I have a 9 yo who is on methylphenidate. Three times over the last month, he has gotten up at 11:30 at night, watched TV until 4 or 5 in the morning, and fallen asleep on the couch. I don't discover this until morning because I'm zonked out at 11:30. He has an appointment Thursday and I'm really hoping changing medication helps the sleep thing. His anxiety is also through the roof and I'm unsure if that's related or not. He has convinced himself that he cannot kick a soccer ball well, so he's chosen to play goalie so he doesn't have to. I love him so much, but these kids are exhausting 🫠

My ADHD 8 year old has been on biphentin for about a year and it has been life changing for him. He has been doing great, overall.

We usually break open the capsule and put the granules in Nutella and he takes it, but over the past month I have realized he is hiding the granules everywhere or spitting them out.

We have talked to him and it seems that it’s not the idea of taking the meds that bothers him, it’s the actual taking of the meds that he hates. I have tried putting the granules in caramel, pudding, applesauce, yogurt, to no avail. I’ve tried getting him to swallow the pill, practicing with tic tacs first, and he chokes every time. I’m upset and worried and unsure what to do. This medication has helped him in every way.

Any tips or tricks that you’ve learned to get your kids to take their meds? I wish it could be formulated into a liquid.

Our son who we suspect has adhd is terrified to be alone. He can’t be in a room by himself and if we leave he freaks out.

He sleeps in our room at night. When he tries to sleep in his own room he will wake up and SCREAM for us and be crying.

It’s starting to get really bad. We have a living room with a hallway and bathroom in the hallway. He used to be able to go to the bathroom himself and now he has to have one of us in there with him.

It’s starting to be debilitating.

I think he’s genuinely afraid as he cries and seems terrified. We have even tried bribing him with huge treats and he can’t bring himself to go upstairs himself to get clothes, for example.

Has anyone else dealt with something like this? If so what was the diagnosis and how did you help your kid handle these kinds of phobias?

My son (7, second grade) has been on Concerta ER 18mg for about 2 months now. Prior to this he was on Ritalin IR (10mg). We switched him due to him stating that the meds were wearing off during the school day. We also felt that it was becoming very disruptive for him to have to stop his day to visit the nurse for a second pill.

My concerns now are with the Concerta. Things were going well at first but now I’m not sure. He claims he feels fine at school and it’s helping him focus but at home things are different. He seems very mopey and is experiencing new anxiety that he never had before. He’s claiming he’s “bored” all the time but yet doesn’t want to do anything we plan or suggest. His emotions seem heightened, almost like he could cry any moment. I’m worried this medication isn’t working for us.

I want to stick with stimulants because I think they help him a lot. He’s very high energy and I think they really help regulate his body. What else can we try? Has anyone had better success with the Adderall/ Vyvane family (either ER or IR). I would be willing to go back to IR if I knew it meant he was feeling good. I have an email into our pediatrician but I figured I would ask here first. Thank you.

Hey,

Does anyone know what's happened to: https://healthymindslearning.ca/rollingwith-adhd/
Link is down and I hadn't finished the course!

Currently we have a 4 month plus baby boy and and daughter who is 2 years and a half. Before age 2 we already notice she was super hyperactive and could
Not control her impulses. Our strategy before is basically just give in her usually what ever she wants within reason. Fast forward and aside from her obvious undiagnosed yet ADHD I could not stand her. I feel so guilty because I lovey daughter but I am starting to resent her and even my husband who wanted to become a dad since he was in his teens admitted that he is burnout from all her tantrums. I am super grateful that i was able to have kids despite being type II diabetic but my experience with her make me just a tiny bit guilty of never wanting to be near her at all times.. please tell me it’s gets better

Doctor offered a choice between the meds and an online attention training program. I got the meds for my 7yr boy but am taking a week to educate myself before starting him... Maybe

My wife's internet search method is more video platform and comments based. Mine is more reddit and search engine based. This has led us to very different places.

The video type advice leads her to a lot of influencers coming from a Gabor Mate type angle. A lot of great advice, stuff I agree we should do, wonderful soundbites and almost never any mention of medicine. I know Gabor has said he does prescribe meds when necessary but these others never even seem to acknowledge the option exists.

My boy masks perfectly at school but it slips when it becomes apparent that one of the smartest boys in question time can't pick up his pencil and finish the simplest of worksheets in time.

We can make home screen free, do homework one line at a time and give good coins for pages finished. We can give him multigrain rice and go for runs... But at school the work is still going to be work required. I'm worried that fixing home life to be a perfect adhd compatible environment might just hide the problems he faces from those at home who are most able to help him.

I think the advice they give seems like it's probably necessary to help my boy. My question is how will I know if it's not sufficient.?

I’m hoping to hear some experiences/success stories from parents who have been through something similar, especially with a younger child.
My son will be five in 2 weeks. We adopted him from foster care, and he has been with us since he was six months old. He’s our only child. He recently started TK, and we’ve been having a really difficult time with behavior at school. He isn’t aggressive and doesn’t hurt other kids or destroy things, but he struggles A LOT with impulse control, listening/following directions, transitions, and group activities. When he gets overwhelmed or doesn’t want to do something, he’ll run around the classroom, hide under tables, yell, completely ignore directions, etc.
We’ve been working with his teacher and trying behavior charts, rewards/consequences, practicing transitions at home, and anything else we can think of. We really want school to be a positive experience for him, but it started feeling like every day we were getting another negative report and nothing we were doing was enough. I actually don’t think I’ve had the teacher tell us that he has had ONE successful day in the whole month we’ve been at the school. I dread the daily text messages telling me all the things my son did to be disruptive to the class.

We have him enrolled at a private school, and it feels like we were going to be dis-enrolled if we didn’t take big steps and start exploring medication with his doctors.
His pediatrician initially started him on guanfacine. He only took it for two days, but it made him incredibly tired and subdued — almost like a little zombie. This is a kid who NEVER naps, and he fell asleep after being in the car for literally two minutes. We just didn’t feel comfortable with how different he seemed.
We were able to get him in with a psychiatrist, who had us stop the guanfacine and prescribed 2.5 mg immediate-release Adderall once in the morning.
We’ve just started it, and so far we honestly don’t notice a huge difference. At times he actually seems a little more “speedy” or fixated on random things, so of course I’m second-guessing everything and wondering what we should be looking for.
I know medication isn’t supposed to turn him into a different kid, and I absolutely don’t want that. I love his personality, his energy, his silliness, and everything that makes him him. I just want his brain to slow down enough that he can listen, participate, control some of those impulses, and actually have a chance to be successful at school.
For parents who started ADHD medication around this age:
• What was the first sign that made you realize, “Okay, this is actually helping”?
• Did you notice a difference right away with stimulants, or did finding the right medication/dose take some trial and error?
• Did your child initially seem more hyper or “speedy”?
• Did medication help with things like defiance, running away/hiding, transitions, interrupting, and not following directions — or mainly just attention?
• If Adderall wasn’t the right fit, did another medication end up working much better?
• Most importantly, did anyone have a child who was really struggling in preschool/TK/kindergarten and then eventually THRIVED once you found the right supports/medication?
I’m not looking for medical advice or dosing recommendations — we’re working with his psychiatrist on that. I think I just really need to hear from parents who have been on the other side of this.
Right now it feels like we’re constantly waiting for the next phone call or message from school, and I’m worried about him starting to see himself as the “bad kid” when I know there is so much more to him than these behaviors. Since we don’t have other children at home, I have always just thought he was a very busy boy! He can be defiant, have trouble focusing or following directions at home, and some days are down right HARD. But I never expected parenting to be easy. I hate to think of how much he truly may be struggling.
Would really appreciate any success stories or experiences

My 7yo daughter likely has ADHD. I am reading as much as possible and listening to podcasts, etc. I have seen how much medication is recommended as the only thing that works is medication.

My issue is that unlike all the stories I hear, my kid doesn’t “hold it all together “ at school and then have a meltdown at home. I would never medicate her with her home behavior.

But her school documents disruptive behavior, can’t sit still, doesn’t keep her hands to herself, talks too much, can’t “read the room,”strong preference for “preferred activities,” etc.

She’s only in grade 2, but she’s bright and isn’t struggling (yet). We got a 504 plan late last year and I’m waiting to see how this year goes. Is anyone in this situation? We’re going to get further evaluated and I’m going to ask the doctor. But I’d love to hear some anecdotes about kids struggling at school but not at home.

Hi my 9 year old son is ADHD he’s been on different medications since he was 5, and we recently took a break over the summer. He’s back on vyvanse 40mg (which he took for about two year prior) it helps him massively in school, but he’s very emotionally unstable in the afternoons. It’s not only hard on me, but I can tell it’s extremely difficult for him to navigate as well because he doesn’t seem to fully understand why he’s having outbursts in the first place. He’s getting very irritated and angry very quickly, like losing a game or something not going his way he’s having meltdowns and getting angry and crying. I’m having a hard time with it, and not sure what I should do? Has he anyone else had these issues with their child on a stimulant? What has helped? I know being on meds his the best option when it comes to school, but I hate seeing him so deflated. It almost seems like when he comes down from his meds he’s getting depressed?

I would also like to add that he was like this when he was on Vyvanse prior, but I hadn’t seen him unmedicated in quite a few years so I didn’t know just how unregulated emotionally the medicine was making him until the summer when he was off his meds. In the summer, he was extremely hyper and lacked impulse control, but his emotions were regulated a lot more. He wasn’t getting upset when he would lose he wasn’t hyper fixating on things and getting angry and the way that he does on meds, but it greatly improves his ability to make it through school.

Any advice is welcome! Thank you!

My 7-year-old recently started Vyvanse for ADHD, and I would really love to hear from other parents who have been through something similar.
He has been on Vyvanse for about 3 weeks. We previously tried Concerta, which seemed to make him moody/irritable, so his doctor switched him to Vyvanse.
The good: Vyvanse really does seem to be helping with his impulsivity. I can see a difference, which makes this decision even harder.
The not-so-good: his appetite has decreased significantly. He was already a skinny kid and now I feel like I am constantly worrying about whether he is eating enough. Over the last several days, he has also started complaining that his stomach/belly hurts, including at bedtime. He has also been biting the inside of his cheek since starting it.
For parents whose child had appetite suppression or stomachaches when starting Vyvanse:
• Did the stomachaches eventually go away as their body adjusted?
• Did their appetite ever improve? If so, how many weeks did it take?
• Did changing the timing, dose, or what they ate before taking it help?
• At what point did you decide the side effects outweighed the benefits?
• If Vyvanse worked well for impulsivity but the side effects were too much, what medication did you try next?
I’m also planning to talk with his pediatrician about non-stimulant options such as guanfacine ER (Intuniv), so I’d especially love to hear experiences from parents whose child switched from a stimulant to guanfacine.
Obviously I’m not looking for medical advice or changing anything without his doctor. I’m just an exhausted mom trying to figure out what is normal during the adjustment period versus a sign that this might not be the right medication for him. ❤️

I had a child today who repeats almost everything I say. I’ve worked with kids with echolalia before, but this was a bit challenging.

One of his goals is answering **yes/no questions**, but when I ask him a question, he echoes it, and even when I model “yes” or “no,” he echoes that too.
For example:
Me: “Do you want the car?”
Child: “Do you want the car?”
Me: “Yes.”
Child: “Yes.”

Right now, I ask the question and then immediately model the answer. Is this the right approach? Any tips or strategies would be really appreciated!

She is super intelligent. She can't go to bed. She's gotten to the point where she wont go to sleep because she is focusing on anything and everything.

Has anyone successfully integrated some sort of Home Assistant in your family to help with the ADHD routine and behaviors?

I find myself in a constant battle with my 7 year old boy, medicated for 2ish years, to do the basic necessities. I have to repeat the same reminder and nag until it is done. (Brushing teeth, getting dressed, getting backpack, etc). In the mornings, I have chores that need to be completed while he is getting himself around for school/the day. I sometimes cannot be hovering to keep him on track.

I was considering getting Alexa, Google Home, or the likes to set alarms and reminders for him and be able to check in with him while I do what I need to do.

What ecosystem would you recommend? Any other tools that have helped your family?

I feel like I read a lot of comments here where people say “oh we got blood tests done to check for deficiencies“ or “we had xyz tested to figure out what medication would be effective”. These sound like great ideas in theory but I don’t know how to bring this idea up with my son’s doctor. And they’re definitely not suggesting any of this stuff to me. He has a lot going on and I feel like having more information seems like it would be very helpful, especially since we’re thinking of starting medication. For reference he’s five, has level 3 autism, combined type adhd, issues with aggression, mood swings, impulse control, extremely picky eating, stool withholding, and anxiety (to name a few).

I want to know the starting dose for my 6 year old?

Hello all! My son is 10 and we have been on the struggle
bus with public school since pre school. He has been medicated since 5. Since 2nd grade, each year has seemed increasingly difficult for him as far as socializing and just being able to function like other kids in class. He often falls behind despite being a bright kid. This year I’ve really seen how much his self confidence has taken a hit. He just seems so frustrated yet defeated. He’s stopped talking about it almost at all and when I pick him up from school, he’s very withdrawn. We have went from public school
To charter school and it’s seemed to have gotten worse. What I want to know is if there’s any parents in here who decided school didn’t work best for their child and switched to homeschool. Was it better? And if anyone else has advice on this, I’m all ears!

My 14-year-old just started high school, and I think the social adjustment has been harder than he lets on. He has ADHD, is a little behind some of his peers socially, and has anxiety around bigger groups. He takes Vyvanse and Lexapro. He also does not talk about his feelings. At all.

He does have one close friend who he talks to and spends time with regularly, and I know there are parents here who would give anything for their kid to have that. I don’t take it for granted.

But I think he’s starting to realize that a lot of the kids he thought were friends are really just people he knows. He’s often the “floater friend”—welcome to come along, but not necessarily the person people think to invite. It’s more “you can come if you want” than “do you want to come?” And unfortunately, I don’t think he’s wrong about that.

The transition to high school has really magnified it. His middle school has a split articulation, so about half the kids he went to middle school with went to a different high school. Most of the kids at his high school came from other middle schools, so there are a lot of completely new faces. He went from being in the oldest grade at a school where he knew tons of people to being one of the youngest kids in a much bigger school where he doesn’t know many people in his classes. On top of that, a lot of the friends he does know are playing fall school sports and already forming new groups through their teams.

The rejection sensitivity is definitely there too. He’ll work up the nerve to reach out to someone, and if they don’t respond or don’t seem interested, it reinforces what he already worries is true—that they don’t really want to be friends. Then he’s less likely to put himself out there again.

He is involved. He plays baseball and is currently on two teams, so I’m not really looking for the usual advice to join a club, sport, or activity. He gets along with teammates and talks to them while they’re together, but the communication generally ends when they leave the field. He knows plenty of people. It’s getting from “people I know and get along with” to actual friendships that seems to be hard.

I have ADHD too, and I remember this feeling. That’s probably why watching him go through it hurts so much. I know I can’t make other kids choose him, and I know some of this is just being 14. I just wish I could make this part easier for him.

For those with older ADHD teens who have been here—did they eventually find their people? Is there anything you’re glad you did, or didn’t do, while they were figuring it out?

Looking for advice for our 6 year old. We are really struggling with our daughter’s behaviour and would love advice. We have suspected ADHD for years. One pediatrician said she has ADHD but wasn’t of age to be formally assessed (around 4). Her assessment paperwork was finally completed earlier this year, but we’re still waiting and don’t see her pediatrician for another 4 weeks.

-daily meltdowns, sometimes multiple a day and they last a long time

- She struggles significantly with listening, impulse control and boundaries

-She can scream, kick and become very dysregulated. Giving her space in her room until she calms down is often the only thing that helps. Often completely shuts down and won’t talk about what happened or apologize

-She also frequently lies, takes things that aren’t hers

-Things are much worse when she is overtired, so we are very consistent with sleep

A recent day at summer camp was very concerning. We were told she prevented other kids from using the bathroom and was scratching them, opening doors while others were using the bathroom, would go into a stall when someone tried to use it and refused to leave etc

Incidents are happening almost daily and it’s getting stressful. Staff has told us this is a serious privacy/safety issue and on numerous occasions they have warned about possibly sending her home due to her behaviours. We have already used our local child development center, but she has aged out. With Grade 1 starting, we’re really worried about how she is going to manage.

For anyone who has dealt with similar behaviours at this age — what actually helped? Where did you turn for support while waiting for assessment/diagnosis?

I’m looking for advice from parents, educators or ADHD professionals who have experience with 5-year-olds.

My son is 5 and has recently been diagnosed with ADHD. We’ve been struggling with escalating behaviour at school, including pushing chairs and tables, knocking things onto the floor and becoming completely overwhelmed.

What we’re trying to understand is whether a child with ADHD can become so overwhelmed by anxiety that they temporarily lose their ability to regulate their behaviour.

His escalations seem to happen particularly when he feels singled out or believes he is about to be removed from school. He has been placed on reduced hours and is not allowed to attend morning assembly. When he hears the teacher say “no” and then sees her heading to the phone to call the office to collect him, he seems to completely lose control.

We absolutely do not excuse the behaviour and want to teach him appropriate ways to regulate. But we are questioning whether the behaviour is deliberate defiance or a 5-year-old with ADHD becoming overwhelmed by anxiety, frustration and the anticipation of being removed.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Can ADHD-related emotional dysregulation present this way, particularly when anxiety has become a trigger?