My 12 year old with adhd?

Question

my 12 year old son and 8 year old daughter have adhd and they take adderall to control it. school starts Sept. 2 how long before school start should i start giving them the pills so they work when they go to school

Answer 1

start a week before school. trust me.

Answer 2

My 11 year old is on Vyvanse. We took him off of it for a good part of the summer, but now that school is about to start we put him back on it. Side effects will come with it, that's for sure! He has a quite different personality when he is not on his meds...sort of acts like a 7 year old, very goofy and silly...won't do a thing asked of him. On his meds, he is a lot better behaved, more cooperstive and focused. Is able to follow directions, but his appetite greatly decreases. We have to force him to eat sometimes.

I'd get your kids started on them now, that way you can see how they act at home is how they will act at school. But if this is their first time on these meds, their side effects will be more pronounced. They will diminish after a couple of weeks or so.

And no, they are not like antidepressants where you have to take them everyday for weeks before they take effect. They are a daily medication that will last only for that day. It usually kicks in about an hour after they take it in the morning and starts to wear off in the late afternoon. Don't listen to people's opinions who have no idea what they are talking about, but just HAD to share their opinions anyways!

Answer 3

i take adderall i am 17 years old and have taken it for several years

i would start doing small doses two weeks before school starts...maybe increase by 5mg per two-three days if applicable

if you start on the max dosage right away the side effects will be awful.. i know from experience

Answer 4

If you are going to put your children on a (technically) mind altering drug (it does alter their minds), shouldn't they always be on it, not just during 3/4 of the year? Doesn't that mess them up even more, being on a medication sometimes and then not other times. I mean, depressed people don't take their meds only on the days that they have to work. Either on or off? I could be wrong in this, but it makes sense to me....