ADHD and trouble controlling emotions

Doubletrouble12

Hi, does anyone have any strategies or tips for helping with this?

My SD is in 1st grade and is struggling with crying and yelling fits in class. 

She was diagnosed as having ADHD and is on medication but that's all

that has been done so far.  Any recommendations? Thanks!

Doubletrouble12

1. Is your DH a custodial parent with the right to make medical and educational decisions on behalf of his DD?  Yes he is.

2. Who did the ADHD dx? Was this done privately and through the school district? Do you feel she is properly and fully dx'd?  

It was done through a psychiatrist, not through the school district at all. I'm not really sure, do you think there could be more to it?

3. What supports and interventions are included in her IEP/Section 504. Medication is only one part of the tx for ADHD; she should be getting a behavior modification program for home and school and ideally talk therapy as well. 

She does not have an IEP/Section 504. Should I be more proactive in talking with her teacher abut getting one? My DH and and SD's mom were the ones going to the appts. but we haven't been told anything about doing a behavior mod. program or talk therapy. We've just been doing our own things, like trying to be more structured with routines. 

4. Was this emotional dysregulation present before she started the meds? Is she on one of the stimulants? Emotional lability is a common side effect of stimulant meds. There are basically 2 kinds of active ingredients, some people can not take one kind but do well on the other. 

It was present before the meds, she started on a stimulant but the medication now is a non stimulant. I think the hyperactivity is doing a little better. But she's still very impulsive, its' like she doesn't think before she makes decisions. 

5. Who is prescribing this medication? Ideally this person should be a dev pedi or psychiatrist because they are specialists in this area. But you would want to avoid a pill mill where all kids come out with meds but no therapy.

6. Related to #2, if she does not actually have ADHD, the meds would not improve her ability to self regulate. In fact, a stimulant or antihypertensive could make it harder to behave appropriately if she has some other condition. Yelling in class is not the usual presentation for young girls with ADHD- that would be more typical of a girls with ASD or ODD. I'll read more about these. She's hyperactive, very impulsive, and has trouble regulating behavior. do you think these could be signs of those? Should we bring that up with the psychiatrist?

7. There are programs to teach self regulation that can be effective in school. One good one is this-

https://alertprogram.com/

I know a lot of kids with ADHD and/or ASD who have benefited from this intervention. Most get the therapy as part of a behavior modification program in their IEP.

Princess_Lily

If her adhd is causing difficulties/disruptions in the classroom, than an IEP/504 would be beneficial. Services in the school like auntie said would be provided to the child, depending on the childs needs.

Dev. Pedis, Psychiatrists and Psychologists are the only docs qualified to dx ADHD, so if they found ADHD, then IMO she has it. Is she on a medication treatment of any kind; or have the parents decided to focus on behavior modification? If so, it may work well at home ... but for children with ADHD, schools are a different animal. She may be a totally different (and defiant) child in the class, which is common of children with the dx.

Many children with ADHD adopt ODD behaviors (due to anxiety, etc.), and usually its found in more boys than girls, but that doesn't mean your SDD doesn't show signs, every child is different. You said she is hyperactive and impulsive is ADHD, the yelling in the class, could be the Oppositional Defiance Disorder showing itself.

I would suggest to your DH to talk to the school, and look into starting an eval for a school diagnosis so to receive an IEP/504.

Doubletrouble12

Thanks for your help. It's so hard to know all the right steps to take when you've never dealt with this before. I was asking DH if the psychiatrist had said anything about a behavior plan or talk therapy,which it doesn't sound like she has. I'm going to see if he will bring that up at the next appt.