Does anyone else feel like they are drowning some days. My son who is 15 has been taking concerta 27 mg for a month. His grades have improved and at home he listens really well now. There are no behavioral issues at home and he is actually doing homework. But...at school it is a nightmare. His teachers are constantly putting him in the hall. They say he is a distraction. He has been suspended twice this year for swearing. Once he said under his breath :"this is f***n BS" and yesterday he told his friend not be a little B%^$#. His dad is upset that he cannot get it. That he is ruining all his opportunities especially when it comes to football. I am at a loss. I do not know what to do anymore. I am in counseling to try and deal with Jaxon at school. The e-mails from the principle are literally two pages long and when he calls me....oh God, I can't say a word because they will not reason with me. I feel there is bigger fish to fry but the principle states that this is horrible and is grounds for suspension. He tells me every day that the teachers cannot deal with him in the classroom and they are at their wits end. My son's friends tell me that he is no different than any of them in the class it is just that my son gets into more trouble. I don't know what to do. I have really bad anxiety to top it off and I feel I may break soon. Just any reassurance that things in the school life get better. My son is a good kid. He swears at times...yes. But he is not into drugs or alcohol and he does not start huge fights. Not sure where to go with this. Thanks for listening.
drowning: Does anyone else feel like... - CHADD's ADHD Pare...
drowning
I feel Your pain . Does your son have IEP ?
What is a IEP?
Individualized Education Plan . Please search this forum for IEP. Get some info. Basically, it is a plan developed at school, by you and few other school people, that every teacher should follow. It is developed to help your child with difficulties he might have at school.
For example: my son almost always forgets to turn in homework. He has an accommodation that allows him to do that without any punishment.
He can have more time on state tests, he has text to speech books etc.
Again, please search for IEP and read, read, read . There are ways to help your son and you .
Jaxy, go to my posts. Some time ago I posted list of almost all accommodations we have.
It sounds like your son is labeled a trouble maker in school, so he is getting consequences where others aren't. My daughter has that label too and gets consequences for behaviors that other children her age do not get when they do the same things. I get the feeling that the principal does not really like her when we speak over the phone. A 15 year old boy swearing sometimes is such a common occurence I'd say and him getting suspended over it seems extreme.
Oh I know your pain! My son has been suspended so many times that the school was required by law to give him IEP services while he was suspended in the local library.
Do you have a doctors diagnosis for disabilities? If you do then kindjt request an IEP. The principal May offer you a 504 but it is not the same as an IEP. IEP provide money to the school to be used to educate your son in special education or resource.
My son would prefer to be with the students who are not in resource but he would fail school without the IEP accommodations he has. My son does not do well in science. He likes the subject but the environment is not structured enough. The IEP team created a special science class for him in special education where he goes to the resource room and is taught science by his sped teachers. Another accommodation he has is his ability to turn in his school work late without point deductions.
The school has provided My son with a behavior intervention plan where he takes a tracker from class to class and his teachers help him stay on task. They call it the check in check out program.
Their are endless opportunities for accommodations with an IEP.
If the principal wi t give you an IEP I would start looking around for another principal at a different school that will provide this service for your son.
Call other principals and explain that your child needs an IEP and ask them if they will provide one for him at their school. Usually principals want the child to be successful at school and an IEP is a big help for the students that are struggling with ADHD. You may want to ask your sons doctor to write a note regarding the need for an IEP and smaller learning environments for your son. Let me know how it goes for you. I wish you the best!
We live in a smaller community. There is only one public high school here. I will have to look into the IEP. I have never heard of that or the 504 plan? We are in Canada though but I am sure his school should offer something along those lines
We had to try 7 different medications before we found one that had the least side effects. Side effects we experienced include aggression, lack of inhibition, tics, and pretty strong anger. Ask your son if he feels like himself? Our son noticed he was always angry and would explode. We pushed our doctor and, although sometimes I think he didn't believe us when we talked about the detriments of side effects, we finally found a medication (after 2 years) that provides at least a minimal amount of help without extreme side effects.
Ditto for talking to your doctor regarding medication options. 27 mg seems like a low dose for a teenager, so there may be quite a bit of "wiggle-room" to adjust doses. We had to try a couple of different brands/types (especially with the long acting, different brands/types have various time-release mechanisms, etc). Trust your "mommy gut". I always used to let people dismiss my concerns. You know your child the best. Good luck.
I was wondering that as well. My son said sometimes he fee irritable and angry. He said he can't control himself. I am waiting for he results. We did testing on his gene's to see what medications metabolize better in his system. Not sure if it will work but worth a try. Thanks for your feedback
This might help
I hate when teachers say, "All the students had time to get their work completed". 
Teen son struggling with ADHD
Question from mom of high school boy
504 vs IEP 
Issues with the school
