Dear Kellyaugust,
My son is now 12 and has been on ritalin and concerta for 3 years. He is a successful case according to the social worker in his school. We combine medication and behaviour treatment.
1. Usually doctors are reluctant to dignose and/or give medication at young age. When he turns six or at P.1 when his behaviour at school / interaction in daily life becomes a problem(due to ADHD), then the doctor has firm ground to make his dignosis.
2. Part of the causes of ADHD is that the brain lacks / does not produce enough 'transmitting substance' to communicate between different parts of the brain. "Stimulant" as you call it, encourages the brain to produce such substance, thus messages can be passed on to different parts of the brain to help the child to control his behaviour, emotion, concentration, etc..
3. Not all the ADHD children respond well to the drugs. Some children may have other medical problems which means they cannot take 'stimulant' drugs. There are also non-stimulant drugs which take longer to be effective. You should talk to your doctor ( I believe he should be a specialist) about all available medication, stimulant or non-stimulant.
4. Side effects - in my case, there is a scale here: on one side his development into a balanced adult and on the other side, his weight issue. My son is underweight and the growth rate slows down (143cm, 30kg) but he's only been sick with flu once since the medication. My concern is that with his average appetite, does he have enough nutrients to develop his brain/intelligence? I hope all the food he eats goes to his brain, and little is left for his muscle. He is a bright boy. I have started to give him polycal (carbodhydrates supplment) this week to see if there is any improvement.
5. My son is lucky that he does not suffer from the side effects of the drugs (only the first few days with complaint of minor headache and nausea). I don't believe in drugs holiday. I give him concerta during school days and ritalin on weekends. When he is in control of himself, it is the time I can help him to develop good living / learning habits.
Hope this may help you. Quote:原文章由 Kellyaugust2004 於 08-7-26 11:52 發表 hi all moms,
i still reading all the past postings. my son now is 5.5 yrs old and just visited a Dr yesterday (parents) and my son will meet him today.
do u think it's too young if giving medicin ...
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