Adderall questions

Wow, my ten-year old son is on Adderall, and only taking 15 mg per day. My eleven-year old daughter is also on it, at 10 mg! So to me, 40 seems like A LOT, but medically I dunno. Have you tried having him off it for a week or two to see what difference there are? My kids really need it just to aid in their school performance - the can concentrate and learn with the meds; my daughter especially wouldn't need it otherwise. I can't imagine even giving it to a child that young! Sorry that's not much help tho! LOL! Good luck! ;~) Kelly

I have a 4 year old FD on 15 mg a day (35 pounds).

WOW that does sound like a lot. My 12 year old is on 25 mg a day. I would definitely speak to the doctor about it. My son, like Kelly's two children, only needs it for concentrating in school.

The dosage of Adderall has less to do with the size of the person, and more to do with the severity to which the person is affected by ADHD and/or the speed at which the person's body metabolizes the medication. Being impulsive is very much a symptom of attention deficit problems. The person just doesn't pay enough attention to themselves and their surroundings and the "rules" of staying safe to be able to restrain their impulses to do things. However, it's just one symptom, and if that's the only one he has then it probably should be very severe before a doctor would medicate a child for that alone. Hyperactivity is not a requirement to be diagnosed with ADHD. Yes, the word "hyperactivity" is part of the name of the disorder, but doctors now recognize there are several different types. There's hyperactive type, and inattentive type, and a few others. But since they share the majority of their symptoms and are helped by the same types of medications, they are all called the same thing even though individual symptoms can vary widely. Definately speak to the doctor, like you plan. It would be good for you to hear why he was placed on the medication. It could be that he has more symptoms than you have noticed, or it could be that you've seen all the same things and just deal with them differently. Like, if you have one child who could easily run into the street you may compensate by simply holding his hand near streets. But if you have three children who might behave like that, you don't have enough hands. And if you actually live next to a dangerous street, it may become a severe safety issue that threatens their lives, and medicating the child may be the only way to allow him to play outdoors. That sort of thing. The thoroughness of the evaluation he was given could also ease your concerns (or heighten them). If the doctor spoke with only one parent from his current placement, that's not enough for a valid assessment. But if he spoke with multiple people - perhaps both parents, his daycare worker, a former placement, a couple teachers, and a neighbor, as well as observing him in his office and possibly even testing him (depending on age, of course), and they all reported the same types of behaviors, then that is probably plenty. And of course your observation now that you don't have to supervise him as closely now as you used to - that certainly lends at least some credence to the possibility that the diagnosis is correct. And of course the diagnosis of ADHD and the medication for it won't have any affect on his anger or his attachment issues. They'll still exist and will have to be handled separately. I feel like I'm writing a book here, and you probably know a lot of this already. But I wasn't sure which parts you would know, so I posted most of what I could think of that applied. Hang in there!

Very helpful. In my home he was the only child... and in the other placement he was in the middle of 6 under ten or so(with three much older, and several with significant delays/issues). He was not in daycare or preschool while there, but is in daycare while in my home. It was a bit rough at first (the first time) and is much "easier" this time per his same teachers. The school is pretty chaotic, though, and they aren't consistent with consequences etc. so anyone quiet is viewed as good. We're taking a break over the summer while I'm not working and looking for a more structured program for next year. This is where DFS could get him in quick the first time (and it's safe, and the staff does care about the children), and he made friends so when he came back I thought the more familiar things the better. I just wonder though. I'm concerned that the meds will cover just enough to possibly prevent him from being able to learn how to deal with those feelings/impulses. Looking back at my journal we were making progress. My mother, who gets to know the children pretty well, noted that he seemed "like himself" for only a few minutes during our visit last weekend. That's kind of how I feel. Perhaps just a decreased dosage might be the ticket. We have to renew the prescription in 9 days so I'm going to go ahead and broach the topic now rather than wait till summer. Tonight, interestingly, marks our first evening without a tantrum of some sort. I have employed the "time timer" which shows your time in red as a quantity rather than as an abstract number of minutes (abstract for some, at this age) to help with transitions. Thanks for the help. jan:hippie:

Yeah, 40 seems pretty high. all three of my kids have been on adderal at different times, but never over 25 mg... and they were all well over 4 at the time they were on it. It didn't work so well for us, as it caused emotional libilit for two and tics for another. But I know of a lot that use it. The general rule with all adhd meds... start low, and slowly work your way up... for instance with adderal, my 7 year old started at 10 and worked up to 20. As soon as the behavior is improved to an acceptable level you stop. If you increase and don't see a marked improvement, go back down to where you were.

My son is 6. He takes 10 mg of Adderal XR. Which is time released - 5 mg immediately and 5 mg in four hours. He does rebound when it wears off. He takes a mood stabilizer at that time, which helps. I really resisted medicating him. But he was so impulsive that we couldn't work on anything else that was going on with him. So he's a little calmer and little more focused and making strides in other areas. The 10 mg basically 'takes the edge off'. Ritalin overmedicated him.

We saw the doctor today. He was reluctant to decrease last week (per relayed messages) but after talking with him today he was all for a decrease and possibly later none at all if all goes well. I explained the differences in the homes and how J is different than he was before (more compliant, yes, but not a normal active four year old and no "sparkle" in his eye). We start on 20 mg. tomorrow (a decrease by half). Interestingly, his older brother also has a new placement and is off all of his meds and doing very well. He was having some challenging behaviors which is the main reason why I thought I couldn't meet the needs of both boys. jan :hippie:

YAY for the decrease! Hope it works out well for you!!! ;~) Kelly

My son who is about to turn 14, is only on 15 per day, though we are probably about to up it as he has grown so much since we upped it to that. Like others he only needs it to concentrate in school. So on Weekends he is usually off of it as well as for the summer. During the summer I do send it to camp (not that they always give it to him) but the rest of the time at home he does not take it. He has a harder time concentrating, but he also has decreased appitite which is why I take him off, plus when he has been off a few days it works even better when he gets back on. He is not ADD or ADHD, he has aspergers, and it helps him to concentrate on things he is not very interested in like schoolwork. (even without out he can hyperconcentrate on anything that interests him!) There seem to be no side affects to taking him off on weekends and holidays and his doctor is all for it.

He's back! That sparkly chatty little boy has returned. He is on 20 mg now, but several times this week has missed his second dose (daycare is busy) and it hasn't been much different than the other days. Behavior is not much different but he is eating and sleeping much better, which of course HELPS behavior. His personality is shining through and at a family (mine) gathering the difference was noticed. We will likely stick here until I finish work end of May (teacher) then attempt to decrease more. I am feeling much better about the whole thing now that he seems like himself again, and seems happy rather than just quiet. Thanks for all your help, and for "listening"! jan :hippie:

Jan, i just want to say,im glad there are fosterparents like you.we live with these kids 24/7 and know something is not working.we had the oppisite,our fs was on to low a dose.but dr has increased it twice in the lpast 11months.when kids are in school,its important to talk to teachers and find out how they are doing.our fsons adhd,is the inattentive type,so if teacher says hes still having trouble staying on task,then its time to discuss this with the dr.and as kids grow,weigh more,they may need dose increased.i feel the best is to start with lowest dose and gradually inrease as needed.you are great though,to be on top of this so quickly.god bless you and your family