Have you had him assessed for other issues (i.e. allergies, auditory processing, sensory issues, etc etc).

I was told by our school psychologist that it can take up to 6 months of trying different meds before you find the right one(s), and if our son really has ADHD, we’d find one that would work. “If meds don’t work, it’s not ADHD” seems to be the prevailing message… or perhaps it is ADHD with a co-morbid condition that’s added to the mix that is preventing the meds from fully working.

I’m guessing you’ve likely done all the research about all the other conditions that can mimic ADHD… were there any that could have fit?

In our case, our son has ADHD plus a language processing disorder, which would not be helped by ADHD meds. If we put him on meds the results would be similar to what you’re experiencing, because the language processing part of his brain is not going to be supported by the meds and will still cause him issues. Maybe something similar is going on with your son? Has your son’s team done a full psycho-ed assessment of him?

Also, does he have to go to a day camp? Are you in a position to just keep him home for the summer? I’m not one to shield them from the real world - they have to learn to cope - but sometimes they just need extra behavioral developmental time.

OMG..reading was like reading my son’s story. Yes, sometimes it seems none of the medication helps ;((. We just left the pdoc .I couldn’t help myself..As I crossed the door to leave I just cried.Pdoc said he already tried all combinations of medication he knew would work (compared to other patients same dx ADHD) and nothing seemed to work on his behavior. Yes my son improved on focus and get more work done but verbally abuse me and teacher. He has zero self control and have the hardiest time self regulating his temper. He is 10. Cries like 6. All the time.
I saw the pdoc lost today. Like he didnt know what else do to. And that made feel like I was hopeless. It has been 5 years changing, adjusting,adding medication. My son still feels he is a failure because he cannot control himself. It kills me. But I will never give up. I own to him as his mom find a way to make his life easier. Somehow all the mess brought him and I very close. He hates abusing me. Cries even more after the things he says to me. I just keep thinking the there is a better solution. I just haven’t found it yet. Very frustrating. But we keep going. It maybe means start everything again with other doctor. So be it.
Best of luck for us and our babies )

My son had weird responses to all types of stimulants, but has done okay in terms of side effects with Strattera. He’s been on meds for 8 years, so we’ve tried nearly all of them. Granted, there’s still lots of room for improvement, but I’ve found with the Strattera, that his moods are more stable.

We have learned that for about 25% of kids/people with ADHD medications don’t work.  We have tried everything except straterra.  Concerta at 54 mg did wonders for school performance but made our son’s anxiety intolerable and he developed tics with it. Tried lower doses and things went well for about 5 days and then tics came back.  Long acting ritalins doses were either not quite enough to keep him focused or too much with a zombie just sitting and staring.  What has worked best so far is short acting ritalin.  So to answer your question…yes it is possible medications may not work.  We started therapy with someone that specializes in ADHD and anxiety and we purchased a book aimed at elementary school kids explaining ADHD for them and giving strategies to help them organize themselves better.

It’s important to remember that meds only mask your problem. They teach nothing. They have side effects.

When my son Alex developed tics, it was time to stop. We hired an ADHD coach who explored our options with us. Ended up using cognitive skill building w/ behavioral shaping. Program was Play Attention (http://www.playattention.com). He was young, so we used ADHD Nanny too (http://www.adhdnanny.com). Definitely not the quick fix meds provide, but he’s doing extremely well. Up to an A -B student from C’s and an occasional D. Planning for college and holding a part-time job at McDonalds.

Just wanted to share a few thoughts on this subject.  Finding the righ medication at the right dosage can be really hard for some of us, and extremely frustrating and discouraging as wel. I’ve been there myself as the parent of a teen with ADHD. 

It’s so hard for many of us to find a med and a dosage for ourselves or our child that has that “sweet spot” of maximum symptom improvement and minimum side effects.  And when we do, they grow and change and we need to start back at square one!

Having some sort of “baseline” against which we can measre symptoms with vs. without meds can be really helpful.  Your doctor may be able to give you a symptom rating scale that you can complete for your child without meds and as you try different things at different dosages—and different treatments and behavioral interventions as well.  A simply sheet listing specific target behaviors that you are observing can be a good help if you can rate them for a few days/weeks without meds,and then again with (on a scale of 1-10 or the number of times the behavrior occurs daily).  An overly simplistic example: If your child darts into the street without looking an average of 10 times a day without meds, and 8 times a day with meds, that’s a 20% improvement in an undesirable ADHD-related behavior.  Have the meds corrected the behavior completely?  Obviously not!  But a 20% improvement is a step in the right direction!  (An exagerated example, I know, but just what pops into my mind!) 

I do have to say, though,  that I disagree (strongly) with a couple things in these responses—with all due respect! 

The “if meds don’t work, it’s not ADHD” theory we hear so much is not valid from a medical perspective!  I’m not a dr., but any physician or psychologist I’ve ever encountered who was appropriately trained in ADHD is very clear that meds should not be used as a diagnostic tool in and of themselves.  There is a small percentage of people with ADHD for whom medication does not provide benefit, or for whom the side-effects of medication does not warrant the benefit.  For most of us, meds help to a certain degree, but are never a fix-all for all our ADD-related challenges and symptoms.  Unfortunately!  We have an expression in coaching that says, “Pills don’t teach skills.” While meds can be a lot of help to some of us in enabling us to focus sufficiently to learn the skills we need to learn, they unfortunately will not make our challenges and symptoms go away.  I think we all wish it were that easy!

I also disagree that meds “mask” our ADHD-related problems.  Meds don’t cover up or hide our ADHD symptoms, but they can minimize them by temporarily improving our neurotransmitter efficiency.  And often, while the meds are temporarily improving our neutransmitters, we are better able to make changes in our behaviors and learn new ways of doing things and skills that serve us well long after our meds have worn off.

Just a few thoughts.  I hope there’s something in there that helps.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Lynne Edris, ACG
Life & ADD Coach
http://www.CoachingADDvantages.com

Good response/corrections, Lynne.  Its’ important to clear up the ADHD “myths” before they gain greater traction.  Since ADHD is “situational” that is, it doesn’t appear the same in every environment, hopefully the greater activity and immediacy of camp activities will help lessen symptoms for those who are hyperactive.  It’s apparent that some of the many new tools for a more refined diagnosis and identification of any co-existing conditons such as food immunological responses or fast metabolism (meds wear off quickly) hasn’t penetrated the practice of many physicians yet. (see http:www.corepsychblog.com/neuroscience)
Glen Hogard

I didn’t have time to read through all of the responses but when I read your story I had to respond.  My daughter did okay on meds for a bit but then didn’t.  We tried them all.  The doctor then told me that he thought her ADHD symptoms were a manifestation of a severe anxiety disorder.  We put her on meds for anxiety and once we got to the corret level things improve.  Not perfect b any sense of the imagination but much better - giving us a teen we can at least work with,  Hope that helps.  We went to a developmental pediatrician who was wonderful at looking at other things not the typical ones.  Good luck and keep us posted.

It’s very possible, as some have already suggested, that your son either has a co-morbid condition or does not have ADHD.  My son was diagnosed w/ADHD at age 5 and was on every possible medication for years.  At age 9 he received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and the ADHD meds combined with mood stabilizers seemed to work much better.

Wanted to respond, but most of my key points were hit already.

I think it’s best to think of the meds as a tool, such as a band aid rather than a cure.

I have adult ADD and didn’t use meds for years because it was too laborious trying to find the right med and dosage. 

You son may need additional supports such as reminders, checklists, silent timers, color-coded notebooks/supplies, etc. in and out of school.

He should be held accountable for his impulsivity, and rewarded when he exhibits self-restraint during appropriate times. 

What sorts of physical activities is he involved in?  martial arts?  yoga?  team or solitary sports?