Getting the dosage right for Ritalin

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DD (aged nearly 8) has just been diagnosed with a whole host of letters most of which we have suspected anyway. She now has ADHD, ASD (Aspergers), SPD/SID, ODD as well as an IQ in the top 0.001% (scary high).
The Consultant has given us a trial of Ritalin and today is day 4. We started with a 2.5mg dose which didn't touch the sides, so we upped it to 5mg (half a tab) and yesterday there was a huge difference and we had an amazing day with her being calm, responsive and generally lovely. Today we upped to 7.5mg and she has been horrendous, all the aggression has returned, the noises, the manicness and the uncontrollable behaviour. I can deal with the manicness, it's the aggression and violence that I was hoping would lessen.
We are meant to keep adding a quarter of a tablet every few days, so should we try for a full tablet tomorrow or drop back to half. At the moment we are only trialling the morning to see if the is a different between morning and afternoon.
Any tips please on getting the dosage correct? Many thanks

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Hi there. I have 2 adult children with ADHD, dx at 15 and 17 - way too late!! They are also high achievers, or would have been if they'd been given support and medication earlier. There doesn't appear to be any uniformity in the way Camhs titrate the medication but usually the child is started on a low dose, like you are. I would have expected you to be offered tel contact with the psychiatrist whilst you're going through the titration satge - have you not. I'm assuming your child has been given the short acting methylphenidate which normally lasts for approx 3-4 hours. Many children get a reaction (like a meltdown) when the medication is leaving their system and this may be the case with your daughter. Usually children are started on the short acting to guage what the maximum dose will be to get the best result for the child and when that's been done they are transferred on to slow release medication which does provide smoother cover, although initially you might have the withdrawl phase, although that evens out over time - at least you'll know when it's coming and be able to put strategies in place to lessen the effect - that's the theory. It is really hard work having a child with Adhd and your parenting will be stretched to the limit!! Have to say, it shouldn't be down to you to get the medication right - it's a partnership with the psychiatrist and he/she should be taking the lead!!