Does DS8 need adhd medication?

[londongirl12]

I would appreciate any feedback on this as don’t really know much about it.

DS8 started primary school this September (was in infant school previously). Has adhd and infant school knew processes to put in place and were great. but his new teacher and senco has said he’s struggling in class to sit still and do his work. Which he’s always struggled to sit still but I think maybe more noticeable now in Year 3 as there’s more desk work than movement time in infant school. They both suggested speaking to the doctor about adhd medication. I said no to start with, as he was still in the first term of starting a new school so still settling etc. however I’m watching him now at football practise, and yes he’s listening and participating, but when he needs to stand to the side and wait his turn, he’s waving his arms, jumping around, literally cannot stand still! The group are now sitting down listening to the coach, whereas he is standing dancing around! 🤦🏻‍♀️

But I feel like I need more research on adhd medication. Am i doing him a disservice by not putting him on it due to my naivety on it? I just didn’t like how his teacher and senco seemed to really push for it, when they’d only really known him a couple of months. But when I spoke to his teacher on Friday, she said nothing has changed with how he is in class.

so just looking for advice really as I don’t know what to do for the best. I obviously don’t see him in school so it’s hard to judge. Thank you!!

It's life changing, honestly. The best reasons to do it are safety reasons (without it kids with ADHD are more likely to be injured or killed in household and road accidents) and social (it can rein in impulses to be confrontational class clown, and for want of a better word, random).
I think some people think it's only for school but as you have seen ADHD affects more areas of life.

Why did you say no to start with? Do you have particular concerns?

My DS started ADHD medication at about 8.
I found the first two weeks tough because he seemed different but it has helped hugely.
He is mid teens now and takes it by choice.
He comes off it for a few weeks during some school holidays but prefers to be on it.
He even finds things like conversations and sports matches easier with medication.

It doesn’t suit everyone but it definitely suits my DS

I was an adult when I started my medication but for me it’s been life changing. It turns off the many thoughts that are usually going through my brain and gives me more focus.

I don’t think I have concerns as such. I think it’s something I haven’t had to think about before as his previous school had things in place to help. But year 3 is very different. He’s a very bright boy, but he struggles with writing and drawing as everything is just a million miles an hour!! He has hurt some friends by swinging his arms around. He struggles with that focus at school.
im not against medication, but im the type of person that only takes paracetamol if im really in pain 🤣 but I suppose if he needed heart medication for example, I wouldn’t be saying no. So I don’t know where my reluctance for adhd medication comes from.

If it’s not already there, I would be inclined to try changing diet first. My dd is 17 and still on the pathway for adhd/autism diagnosis with the NHS. We’re three years in. Anyway, I expect due to autism she is very particular about what she eats. Only whole foods. No carbs, no sugar, no processed food, nothing at all like that. Just meat, eggs, fish, veg, fruit. Can’t even cook it in olive oil. Anyway, for whatever reason, she is thriving and focussing in lessons atm.

There is absolutely no evidence diet improves ADHD symptoms.

What? There’s loads!! Google it.

There’s no way I could go totally non processed as he’d never eat anything 🤣

DD has taken ADHD meds on and off for years.
She doesnt currently take them due to the side effects.
You need to weigh up the pros and the cons.

Yes I’ve heard sleep can be affected, which isn’t great as he’s a night owl anyway! 😬

You're using AI as evidence.
Sure.
You crack on.
I prefer to read medical evidence.

@londongirl12 they tend to wear off by bedtime, but if sleep is bad anyway you can get melatonin on prescription.

You missed the point. Google it, look at the links. Even the first one in my actual picture was webMD!

Thank you, I’ll look into that.
I don’t think it helps that DH looks at it as “I was like that as a boy and I turned out ok” 🙄.

A single paper often is published because it shows something helps - even if it's only on 20 people. If you look up meta analysis you'll find the only real impact is ADHD meds.

If he has a restricted diet anyway be aware that medication can affect appetite. DD struggles to eat enough (young adult) but younger children I have worked with have found it works well if you take it twice a day rather than once so one dose can be just after lunch.

However as pp life changing for DD. Much less risky behaviour and better able to focus on work.

Surely your husband knows ADHD is genetic? 👀

Watching with interest as I have a son the same age and I'm considering the same. My son is newly diagnosed so we're just getting out heads around it all. My concern is the apparent effect on appetite. DS is eating barely anything at the moment and burns through so many calories a day as he doesn't stop moving.

Dr Google 😂

Oh yes, I’m sure I have adhd and DH definitely has ASD traits 🤣.

Not restricted in terms of volume, more that he doesn’t eat a massive range of food. But nothing to be concerned about. He’s out in the garden every single day after school playing football so he must burn a lot.

Here's a meta analysis: translated from the gobbledygook it says:
Essential fatty acids don't work.
Eliminating food colouring doesn't work.
A few foods diet might work (the foods were lamb, chicken, potatoes, rice, banana, apple and brassica) but the diets were parent administered and the parents rated the children's behaviour.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0169277#pone.0169277.ref024

i can accept my ‘evidence’ is anecdotal but I do know that my dd is now thriving. Maybe it’s just as she’s matured, or now that she’s doing alevels it’s something she’s interested in.

but also, as a teacher if 20 years, in the last few years I can - anecdotally again - confirm that the focus levels of children is now so so low. Is it social media? That’s changed. Is it diet? That’s changed.

I don’t know. I just wouldn’t jump straight to meds first.

If we did go down the medication route, can the GP prescribe it? He was under the paediatrician but was discharged from her as there was no issues. So would we have to have to go back and see her again?

Diet might help ADHD traits in those without ADHD but it doesn’t do anything for those with ADHD. Meds do help.

The negatives I would say about them is that they can impact sleep and appetite. If the person is also autistic, it can also highlight that.

That is really interesting @FuzzyWolf

so it could be that my DD doesn’t actually have ADHD, but does have many of the traits? And those traits are affected by diet?

can you tell me - how do doctors know if a person does actually have adhd or simply has all the traits?