ADHD 4 year old heeeeeeeeelp

[Kygie]

:( I have a 4 year old boy who was diagnosed with ADHD he is on Ritalin but its not working very well. He is violent and he throws tantrams and cries or whinges at least 90% of the day. I love him to death but i feel like I am going insane
Any other mums or dads out there got some ideas to help with disiplining an ADHD child coz im totally lost!!!!

[Goosie22]

Have you been to MYC programe (managing young children program) its for 3 - 7year olds(behavour managment skills), its run through the special ed units at some schools, Lawnton has one and so does Caboolture primary not sure were else. 4 seems very young to be diagnosed with ADHD and put on drugs.

Hope you find someone to help you out.

[Belinda1000]

hi i dont have a child of my own with adhd but as a teacher i have seen a lot of kids who have it and it is very difficult to cope with. how long has your child been on medication as it usually takes a few goes to get the correct dosage. also i would be getting a second opinion take him to a variety of professionals as some dr will label a child adhd when it can be something different altogether

. i can understand you want this fixed before he starts school. when i have students in my class with adhd they need structure, structure, structure. i would give a special timetable so they know what will be happening each day and try not to change my day routine. try and find an activity he really likes and if you feel a tantrum coming on quickly avert him to the activity. pick your battles and try to ignore minor attention seeking behaviour. and praise him when you see him doing the tiniest thing right.

have some picture cues for when he is getting angry that he can look at to help him decide the correct thing to do eg a picture of him reading a book. often they misbehave because it is the only thing they know how to to give him the skills to be able to make choices.

check his diet a lot of kids are sent off with white bread for example.

the most important one never threaten him with something unless you are prepared to carry it out eg some parents tell kids santa wont come if you are naughty we all know this will never happen and dont give too many warnings i have always only given kids one warning believe me they know what they are doing.

hope this helps and good luck

[Rell]

Hi Kygie
My heart goes out to you I can't imagine how hard it would be to have a child with be ADHD.
My nephew is hyperactive so my sister put him on the FeingoldDiet 2 years ago now and the change in his behaviour has been amazing!
The Feingold deit eliminates artificial colours, flavours and preservatives from the diet and limits the intake of fruit and veges that are high in salicylates. It is quite hard to follow but the results I have seen in my nephew have made it worth wild.
If you google Feingold diet you should be able to find a copy of the deit or you can PM me and I can send you a list of the foods that are in and out.
Good luck I hope you find a way to effectively manage your little boy.

[reAllytee]

As Belinda1000 has said you really need to focus on structure as this is a main issue for ADHD kids & they respond well to it. When my sister put this into place & was very rigid with her discipline it helped my nephew calm down of course he still had his moments etc but the main thing was he felt safe & life was controlled. She also has many good points about how to discipline as picking your battles is something that will also give you & break as sometimes its just not worth getting upset over them being silly. Turning a blind eye often has them stopping the behaviour as they wont get the attention they want. They will always find a way to push your buttons but you really have to stand strong & i would advise if it gets too much to find a psychologist who specialises in kids with ADHD my sister also did this & she was a great help with showing what my sister should & shouldnt be doing as well as helping set up structured routines.
My sister also tried cutting out additives etc but unfortunately this didnt work for my nephew & she even tried changing him to soy milk again not a goer but i really would advise you try this as many parents have a marked result from doing this as Rell has said.
Another thing i think you need in place is a good pediatrician. He/she really needs to know what they are doing especially when handing out medication. Has your boy had brains scans ? or how was he just diagnosed ?
I really hope things calm down for you **hugs**

[Blessed Mum]

Hi kygie,
My DSS was put on ritalin some years ago aged 13. And my husband and I found it to help with his concentration at school but the other side effects he experienced and changes we saw in him we did not like. Four is very young to be on this drug & I understand that it has been prescribed for him. You are right to be looking for more solutions. I too can recommend the feingold diet and we also did a number of parenting courses some which specialised in these type of behaviour/defiance disorders. He is nearly 17 now and we have a great relationship with him ( I raised him from 9yrs old) He recently returned to live with bio mum and I love him dearly, miss him terribly but I was nearly burnt out. So look around contact local community health centres, talk to paed's and take care of yourself.:)

Hope I have helped.

[timabare]

I did a little research on this and found cutting out all additives etc as advised above to be great for alot of children. Also adding a multivitamin can help alot of kids too. Also try changing personal care products, many body washes contain sodium laureth sulphate which is absorbed through the skin and accumulates in the organs causing further problems. Basically, if it a chemical imbalance you need to eliminate as many external chemicals as possible which may be contributing. A great book written by an Australian mum is "Additive Alert" by Julie Eady www.additivealert.com.au
Good luck, we can only do our best.

[Kygie]

Hi,

I did 2 parenting courses and took him of alllllllllllllllllll artifical flavours n colourings for 12 months before I took him to a paediatrician. Medication certainly wasnt the first resort it was the last resort after pulling my hair out and trying as many things as i possibly could.
Its funny im a bad mum when hes not on medication coz he is impossible to control and im even worse coz i have put him on medication. I love my son and I would never do anything to hurt him. The medication works a lil and I am trying to do everything I can to educate myself on ways to help him.
My doctor told me his diet wont help much either.
My ex had ADHD as an adult and he was a shocking person. I just never want my lil boy to grow up like this

Feeling like im damned if i do damned if i dont
:( :( :( :(

[Blessed Mum]

Kygie I've just sent you a pm - hope it geats thru to you please let me know.

[Kygie]

My rant before wasnt directed at anyone in here at all
I soooooooooooooooooo appreciate the help and support. It was coz of the lack of support that ive had from family and some friends.
I appreciate al lthe comments and any help and advice i can get is sooooooooooooooooooo welcomed!!!!!!:D :D