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Hope I'm allowed to cross-post this from Special Needs, I know a lot of parenting forum members may have some good advice for us as well.
My 5yr old has just been diagnosed by our pediatrician with the hyper-impulsive type of ADHD, we are seeing a child psychiatrist in February to discuss our options but will probably medicate. Our son's focus is pretty good (did not meet the criteria for the inattentive type of ADHD) when he can sit still but we've known since he was a baby that his energy level was way beyond normal. It is like living with a hummingbird or Tigger
He is currently in the same private school as our daughter but is having issues with behavior, hitting not listening that kind of thing. He is very bright, reading well, adding and subtracting, the testing puts him right at the line between "above average" and gifted. When he is working at his table he works well, recess and circle time are when the behavior problems happen.
So my question is will he be able to function at a demanding private school with the help of medication? Or are we going to need to move him to the public school for an IEP? I realize that no one knows the concrete answer to this question but I would be anxious to hear your thoughts and experiences. Thank you.
Hope I'm allowed to cross-post this from Special Needs, I know a lot of parenting forum members may have some good advice for us as well.
My 5yr old has just been diagnosed by our pediatrician with the hyper-impulsive type of ADHD, we are seeing a child psychiatrist in February to discuss our options but will probably medicate. Our son's focus is pretty good (did not meet the criteria for the inattentive type of ADHD) when he can sit still but we've known since he was a baby that his energy level was way beyond normal. It is like living with a hummingbird or Tigger
He is currently in the same private school as our daughter but is having issues with behavior, hitting not listening that kind of thing. He is very bright, reading well, adding and subtracting, the testing puts him right at the line between "above average" and gifted. When he is working at his table he works well, recess and circle time are when the behavior problems happen.
So my question is will he be able to function at a demanding private school with the help of medication? Or are we going to need to move him to the public school for an IEP? I realize that no one knows the concrete answer to this question but I would be anxious to hear your thoughts and experiences. Thank you.
It really depends on the school. I would meet with the school officials to see what they have to say about it. If your child is currently functioning well there is no reason to think that he will not continue to do so.
So my question is will he be able to function at a demanding private school with the help of medication? Or are we going to need to move him to the public school for an IEP?
With the right medication (and I would also add in therapy, but that's just me), and given enough time to work everything out, including a partnership with the school, he should be able to do well at the right (private or public) school.
Just a quick question, did you by any chance get a second recommendation? Are there any other options rather than going straight to medication? Is he in any sports or doing something for an outlet for his extra energy? If he is focusing and just acting out at recess and circle time, sounds like he just needs a way to expend some energy in a positive way. If he is at the above average to gifted, he may just be bored. Have you spoken to him about why he acts out?
NE- believe me when I tell you that before I actually parented a child with ADHD I would have agreed with you entirely. I don't doubt that a vast number of children are misdiagnosed with ADHD and medicated to cover poor parenting or kids with excess energy, I believe with my whole heart that we are not among them. We have another child who was a challenging toddler and with consistent discipline is now an awesome 7yr old, this is not the same experience. We have tried everything. My 5yr old son and husband get up at 6am to run a mile before school several times a week, we have eliminated all tv and screen time except for Sat morning cartoons, we have tried gymnastics, occupational therapy, alternative preschools, behavior therapy, 123 Magic. We even stripped his room and allowed only one toy at a time in an effort to prevent distraction. He gets upwards of 3 active hours of exercise a day (more in the summertime), mostly running because if given a chance he can run for hours without stopping. My son would love to play more competitive sports but he's unable to calm down long enough to follow basic directions. He has some difficulty making friends because other kids can't stand being around someone in constant motion who impulsively touches, takes and hits. Yes, he is able to focus on school work or legos but once he isn't confined he's off and running. It should be noted that forcing him to calm down results in physical tics that he can't control, his mouth twitches, his eye blinks. The tics are only abated when he's free to run wild.
We are in the process of getting a second opinion but the diagnosis came back as "severe" for the Hyper-Impulsive type of ADHD. Trust me, no one would like less to medicate him than my husband and I and we are waiting for another opinion. But, after reading the studies on the outcomes of kids with severe ADHD that are medicated vs the ones that aren't, we have to seriously consider medication, suicide, depression, drug abuse are all much more common in uncontrolled ADHD.
I should note that my poor son is pleading for help too. He is old enough now to recognize that he isn't like other kids, it breaks my heart to see him impulsively misbehave and then break down a moment later when he realizes he's screwed up...again.
I wish he were just "bored" or needed a way to expend his energy but unfortunately even in the summer when we spend 8 hours a day swimming (and YES he actually is actively swimming the entire day) we still face the same challenges. So really like all things, it is of course easy to offer advice and judge when you haven't lived it.
ETA a few examples of my son's energy level. At 2.5yrs old we could take him on weekend hikes of more than 3 miles, he would run next to my husband and I to keep up. At 18mths I started walking a mile with him every morning. At 6mths old he would wake us in the morning by kicking his legs so quickly that I actually asked the pediatrician if he was having seizures. By 20mths he could do the monkey bars back and forth at the park. He climbed to the top of the climbing rope (and touched the ceiling) in gymnastics at 3.
So really like all things, it is of course easy to offer advice and judge when you haven't lived it.
Wow... I didn't think I was being judgmental at all.. I was actually just sincerely asking if you had asked for a second opinion or what other options you had tried. I missed the part where I said anything about children being misdiagnosed with ADHD/ADD. Sorry I asked...
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