lifesadream83 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 So... I have 3 foster kids. I have had them for going on 8 months now. We have had some serious issues with one of them in school (I homeschool my bios). I have no boys and this is my only experience with boys. So.... I am not sure the issues that he has would be solved with meds but I will say that I have done all I can possibly do on the environmental & emotional sides of the house. They did give me the digression (although I still have to wait for the bio parents to sign off on it) to stop it if the meds are not working or are making him a zombie. Which are major concerns for me. He is 8 years old and they gave him the second to lowest dosage. My concerns are 1-With only a month left of school will we see much of a difference, especially depending on how long it takes for the case worker to get approval? (I only have mild issues with him at home.) 2-Has anyone else had a similar situation with age of child and specific drug that can tell me what to look for besides the typical side effects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternallytired Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 ADHD drugs kick in within about 30 minutes, so yes, you would definitely see immediate benefits. Our DS (nearly 6.5) has had ADHD symptoms for years now, but suddenly within the last year it has really become problematic, and like you I tried everything I could find in the realm of natural solutions. The medication has not made him the least zombie-like. The best way I can describe it is like it's rolled back the clock on his behavior; he's still ADHD, but he can more easily be redirected when his behavior is problematic. It's been HUGELY helpful. It no longer takes him hours to finish 45 minutes of work, and I get less frustrated with him, which is beneficial for both my sanity and his emotional state. (As a side note, DH was diagnosed with ADHD as a 6 year old way back when no one was diagnosed. He's a big proponent of meds. He was on Ritalin for about a decade; by high school he was able to manage life without meds. He said the meds helped him until he was able to understand his own behavior and deal with it himself.) We're on our second medication. Initially we tried Metadate (horrible name, IMO), but it didn't seem to have consistent effects and seemed to make him weepy. We're currently trying Adderall. I've been happy with the results. The only side effect seems to be that it takes him a while to unwind at bedtime...but he's always taken a while to fall asleep, so I'm not sure how much of that is the meds and how much is just him (and my genetics). Hope that was helpful (and that I don't get burned too badly on here for my opinions--it's bad enough IRL)! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 We use Concerta here. We have had positive results with it, and the changes were quick to see. Of course you still need to teach them the organizational and self control skills, but it is much easier to do while they have the help of an effective medication. While the medication works here, different kids my not have the same results. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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