alright. My 9yr old son has moderate ADHD. He takes concerta and it helps a lot with almost no side effects. He’s always been a more anxious kid, would worry about odd things when little (the toilet over flowing and causing a flood in the house)
he is and always has STRUGGLED in school. New concepts are very difficult and has dysgraphia. Has a 504 and goes to OT weekly but nothing is changing or really helping. His doc suggested low dose Zoloft to maybe help clear the self doubt, anxiety during school so he has a better chance of focusing.
Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? I’m lost. His 504 is up for review this month as well.
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Willowbee37
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We are so excited you have joined the group!! Believe me you are not the first parent in the group to have to deal with this.
It is wonderful that you already have so much set up for him to be successful.
When children with ADHD have to right tools they can be so successful.
If I were in your shoes, I would try anything (within reason) the doctor wants to try. They would not be suggesting it if they didn't think it would benefit him.
In addition, do you feel like he has the tools in the 504 educational plan to help him?
Many children who like your son spend most of their day in a general education class, with a teacher who has a general education teaching credential (thanks to all of you) need so extra academic support. In high school this usually becomes a tutor per subject after/before school .
This could look like repeating, explaining, charting, etc. This is the job of a learning specialist or special education teacher. So in the educational plan there has to be time and support written in. Do you feel like you have that?
How much do you think the speech services are helping? If he is missing class for this, could this be impacting his learning?
Some families chose to do this service outside the school with private insurance..
Just some thoughts.
Hope this helps you think about things a little different.
The other option is more assessments and pushing for an IEP, where goals and services are created from the assessment.
Hello, I have a 9 year old son with ADHD with some confidence issues as well. I am definitely not a medical professional, but would like to offer my personal opinion, take it or leave it.
I personally have been on a wide variety of anti-depressants for over 20 years. I don't really think they are something to give to a child whose brain is still in development, unless, they perhaps had experienced very severe trauma, and could not at all function in society. Perhaps the teen years might be a better time to consider them, if his quality of life is really affected by his low self-esteem. Anti-depressants are pretty powerful and they can be tough to get off of when you decide it's time. They also do not solve everything, and can cause other side effects.
Some ideas to consider first: Have you looked into talk therapy? Meditation? Holistic remedies? I am a fan of st. john's wort for low-grade depression. There are a lot of great herbs that help calm the nervous system like chamomile, lemon balm, etc. I also love flower essences like Bach Flower Remedies for children. Definitely do your research, especially regarding dosing, and taking with other medicines.
I hope you can find some support for your little guy! 💜
They are definitely hard to taper off for many people & sometimes it takes a psychiatrist instead of a PCP to help that process. Definitely can be a very slow and challenging process particularly in adults which can certainly make people feel uncomfortable going that direction in their kids!
is he seeing a child psychiatrist and has he been carefully evaluated to be clear he (a) is getting appropriate support for his learning disability, (b) has child psychiatrist had any concerns for OCD vs generalized anxiety disorder etc? I would want to be sure the working diagnosis or cause of the anxiety was clear first. If he has a type of OCD, for example, he would need a different type of therapy in addition to possibly medication. That being said, if he has clear cut ADHD, significant learning disability and has to endure school daily, where he probably feels inadequate, works 10 times harder than his peers, etc——that would make most people feel anxious. Not counting the preexisting anxiety he already had that you are describing (water overflowing etc). If he is seeing a child psychiatrist and they are suggesting an SSRI trial I would seriously consider it. Living with significant anxiety is pretty brutal. And although people do have understandable concerns about medication, there are more people researching the impact of untreated mental health disorders. Chronic high adrenaline and cortisol states are probably not great for us as humans either. I would encourage you to ask all your questions and concerns of your child’s doctor, because they know your child best and can hopefully give you some examples of other patients who maybe improved with medication. It doesn’t mean he will need medication forever. Hugs and I hope you figure out something—whatever road it is—that helps.
All very great points, thanks. He’s been diagnosed with GAD for awhile but it’s been manageable. I do think the learning issues are fueling it right now. The doc had said to try the Zoloft for 6 months to help him get over the hump of getting the help he needs for school. He tends to SHUT DOWN when the work gets difficult and helping him through is almost impossible because he commits to not it being too hard and he can’t do it.
No, he hasn’t. His anxiety has been doing better and he got into counseling. So far so good! I also made sure he’s staying busy with outdoor activities during the week. That seems to help the most honestly!
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