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[sunflower1318]

just joined this group. i have 2 children a 2 year old little girl, and a 6 year old little boy. my son was diagnosed with adhd and Oppositional defiant disorder or odd. he was put on meds for adhd and it had improved his school work is so much better. but other than that no change in his behaviors. he’s been kicked off the bus multiple times this year. bit a student cut a girls hair push’s his teacher smashed the teachers hand with his ipad. at home when it’s his dad and i hes very mouthy, doesn’t listen, screams and yells. but has never put his hands on us. my mom watches him 2 days a week while i work and he’s very mean to her. he try’s hitting her with things throws things at her screams mean things at her. doesn’t listen won’t go to bed when he’s told he said he doesn’t have to listen to her. if she sends him to his room to calm down he slams the door and kicks it. he has melt downs everyday. he also does therapy once a week. i’ve tried everything to fix these problems and it seems nothing works i’ve talked calmly with him taken things away gave time outs he doesn’t care. he may be mad for a few and yell and throw things but a couple minutes later back to doing something else that he knows he shouldn’t be doing. so i thought maybe joining this group i may get some help with knowing what else i can do to help him with his anger .

[RCJH8610]

Hello sunflower1318! I have a few questions... is your son taking a stimulant for the ADHD and did his behaviors worsen or improve with his ADHD treatment? Also, do you have a reward system in place at home and does he have a 504 plan so that he has a reward based system at school as well?

[sunflower1318 in reply to RCJH8610]

yea he’s medication for adhd and his behaviors have gotten 100% worse with the mediations. he’s only been on the meds since september they upped them once but next month when we go back i’m going to talk with the doctor about the behaviors. we use to have a chart on the wall and he got mad one day and took it down and crumbled it. but i do reward him when he’s been good. and i’m not sure about a 504 plan what is that?

[RCJH8610 in reply to sunflower1318]

Definitely talk to your child’s doctor about the increased negative effects on his behavior because some children will become more aggressive when on stimulant treatment. 504 is a program for children with a diagnosed condition that effects their learning and behavior. When in the program they will create an Individualized Academic Plan (IAP) and a Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP) to help him be successful in and out of school. Most times BIPs at the elementary level are based off a reward system and students usually get to decide what their reward options will be when they do what is expected in the plan. Ask your child’s school counselor about the 504 program because it will definitely help.

[sunflower1318 in reply to RCJH8610]

i’ll do that thank you so much

[christelferrer in reply to sunflower1318]

You definitely want to consider switching medications.

My son has the same type of ADHD plus high anxiety. We have been through 5 trials before finding the right combination of meds—still not perfect but it makes a difference. Yes, the IEP will help a lot and please be the best advocate for your child, ADHD is very much misunderstood sometimes and expect some push back. If you request an IEP, prepare a list of accommodations that you will think will help and ask for them. Take care.

[anirush]

It's sounds like you may need to switch medications. You didn't say what it was but not all kids can handle stimulants. He also may need a mood stabilizer added in. My youngest grandson had lots of problems with anger and ADHD medication alone did not take care of.

It makes me mad when things get worse on a medication and what doctors do is increase the dose.

[Hidden]

If his behaviors got worse since he is on meds I would definitely contact his Dr. and request either a med or dosage change. Our 7yr old son reacted to Ritalin and Adderall...he went from happy to raging anger and aggression. With Ritalin the change occurred within a week, but with the Adderall it was 6 weeks of slowly changing for the worse. Sounds just like you described. Also if you don't already have a children's psychiatrist on board, now would be a good time to consider finding one. Finding the right med and dosage is a very tricky trial and error, but a psychiatrist will be able to help fine tune the program better than just a regular medical Dr. Our psychiatrist specializes in functional medicine so she prefers natural supplements but doesn't hesitate to prescribe prescription meds if needed. We have seen good results with natural supplements... L-Theanine, Calm n Cool(which is magnesium with gaba), Spectrum Needs (which is a broad spectrum micronutrient), and Omega 3 fish oil. Recently we have started on PS(phosphatidyl serine) and are also pleased with how that seems to be working.Hope you can find something that works, because it's no fun constantly dealing with out of control behaviors. Hugs to you!

[sunflower1318 in reply to Hidden]

thanks i believe i do need a actual psychiatrist for him because we’ve just been going to the clinic for all of this he’s in therapy also but i haven’t seen it help him so maybe they need to try a med change they have him on vyvanse 30mg once a day he started on 20mg and they upped him but his anger is worse feel bad for him because he tells me later once calmed down that he doesn’t want to be mean but sometimes he can’t help it

[Hidden]

That is almost always the case...these children don't want to be like this.. their out of control behaviors are not a premeditated choice to aggravate others and they are not choosing to be disobedient just for the fun of it! They can't help it!