Any parents with Children ADHD/ODD....HELP

I have a 6 yr old daughter that was diagnosed last August with ADHD and has done very well on medication (Metadate CD****il this past week. She is fine as long as she is getting her way, but as soon as you tell her NO, or tell her to do something she gets outa control, screaming, crying, saying NO etc. My dad seems to think it's a case of her just being spolied and not getting her way, but we have done nothing differently in the past week than before to set off this behavior. I have read up on ODD and wonder if that may be whats going on, as she does have 8 of the 9 characteristics, is this possible that may be what it is? Melissa

Hi Melissa It seems like you have your hands full. Wow. Well, I dont know what your daughter's diagnosis should be, but right now, it is ADHD, based on what you said. I am glad you are willing to pursue help for her. Just be mindful that meds are just a lil help. Medication will help her cope with the symptoms of her diagnosis. It is not meant to change behavior...this is where you come in. With meds, the goal will probably be to help her to focus, to listen/to increase attention span and all of those good things more. It does not mean she will stop being a child! No child likes to be told no. When she behaves this way, it becomes your moment to shine!! I dunno...I see you said you guys have not done anything any differently. Well, maybe you should try to...she is different. She has her meds now. Now that she has some help to be able to function better, maybe you could try teaching her to control her behavior. I know you want her to be able to do this without any medication. She has to learn how to do that. I wish you well. Nia

Wow, she sounds exactly my son, Darian is 5 years old. and he was actually diagnosed with ADHD/ODD/OCD/learning disabled (possibly dyslexia) all of these things make his anger more complicated to control at times-all this first named at 3. He has been on medication for it since around November 2004. He is going through that phase now. He was first put on Adderall XR, then Adderall, now he is on regular Ritalin 20 mg a day. This works for 4 hours maybe and he has his rageful moments before he gets it or if it runs out to soon. I'm working really close with his doctors and therapist, its no easy task I know. Hang in there though she will get better, as long as you don't give up. They just have to learn to cope with what they feel the right way and not so violent. He has his challenges but he is extremely bright according to his tests, but in class he does not perform to par this aggrivates him. It certainly sounds as though she might need to be tested further but ADHD alone defintely has its characteristics similar to ODD its a tricky thing, but as a mom you don't give up, your little girl is in there still, she just can't stand to feel out of control nor does she know how to react properly to express it. You will help her find her way. God Bless, let me know if I can help with more advice on this.

Hi Melissa, First of all I have to commend you for searching for answers. I see so many parents that really don't care. I have several family members that either have ADD/ADHD or their children do. And a couple of them have recommended the book The ADD Answer by Dr Frank Lawlis. His focus starts out with nutrition and then goes from there. Good luck, Jen

Hi, Jen. Just wanted to throw a little tidbit out to you. I met Dr. Lawlis last week at a conference and was impressed by his talk of his clinic. Have you known anyone who has attended his clinic or one similar to it?

No I don't, but he would be someone that I would love to sit and pick his brain. My 5 year old daughter is pretty much a "typical" active child. I noticed early on that she did not like any kind of change in her routine. And she seemed to have food allergies. Finally when she was around 3 1/2 a light bulb went off and I saw a relation to tantrums and crying spells for no reason was usually after she had sugar. I cut out most sugars from her diet and it was a huge change in her attitude. We talk about what sugar does to her and now she always asks if something has sugar in it before she eats/drinks it. I do allow her to indulge every now and then but usually its not while we are out in public. Jen

He was quite informative and VERY open one-on-one. Between sessions at the conference, I was able to talk with him one-on-one and he even asked me to email him info from a clinic here in Louisville. (Well, it's not exactly like his clinic in TX but we all make do with what we have.) He seems to be open to a lot of different possibilities, ranging from nutrition to sound reorganization. He has a lot of different strategies that he's involved in, including the BAUD. He's also still involved in clinical trials, which I like because it means he's still up-to-date on the latest information. Glad you and little girl seem to be on the same page regarding sugar intake. Makes life easier when kids agree to do what's in their best interest, huh? Take care of yourself and your little girl.

Can you tell me more about the sound reorganization? That is another thing that plagues my daughter. She hates loud or sudden sounds. Like the toilet flushing. She hates to flush toilets because she can't cover her ears. When she was 2 1/2 I put her in a preschool/daycare and immediately walking into her class kids were so loud all she would do is cover her ears and cry. I finally put her in home care. Movies theaters are another problem.

Melissa, It's a tough tough job with adhd/odd It's a fine line between non compliance and inability.These children have a very hard time with transition. They don't get the connection of thinking what will happen if I do this. I have a son who is 20 now and had been in special inclusive classes starting at age 4 with meds.He graduated from high school last June.. Thank you LORD. DON'T beat yourself up your doing the best job you can.He seems to fall emotionally a few years behind. But can be very loving. Yes many times adhd & odd are intertwined.I found as he got older he had less adhd and more odd.He pushed shopping carts at suppermarket for 2 years and found some bottled water under a cart.Figured if someone else found it they'd keep it so he put it in his car and he figured if a customer service asked if he found it he'd give it to the owner. WRONG ANSWER !He was fired. You see he didn't get it. Now he went to live with his sister in next state. he filled out job applications put hrs could work 9-5 WRONG answer. ANY right answer. "he told me I figured that was a normal day" So went back to WENDY'S and said he could work 7:00 am-3:00 now has a job as of 7/4/05. Fingers crossed.Try CHADD on computer they have support groups all over the country . Also there is the ADD WAREHOUSE for all kinds of reading material. Check it out and good luck. Been there, still there. Debbie Ross

Melissa My son has AD/HD and he is on medication and we go thru the temper tantrums also when he is told NO... I have recently started concouseling on him and it has worked wonders... One thing that we do do now is when he throws a temper tantrum we put him in time out that seems to help and when he is done with time out he has to tell us why he was in time out and then he has to apologize to everyone around him. Time out is 1 minute for every year old they are. We have also found that with AD/HD children it is good to let them know what their daily routine will be the day before if possible and try not to deviate from it much. I know it sounds difficult but if anything it is good. Most ADHD children can not take to much change in their routine or it will set them off for the day. Same goes in the school day. I have to have a meeting with the teachers each year and explain this to them and they are good about giving a weeks worth of ciriculum to my son to keep and he looks over it every night.. He is getting better about things and starting to understand that there is going to be things that are not set on a routine and he is trying to work with it... Kim