and push them to re-evaluate. If he has been misdiagnosed, there's a strong possibility that a different treatment will address those behaviors without changing who he is.

He sounds like a great kid who just has a specific problem. Good luck & don't give up!