ADHD kid stuck home from school

[KevMatt]

Our 6 year old son is diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety and is currently taking strattera. Its helped, but hes been struggling a lot recently with anger issues and his impulsiveness seems to have ramped up during the school outtage. Anybody have any suggestions about how to cope with an ADHD kid you basically cant take anywhere right now?

[ADHDCoaching]

I would suggest to create a schedule and post it for him with details of what is going on through the day. Planning and Structure is huge for kids with ADHD. I recommend purchasing a hammock swing on Amazon. The swing does wonders if you can hang it in your home. It helps them to regulate everything going on in that little brain. I hope these tips help some!

[Pmommyof5]

I have three children with ADHD one of which has had severe anger outbursts since Kindergarten and now is diagnosed with mood disorder at age 10. It’s been a long journey especially summers.

I’ve learned praise for good behavior is great because as parents we forget to see the good since we only see their actions without reminding ourselves in that moment that they want to behave and have self control but their impulsivity gets in the way.

With my daughter setting up a routine and sticking to it has improved much of the anger outbursts on or off meds. At first it was exhausting trying to implement a very clear and easy to understand routine for her along with a action and consequence board for her to know depending on what action she takes what good or not so good consequences she will give herself. An example wake up at 6am Brian teeth by 6:15, Brush hair by 6:25am, get dressed at 6:35am, eat breakfast at 6:50am. And so forth. We have a clock visible for her to know what time it is and where she stands with time. For the action and consequences chart we have doing your routine without reminders good consequence of extra free time before leaving for school, failure to do routine list consequence remove 2 mins from electronic free time...

We hold her accountable for her emotions and ensuring she expresses herself after taking a breathing break.

I play relaxing classical music all day at home to help her stay calm.

When I see her getting upset or acting out I simply remind her Hey I see you’re starting to not feel so good is there anything I can help so you can help how you feel right now. Sometimes she will say I feel tired or I feel frustrated or I just want a hug.

It’s a journey and there’s no quick fix.

What I am not doing while the kids are out is allowing them to go on electronics for more than 15 a day. My oldest gets really angry and hits when in the past I tried decreasing her tablet time to the point we went 6 months with no electronics so they understand it’s important to okay outside and not bottled up their energy just sitting at home .

[Nats2005 in reply to Pmommyof5]

Where do you keep the board? Obviously needs to be somewhere your kids can see it. Knowing our son, I need to put it somewhere he won't rip it down/erase it. (We have a small whiteboard on our fridge for a few notes. He's been know to erase everything and draw pictures on it.)

[Pmommyof5 in reply to Nats2005]

I keep a copy in each of their rooms, a copy of it in the hallway and fridge and the main board is in the entry way.

When writing up the consequences I included them so they agree that the consequences are some what fair and not extreme based on their perception.

At first we encountered the erase part it’s why we made pro tables. They would take them off but once they started to notice I was not going to be intimidated and I was gonna be consistent they stopped them came the listening part and the hardest part was getting them to actually do what they are supposed to do. I had to give breaks and my then 6 year old daughter with anger issues get out about 20-30 times it took 4 days of mental exhaustion she stopped. We can’t give up they will laugh, push all your buttons and even do bad things to get negative attention.

Something else I am learning is Ignoring their negative behavior if they are doing it to get attention. There’s a website that is very helpful by Allana Robinson. My daughters behavior intervention specialist and therapist recommended it for me.

allanarobinson.com/plannedi...

[Cjkchamp]

I would recommend you look into the Nurtured Heart Approach. It's also worth looking into broad spectrum micronutrients to see if they are something that might be a fit for your family. There are two companies, Hardy Nutritionals and True Hope. My son's psychiatrist did not recommend one brand over the other. We chose the Hardy Nutritionals and have had success for the last year.

[anirush]

I am really concerned about my two ADHD grandsons. They are expecting them to do online schooling. The school district doesn't even have anything in place yet.

My daughter and I are both still working so the older 2 are watching their younger brother at home. For us adults this is also depressing and sometimes when we get home in the evening we are just exhausted from the stress. They have a lot of trouble self regulating so I don't know how they're going to get classwork done without someone staying on top of it and I don't know how we are going to get the energy to supervise.

On top of that we've had lots of rain so we can't even get the kids out to get some exercise in.

I appreciate this source because all of us are going to need lots of support in the coming weeks.

[KevMatt in reply to anirush]

Not for nothing, but my wife is a teacher and that's what they deal with all school year, just add at least 20 more kids! It is hard. No one, including school districts, were prepared for this or even know what it's going to look like yet. Thank goodness we can all share ideas and support each other like this.

[Elijah1]

Why does he get angry? Is it the ADHD or his anxiety about the change in routine or the societal concerns about the Corona virus? If possible, identify the reason, which should make it easier to decide on management.

[Idontgetit]

My 11 year old is on strattera. It took me a while to realize the full dose at 1 time is too much. I broke it up. I stopped giving it at night because it increases appetite. So because he is on a 35 mg dose, I give 25 am when he wakes. He also I'd on biphentin 50 mg for his impulsive behavior and anger management ( strattera doesn't control that for everyone) , so he takes biphentin after breakfast. Then at 4pm I give 10 mg pill to complete his strattera dose. Its going really well! Hes calm, compliant, doing homework during this difficult time. Remember strattera can affect their mood, and by breaking up the dose, I found it helped a lot.

[BVBE]

My child has ADHD and ODD. What an awesome combo for ‘homeschooling’ a kid who typically has a one on one aid during the school day. At times like this we do small activities at a time. I have also lightened up on screen time a bit just for my sanity (I also have a job to get done during the day). You are not alone....

[Alondra_CHADD]

We understand how hard this may be during this time. Here are some quick tips from CHADD:

1. Maintain structure and routine.

2. Create a daily plan.

3. Design a calendar that shows the daily schedule.

4. Choose one big activity and one small activity for each day of the week.

5. Make a box of activity ideas.

For more information here is the link

chadd.org/some-quick-tips-f...

[Janice_H]

Hi KevMatt, one of the side effects of Strattera is mood swings. The hyperactivity tends to increase as the dosage wears off. What helps me is if I have a schedule and structure that I stick with. I have limited the places my son can go to because he suffers from asthma. We have been indoors for 3 days now and so far so good. I make sure to change his activities frequently - TV time, video games, school work, outdoor play, cooking, chores, quite time. It has worked well so far - even without his Ritalin doses. Hang in there. Just find creative ways to keep him from becoming bored.

[How_Are_You]

Hello there, hello!

My daughter became aggressive on Straterra, too? We actually called it 'Stra-scare-a' It's every parents worst nightmare. It's THE WORSE trying out a new medication. Mom (or Dad who's sharing this), I feel ya! I truly do! I have a gf who lives in Springfield, MO and they have a "swab test" that will tell you what kind of medication will suit your individual child (from ADHD meds to depression). I wish I could remember the name of this extremely progressive group of doctors and nurses who have chosen this exact field to serve in. Such a comfortable and non judgmental environment - that is honestly saving the sanity of so many parents and kiddos! Google it? See what you can find. Not sure where you reside but perhaps there's a facility close to you? Big hugs and hang in there.. I KNOW first hand how scary it is but #1 - he's home and 'you get' to see anything that's "out of sorts" for him. I hated sending my little girl off to school on new meds. It's like sending a loaded bomb in their backpack. And #2 - it's our job as parents to get them well. It's a certain kind of hell being in your own way all the time.. I'm sure he's feeling that exact way. In closing, bless both your hearts and perhaps Googling that center for kids with ADHD + saliva swab test will get your somewhere further up the ladder. I wish your entire family peace & support~♡~

[How_Are_You]

Also, we must remember to "catch them being good." It's too easy to sit back and watch & wait to criticize or belittle their behavior - that does absolutely no good and only boosts any parenting style such as this for their own ego & power trip. Catch them being good - even over the smallest things!

[How_Are_You]

Hi there,

It's been a few weeks and I've been thinking about you and your family! How are you? How is everything going, especially with no school in session!? Do you find yourselves "walking on eggshells" so you don't unknowingly trigger anger outburst and possibly how NOT to trip that proverbial wire? Have you been able to pinpoint or identify what it is that sends his emotions into overdrive? I told you I've been thinking of you!!😁😘

Signed,

One of many in this group who cares and understands~♡~

-M