Maybe its not ADHD?

Question

My son age 9 has recently been diagnosed with ADHD. However I do not think he is ADHD. He is well behaved (no hes not a angel) everywhere but at school. Since he started kindergarten I have had teachers wanting him on meds. Everything I have read on ADHD tells me that it may be something else-anxeity perhaps. I have not giving him the med the doctor gave him due to the side effect of losing weight. My son only weighs 54 lbs. I need your advice.

Answer 1

You say he is ok everywhere but at school.

How are his grades? Does he have problems with learning?

Lots of times, kids 'act out' not because they DONT" want to do their school work, but because they CAN"T do it.

He could have learning problems and when they are helped, teh behavior will stop.

And schools usually cover this up with the usual 'give them meds' routine  because they dont' want to help the child.

It is ILLEGAL for schools to even MENTION meds to parents. Next time they say anything about meds, whip this out and give it to them - that'll shut them up.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D

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Answer 2

I think 9 is too young to just ASSUME it's ADHD and use meds to handle what is merely inconvenient for teachers!  My son has ADD but I didn't put him on any meds til 6th grade.  His grades were suffering terribly and he was sad at the poor grades and his inability to concentrate was obvious from homework & class work.  He was old enough then and atleast trying the meds was worth it.  Wthin weeks he went from "F"'s to Straight A's so obviously the meds helped & worked.

As he's gotten older he really didn't like how the meds made him FEEL and they sort of made him numb to feelings & joy & fun - so when he was a 9th grader he decided he didn't want to take them anymore.  He still struggles with some areas of academics but I wasn't about to FORCE him to take medication.    WHen it matters enough to him he puts forth the effort to get the grades he needs regardless of his ADD.  It also made my son's appetite go away and he got very thin and had difficulty getting to sleep at night.

So I agree with you as a mother I wouldn't put him on meds YET.  If his grades start to suffer as he gets older then you can TRY THEM.  I've found that ADD/ADHD can often be the quick answer and not always the specific issue.  A lot of anxiety & mood disorders look similarly but aren't really diagnosable until they are older & have matured a bit.  Plus, as my son went thru puberty & hormones raging etc - HE has changed so dramatically that I think it was wise to not have him on meds then too.  Did you know that ADHD patients have a very HIGH risk of drug abuse/dependency?  They do this because they self-medicate in the only way they can...  

So that's my take on the matter.  I've found that as his MOTHER I see things a lot more accurately some times than teachers or even doctors.  So trust your instincts.

Answer 3

what is he doing at school? is he physically rough with other kids or cant sit still or not focus?

I would have him checked for a learning disability - maybe dyslexia or something.  it sounds like something has frustrated him at school. OR, he could just be an immature 9 year old which is not abnormal at all.  I would really question what the issues are and decided yourself if it is he who has th problem or is it the school.   Schools today are VERY hard on children who cant sit still and they "brand" them ADD/ADHD and honestly treat them accordingly.  i do think some children have ADD but probably only about 10-15% who currently are 'diagnosed' really do have it.    boys are supposed to sit in circle time in kindergarten/pre-k??? but only have 15 minutes of recess....  i think you get my point.  The schools have changed not the kids.

I would observe myself and really get a good understanding of what is going on...dont just go by what they are saying. this is serious stuff -medicating a kid!!!  and doctors can find symptoms of ADD pretty easily - so please dont jump to conclusions.

Other things that can effect a childs attention span are diet (additives, processed sugars, high fructose corn syrups, MSG, caffeine) -cut them out.  Increase protein with breakfast and for snack time.

Also, lack of quality sleep.  does he sleep well, toss and turn?  maybe get him a pediatric sleep study - if a child is not getting restful sleep they can exhibit very similar symptoms to that of adhd.

hope this helps!!

Answer 4

My son has been on Adderall since before Kindergarten.  (He is in 3rd grade now).  It is an appetite suppressant, but his weight is good, and he is even a little chubby.  (He drinks Ensure Plus chocolate drinks for extra calories).  Why so young????  that we decided to place him on the meds?)  We are both in the medical field, and we researched the med carefully, so we decided to try it for 2 weeks.  It was amazing.  He went from LITERALLY swinging from chandeliers and running wild nonstop from 6am to 11 pm to having a calmer life.  (It is not sedating, it controls the hyperactivity and impulse control).  He can't stay in his seat at school if he does not take it.  He can't stop talking nonstop/interrupting the teacher and peers if he is not on it, and he can't focus to do his schoolwork.  When he would get behind in school, even with spending extra time with him at home and in the school system (specialists) his self esteem was getting low, because he was getting behind in school.  Peers avoided him because he was so hyper and silly, so he had no friends.  Now he is active in sports/teams/church, etc. and socially can handle life better with the adderall.

I look at it this way.... imagine feeling out of control and 'busy' all the time, as if driven by a motor.  You can never slow down.  I think it would feel awful.  If you could take a medicine to help, that would be a good thing.  I saw 1 woman post "9 is too young"...yet she waited to give meds until her child was doing poorly in their grades.  ??

The teachers are trying to help, and they want kids to succeed, before it becomes a problem.  Just my opinion.  Good luck and it is YOUR choice as your son's parent.

Answer 5

I'm not a psychiatrist or psychologist, but have you ever thought maybe he is ADD?  Or maybe your right anxiety.  Is he pulling his hair or biting his nails?  It may be depression.  Have you ever been diagnosed with depression it runs in the family?  He may see you depressed which makes him depressed.  Was there a dramatic change in your family?

It sounds like your son may be depressed about not seeing his dad for so long.  And a new baby too.  Same thing happened with my son, he was 3 when he last saw his dad, than at the age of 5 I had my daughter.  I knew he was depressed he was pulling his hair.  Now that he is 16 he was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and a little bit of ADD.  ADD can cause kids to be depressed because they don't know how to handle their ADD and anxiety.  Depression can make a person violent and get mad all the time.

Answer 6

Most parents of children with ADHD see the signs at home as well as the teachers seeing it at school.  My 5 year old my have it but I want them to be 100% sure before i will consider meds.  He is very hyper though, can't pay attention or sit still for school work.  He is only in preschool and has the issues so we are pretty sure it is ADHD but he has a lot of behavioral signs as well as not being able to sleep at night.  If your son is only acting out in school, if he can sit still at home to do his homework, if he can do good for extended periods of time out in public, if he has impulse control and if he is sleeping good at night then I would agree with you it would be more likely that it is an anxiety disorder or even ADD not ADHD if he is having trouble concentrating in school.  ADHD is overly diagnosed and the signs are often the same as a child who has severe anxiety or even consumed sugar or caffinee or red dye in foods.  I would suggest going to his classroom without him knowing and see how he is behaving, see what the teachers are complaining about exactly.  See if you notice a hyperactivity or if it seems more like he is just having anxiety.  I have severe anxiety which would affect my grades in school but because I wasn't hyper they didn't mention it to my mom.  My son however is very hyper and lacks impulse control but alot of his "spells" seem to be brought on by anxiety attacks as well.  I totally understand about the weight thing as well.  Most of the meds state they can cause appetite problems and for an already small child that could be asking for trouble.  Also some are known to cause extreme weightgain (my brothers did that) and can cause sleeping problems which might mean sleeping meds as well to get past that side-effect.  I would do some investigating first and find out what is going on.  I go to my sons preschool and will watch him interact with teachers and other kids and watch how he does in public situations.  He is consistant on his behavior.  The one med that has helped my boyfriends kids (4 out of 5 are ADHD/Bipolar) is adderall and he said they tried other things and had horrible side-effects.  I know Retalin is the one med a child should never be on.