Your help and advice please. Son aged 7 has just been diagnosed with ADHD & ASD.

[ourlifeisalivinghellatthemo]

Hi all,

We've been struggling with our nearly 8 year old DS for 6 years and now appear to have a diagnosis of ADHD & ASD. The consultant has opted for medication which she wants to start over the Christmas Holidays. Straterra. Has anyone any experience of this or can give me some words of wisdom regarding the diagnosis please?

Hi ourlife and welcome to the board, sorry to hear you are having a hard time.

You will find a friendly and knowledgeable bunch of mums on here, I have 3 Dd's and my youngest has ASD, she is 9 and was diagnosed in September after 3.5 years of assessment.

I hope you will be able to access some support for your Ds now that he has a Dx.

Feel free to come here to vent or chat, whatever you like.

Thanks Ineed

Hi Ourlife

Sorry do not have experience of that particular medication. My DD is 5 has ADHD, Dyspraxia and quite a few ASD traits which I ignore and pretend that they are linked to the ADHD as I am thinking the 2 diagnosis' are quite enough to be getting on with. We have just been given medication Dexamphetamine and will start it tomorrow am scared to death.

Hope you get your head around it all it is good you have a DX I feel a sense of relief to have ours was getting fed up with the school treating DD like the naughty wierd kid.:o

you might like to have a read of #
A randomized controlled trial investigation of a non-stimulant in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ACTION): Rationale and design which is also included in this Attention Disorders collection of links

Hi my son went on straterra when he was around 9 it did help with his ADHD but it made he feel sick all the time so we had to change to another medication.

ourlifeisalivinghellatthemo

from a research perspective straterra = Atomoxetine and all the research will be about Atomoxetine.

Ourlife - spotted your other thread first, so replied to that one. DS1 is just a little older than your DS and strattera has made a lot of difference to us all.

My ds (13) has AS/ADHD and takes a combination of Strattera and Ritalin. He began with methylphenidate (Ritalin) first but his psychiatrist felt he might manage better on a day-long drug, hence the atomoxetine was introduced. We've tried a few combinations of drugs and dosage but this suits him well for the time being.

One word of advice would be that medication won't be consistent, and will need adjustment as your son matures, especially at puberty. I am always watchful and trying to work out if certain behaviours are due to ds's personality and temperament or if it's a response to the drugs, or if they need tweaking.

ourlife its weird my ds is 9yrs old and just been diagnosed with ADHD and ASC (autistic spectrum conditions) similar to you. We've just been turned down for a statement as he does not meet the critieria in the county we live it, however he goes to school in another county (we live on border of both) and they need a statement to release funding to help him 1:1 in class. Its a nightmare. Apparently the 2 counties work on very different systems. I've appealed and the board is re sitting tuesday.

We also have an appt booked with the paediatrician to talk about medication. I am so reticent as I feel like I am 'drugging' my son, however I know he could really benefit and it would help him.

I have such mixed feelings. I never knew there were different types of drugs, so am going to lurk here....

Wow, thank you for all your help. I'll let you know how I get on. BTW I've been told that my ds would have no chance of getting a statement at the moment despite having had all the problems and exclusions from school. Apparently he justwouldn't get past panel just yet. We are privately paying for cranio sacral therapy and he'll be starting Koru therapy in the new year. He'll also be doing a reduced timetable at school whilst we try and sort the behaviour out. We don't nned to worry too much about his academics at the moment as he is already attaining that of a 9/10 year old so this has just been put on the back burner for a 1/2 term. Does anyone have any experience of DLA? Do you think he would qualify? His therapies are quite expensive and every little helps as they say.

Yes, you should apply for DLA. Cerebra have a brilliant guide to claiming which you will find on their website. A tip though - don't write your answers directly on the form as you'll find you're pushed for space, then the DWP can claim that you didn't give enough information . Type your answers, heading by heading, in Word so you can go back and edit it until it's absolutely perfect and says just what you want it to. Some people like to do it on the online forms but I've heard of a few people who've lost all their work that way so I prefer to use Word. Take your time. It's a cow of a form but you need to get it right if you're to be successful.

Your claim will very likely be rejected at the first hurdle as most are in these cash-strapped times, but appeal if this happens as many go through at this stage. Having a consultant who states that your child's difficulties warrant medication to control will give you an advantage.

As for the statement, personally I'd do the same - apply yourself without waiting for the school to do it for you, and appeal at every stage that they insist it's not necessary. If your son needs additional help in school, then he needs additional help, regardless of LEA or school policies and their budgeting difficulties. There are lots of people on here who are statementing experts and I'm sure they'd be happy to advise (sadly I'm not one of them ).

Thanks everyone xx DS started his meds two days ago so it's early days. I've got a friend who is a community mental heath nurse who is helping with the DLA form so here's hoping. Merry christmas to one and all xx

Welcome to the board ourlife, my DS (9 just 3 days ago) was diagnosed at the same age as your DS with ASD and ADHD. My son is on Medikinet 30mg once a day and to be honest having resisted medication initially I am now a convert. Within six months of starting medication he could read (never having been able to master this before). I get DLA at middle rate care but am just reapplying again as it's due for renewal - as my DS is awake so much at night I am told he should be receiving care at the highest rate (we'll see).

For me the biggest thing which changed following diagnosis was the support for DS in school, after lots of hassle before the diagnosis he was finally awarded the elusive Statement of SEN and 25 hours of 1-1 support in school.

It still is not always easy, DS is VERY verbal but when stressed becomes non-verbal and in school will retreat under a desk and hiss at people if he is over-stressed. It;s still much better than no diagnosis and "what the hell is going on with him" though.

Where in thr UK are you? There are lots of support groups out there.