Has anyone tried Vyvanse (sp)?

lilbit923

I have always been against medicating my children for the purposes of learning. I had thought it was a way for a teacher to have a "robot" in the classroom instead of letting the children explore the possibilities their mind can allow them to have.

My son is going into 4th grade next year and we have been absolutely blessed with angels this year for teachers. I email my son's teachers weekly so we are all on the same page with my son's learning, what he needs to focus on, what he's doing really well at and when they see he's beyond being unfocused and he's just giving up. With this open line of communication I am able to either spend more/less time on certain topics when I teach him at home.

We just has his ARD for his ADHD, aspergers and dyslexia. The dyslexia is becoming more pronounced even with the help of his speech therapist and ot at school. I work with him anywhere from 2-4 hours Mon-Thurs evenings to prepare him for his spelling and math tests for Friday. The school says that's too much time but I know what it will take to make sure my son is prepared. I know his learning difficulties hinder him at times and I can't always be in the classroom.

His aides, special ed teachers and main teachers have all noticed the same thing DH and I are seeing. You give him instructions to do the work, walk away to handle something else and he just sits there. I can't tell you how frustrating this is. DH says this is an issue DS needs to work on but the mom in me immediately internalizes this as "What else am I NOT doing? or What else can I do more of to help him focus, i.e. succed?"

I am at the point where my special attention to just him in the evenings isn't enough. His tutoring before school isn't enough and God Bless his teachers, they don't have enough time to focus on just him. I cannot expect these ladies to deal with my son only and watch the rest of the children fall behind because my son refuses to focus.

Has anyone tried medication for the ADHD? I am so afraid of putting him on something and it blowing up in my face, he suffering and not able to control himself, or we'll end up with a non eating zombie on our hands. A girlfriend of mine has a son who is ADHD with borderline autism (whereas my son is autistic borderline ADHD) and she put him on this. He's now an A/B student. She can't believe the results she's seen, she doesn't have to hover over him to get his homework done, he works by himself.

I don't see this as a overnight cure. Nothing ever is. I have no problem putting in the work with my son, I've been on this routine with him for years. But I have two other babies in the house and in a few years, they'll be starting school. I want to be able to divide my time efficiently with each child so they all succeed. I can't believe I am asking about medicine to help my son but we are exhausting all possibilities at school and I can't keep up the 8-16 hour a week homework routine with him in the evenings. He has lost his motivation, won't stay focused on classwork and I don't know what else to try.

We have behavior charts at home and in the counselor's office at school. When he does well in class he brings his chart to the counselor for affirmation and small goals to work towards. We are doing all we can and I don't want to see my son fail.

Help! What methods have you tried?

blueshirt2003

My 7 year old is beginning medication and while it's not for Austism or ADHD it does still worry me. I think that the best mind set is "do the benefits of these medications outweigh the risks and will it improve their quality of life?" 

 

gimmietimmies

I hope you don't mind me replying, I am a regular on P+35. My ds is dyslexic, something he's shown signs of very early on (as a toddler). What you haven't addressed that I'm wondering, what are the techniques the school (or you I guess) use to address the learning style that most dyslexics need to adjust how language is processed? Is his learning devoted to memorization? Does the school support verbal examination? Would they allow him the use of a computer for his school work? With a dx of autism as well, I can see how it would be hard for him to stay focused, both autism and dyslexia are sensory processing disorders, and it can get very easy for them to be bombarded.

I hadn't considered using medication for ADHD symptoms in ds, since the behavior is common in dyslexics and our pedi said that it was the dyslexic behaviors mimicing ADHD (in his case). So the meds wouldn't have been effective in his case. Is your ds' ADHD seperate from his dyslexia or as a result of? My ds still occasionally will do the thing your ds does (give him instructions, walk away, he's still sitting there, lol), but he's gotten very good at verbalizing what the stumbling block is. It has taken some time to get to this point, because it took a while for him to be able to take more than one step at a time. This, too is common.

You are totally not failing as a mom, you are working your tail off to give him the best! And FWIW, the extra hours you are putting in seem to be a lot. Try this site, and also check out this page there too, and if you have any questions, PM me!

lilbit923

I can't remember everything he gets at school. I know he has the speech therapy once a week, he has an aide to assist him in his mainstreamed classes as well as a special ed teacher. All of these ladies are an absolute blessing to us and are eager to try anything new as a way to get Connor to learn.

I know Connor fidgets or I guess it could be related to restless leg syndrome. He has to move so I have had it put in his IEP that he be allowed to pass out worksheets in class, pick up workbooks, etc. It gives him the chance to move and he loves to help his teachers.

When he is asked questions specifically when he's caught staring off into space he utters the weirdest things. He says he thinks of aliens or other worlds. Not exactly the best thing to bring up when you're studying, math, history, social studies, etc.

He has started rolling around on the floor during class when he's supposed to be sitting down. Ugh.

His aide and teachers are required to read the work to Connor per his IEP. Same thing for his district tests, he's in a room with children like him and the test is read to them.

I know for Connor repetition is key for him. This is why it takes hours for us to prepare him for tests. It's exhausting for he and I both.

lilbit923

blueshirt2003:

My 7 year old is beginning medication and while it's not for Austism or ADHD it does still worry me. I think that the best mind set is "do the benefits of these medications outweigh the risks and will it improve their quality of life?" 

I am terrified of putting my son on medication that might seem wonderful right now but could do harm to his organs or possibly his future children. It scares me to death.

lilbit923

Thank you so much for your encouragement and suggestions. His speech therapist also helps Connor with identifying and elaborating on social cues. Connor has difficulty giving realistic examples of pictures of facial expressions or three picture stories. He gives some really off the wall explanations for things that seem absolutely normal to him and unrealistic to everyone else that hears them. We are working with him to focus his imagination to the task at hand and not what he'd like to see.

lilbit923

Auntie, thank you so much for your support and encourgement. I know I'm not the first mom to go through this nor will I be the last.

I tried something new this week. I walked away to do my chores and had him sit at the table alone to do his homework. He will bring his worksheet and come find me when he has a question but I send him back to the table to figure it out. It's killing me not to guide him through the work but if I expect him to be able to do this alone it has to start somewhere. I will work with him again tonight on learning his spelling words for his test Friday but beyond that, he has to make the efforts alone.

As far as what he gets in class this is what I know he gets:
An aide in the classroom to read instructions to him if he gets stuck. But she walks away to assist other children as well. It's not a 1 on 1 tutor specifically for him.
He has special ed time that helps him with his reading and comprehension of what he's read, not what's read to him. (I found out that if he reads it he has a 2nd grade comprehension level but if it's read to him he has a 4-5th grade comprehension level).
Speech therapy to help with social cues/skills and learning to cultivate more realistic expectations in conversations and social settings. (To help with his "aliens" theory about nearly everything).
He has modified tests whereas other kids are required to do the entire 30 problems on a math test, his IEP is for 20. Now, when I study with him I guide him to do all 30 and he feels a great sense of self satisfaction and confidence that he can do it and he sees himself as he sees his peers....'just like everyone else'.
For his need to move around, he's been given the job to pass out worksheets and workbooks to fulfill that jittery, gotta get up and move around feeling.

I emailed his teacher again and asked what she thought about medication, like I was asking here. We all work together for Connor's benefit and while we see the efforts we are putting in to him, we don't think it's helping him meet the goals to be 100% successful in the classroom, not like he could be. She suggested meeting with our pediatrician and explain what we're seeing. The doc should give forms to give to both of his main teachers for analysis of what they see in the classroom as well as one for myself as to what I see at home.

I had taken Connor to a psychiatrist last year but I couldn't afford the $140 per hour that the doc charged and my insurance wouldn't cover the cost. We need to find another route. I feel in some aspects that he's doing well and others like he's drowning. I don't want to fail my son and I feel some days that's exactly what's happening. I have come to the realization that my efforts, the school's efforts aren't enough and I need more help than what I've been using.

lilbit923

I make up math tests for him for the same time allowed (3 minutes) and gear them to 40 problems. He's been able to do the entire test in class with time to spare. Lots of repitition but he does better with that. I will make like 6 copies for one day and he can see his progress as he goes. He is so proud of himself when sees he did all 40 problems at home with time to spare and elated when he knows he did the whole 30 problem test in class and aced it. As long as he can manage more than 30 problems for me then I know he is capable of doing the entire test for his teacher.