Missing dosages during visits.

[PandoraShard]

My husband's son from a previous marriage has been on medication for his ADHD for some time without his (the father's) knowledge. We have visitation with them every other weekend and we've never had him sent with medication to take for it while we have him, and I'm concerned this may have an adverse affect on him not being consistent with his medication. Is this something we should be worried about, or can try to take additional steps to amend?

To me it seems like a flat out sign of neglect on her part of its something he should be taking daily and I just want to make sure he's getting the proper treatment that he needs. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Onthemove1971]

The best advice I can give is you. Is to not be judgemental of this child's mother. It might be a good idea to hire a therapist or advocate and get all the adults working together to create a plan to best help this child become successful.

Raising a child with ADHD is challanging and the best tools for children with ADHD are: medication, educational plan, modified parenting and thearpy.

If you have questions about how the doctor prescribed this medication I am sure his mother can answer that question.

No matter what age this child is there will be many events in the future where he could benefit from supportive/collaborative parents: school events, graduation, job/college options.

I write this message as a person who's parents hated each other and never got along.. it had a huge impact on us kids. I am also a parent of a child with ADHD.

Hope this advice helps.

Best of luck..

[PandoraShard in reply to Onthemove1971]

I appreciate the quick response. We've tried to reach out to her and get doctor and prescription information from her so we can ensure they're getting their medication as they should be and consistently and she initially refused to send it with them. She now says she'll send it and that the boys know how much and when to take it, as opposed to sending up the doctors information on it. We really just want to speak to the doctor to get more information on what they're on and why, but she's fighting it every step of the way. We're not being judgemental about it, but it's odd for someone to be so resistant to allowing their father have access to their medical records, especially considering he was never told they were on medication or had any issues until recently. We just want to make sure they're getting what they need and are being cared for.

[RaquelMonique]

Hi. I understand your concerns. As co-parents, it surely should have came up in conversation. However, some meds (such as methylphenidate) and dependent on the patient, are not required to be taken everyday. It’s typical not to give the medication on non-school days.

You should get more info and find out what the doctor recommends for him.

Hope that helps.

[katcald]

Skipping most ADHD meds will have no ill effects, as they typically pass through the system quickly. Still, I’d double check with the doctor to make sure it’s okay.

[PandoraShard in reply to katcald]

We've tried to get the doctor's information so we can speak to them in regards to it, but their mother refuses to give us any contact information so we can consult the doctor.

[Momtrying]

Skipping doses won’t adversely affect a child, it can just be annoying if their behavior isn’t being managed. Maybe if you let the issue go for a while, she may settle down about it down the road. I know from my co parenting experience that pushing only makes things worse and while it’s hard to be patient, it usually works better. Good luck!