At my wits end.

[mrsjack]

Hi all, I'm about at my wits end, 2 weeks ago, we took in 3 foster children, 15, 13 and 9, sibling boys, it has been a great experience with two of the boys but the middle on has made me about lose it, i have 1 daughter and she was an angel raising, no problems whatsoever, very blessed. Never dealt with boys or ADHD but I'm lost, I know no medical history on these boys except their was physical abuse. I know the social worker told me he had ADHD and was on 50mg of Vayanse. This is simple not working. Two days in a row I had to go pick him up from school at noon, he was throwing things, spit in a teachers cup, scribbled on papers, etc., just out of control and he is in a special ed, low student classroom. I am trying so hard to love this young man as he has came from a terrible situation, but his behavior makes hit hard. His brothers no longer want him around as he is always bothering them and getting everyone in trouble. I feel like this medicine is not working, help, what type of Dr do I need to see and any suggestions for another medication. The Vayanse seems to last maybe 5 hours. He is 13, in 7th grade and 57 pounds. Signed - Praying Foster Mom

[Tammyy]

Hi mrsjack. I have a 12yr old that was our foster we got him right before he turned 2 and we were finally able to adopt him at the age of 5. He also has adhd. We started having problems with him in kindergarten. He is on Focalin XR 20mg at 7am and then takes 5mg at 12pm. It has been amazing for for him. His teachers can definitely tell when he hasn’t taken it. He is home bound now due to having severe anxiety and PTSD. This kicked in in October and got worse when my mother passed away in November. He see a therapist once a week and is now on antidepressants. I would highly recommend finding someone he is very comfortable with to go talk to. Good luck to you and I pray he will finally be able to overcome the pain and trauma he has been through.

[SharMor]

Hi Mrsjack. This child’s world has turned upside down and may be experiencing anxiety and PTSD. He may need additional meds and definitely needs therapy. A child psychiatrist would probably be best and a therapist that specializes in traumatized children. I would reach out to his caseworker for assistance with this. He’s having a hard time adjusting to the changes in his life.

[Hidden]

You may want to start with his pediatrician. I know mine is the one to change dosage or meds for my son and they can recommend a counselor for him as well. The social worker at school should be meeting with him during school as well. Good luck to you.

[donnaford]

I wonder how long he has been on Vyvanse? My son was on 30 mg and after 3 years side affects kicked in - anger, rage. We switched to Straterra and while it has taken a month and a half I think we are seeing results - no more rage.

[reg2018]

When you're dealing with foster children it's not just ADHD, it's a combination of things. This child has ADHD, plus a history of being abused, plus he's now been put into fostercare- taken from the home he's known, and typically children with ADHD don't deal well with change and that comes out in their behavior. So it's possible that the Vyvanse is doing all it can, but this child is letting you know through behavior that he's not okay. He's not okay with the changes in his life and he needs more help. As a former foster parent myself I wish I'd understood trauma history better when I took a sibling group of three in. Your foster kids are much older than mine were, but one of the boys was super chaotic in his behavior and it was his way of letting me know that he was really struggling with the change. I was a stranger to him and he wanted to be back in his familiar environment, not in my home. Fast forward 10 years with this son and we're still working to help him with his trauma past and his anger, but progress is possible.

[MunchkinMommy537]

Look for ABA therapy in your area. They look at the behavior and try to determine why they are acting that way. They will usually come into the home and classroom to see him in a variety of situations. I agree with others: his world has completely changed, and he doesn’t know how to express his emotions (he might not even understand them). Bless you for taking these boys in.