newly diagnosed 5 year old with adhd struggling with meds

[Salsadancing111]

My son was recently diagnosed with ADHD combined type and borderline autism. He’s super intelligent (I’m high scoring) and such a sweet boy. However, when he’s told no or doesn’t get what he wants he goes completely into meltdown mode. We have tried an intuitive, focalin and Adderall. The intuitive he still takes daily, the focalization was a complete fail (made him aggressive) and the Adderall we are still in the two weeks of trying it. Have any other parents had similar struggles? He usually can’t make it one day in class without eloping and running about the school.

[Aspen797]

So glad you are here. This is such a welcoming community. Our son is older now, but same profile. Our son does well with guanfacine and a stimulant (type and amount has changed overtime). When he was younger he had some side effects and his pediatrician ordered genesight testing to figure out which medications he might process better than others. It is about $300 out of pocket. We have found it very helpful! One other thing it picked up was that his genetic profile results in his only processing about 30% of the folate he takes in. There are a surprising number of kids on the spectrum who have some type of folate abnormality. For our son, adding L-5-methyfolate and methycobalamin vitamins (not folic acid) made a huge difference within about 5 months and that has only continued . More info at tacanow.org/medical/

Aside from nutrients and medicine, we really benefited from strong school supports (IEP or 504) and outside therapies (OT for sensory, emotional regulation; SLP for perspective taking, social thinking; positive parenting for behavior, etc).

Does your son receive OT at school to help with the meltdowns? Has he had a functional behavioral assessment to look at what might be setting him off when he elopes or what he achieves from it (avoiding something unpleasant, getting a time away from busy environment, etc)? These websites are helpful in looking at school interventions that may help: ocali.org/autism-center; iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu....

[Mamamichl]

you may want to try a gene sight test. It will mesh his specific genetics with most mental health medications and tell you which ones have adverse side effects with him. It won’t say what works specifically, but it will help you know which ones to avoid.

[Elijah1]

The behaviors you describe suggest that your son may also have anxiety. Discuss this possibility with his doctor.