DS has ADHD diagnosed about a year ago. He takes 15mg of meds but I'm really not convinced they help. It's difficult because he only takes them on school days and while I do think that in the beginning they helped him stick at a piece of work for longer, I think they may also make him feel more agressive. I'm completely torn over whether to continue with them or stop.
He was bullied in his primary school. He annoys other kids, is immature and tries to get a reaction or 'stimulation' from interactions with other kids. He can also be kind, sweet, full of love and very thoughtful.
Secondary school was good for the first few weeks and now he seems to have got a reputation for being annoying and a bit of a clown and other children are dismissing him, saying derogatory things, putting him down etc. And so his behaviour has deteriorated, I think because he feels bad inside and it comes out as ager. He's extremely reactive and picks fights, hurts other kids. He crossed the line this week by head locking a girl and received a serious sanction, then he went on to do the same thing again a couple of days later. I don't know how to help him and scared he will have to leave his school. Current appraoch is to wrap him up in support and show him we're on his side, here to support, but at the same time his actions are so entirely unacceptable. He can't seem to take responsbilty or stop himself but is remorseful - but then he'll say things that show he believes the only way for him to respond is by being physical and showing others he is stronger than them. For context, he's average to small and defintely one of the shorter ones in his year.
What do we do to help him? Tried counselling but he tells them everything is fine and says he doesn't want to talk to anyone (he opens up to us a little bit but is mostly a ball of frustration and anger). He doesn't behave violently at home.