13 Tips for Medicating your ADHD Child
Medicating your child's probably the one thing that keeps you up at night. How do I know that? Because I lost tons of sleep wondering if I'm helping or hurting my son. I'm a year into medicating and I have had noticeable positive change in his overall behavior. I did a lot of research before coming to the decision to medicate him. So I had a basic understanding of what side effects could occur and I had a decent expectation as to what the positive effects would be. I will warn you against believing there's a drug out there that will cure your child of ADHD, there is no cure. Medicine is just another tool in you box to help manage this disorder.
- Understand medication isn't a cure it's just a treatment meant to help with focus, and concentration, and hyperactivity, impulsivity, and distractibility.
- It's just a myth that stimulants medication reverses the effect of ADHD and calms them down. Fact a low dose stimulant will calm anyone down.
- Medications will not make your kid want to do great in school or make them want to do homework, that's still going to be your job.
- Don't use medication as your only treatment plan.
- Look into changing his or hers diet to avoid all of the none trigger foods.
- Keep a journal of the new medication and it's effect on him or her over time.
- Keep all the medications pamphlets with the journal. So you can access the possible side effects literature easier.
- Avoid constantly change medications looking for the perfect pill.
- ADHD children will still have symptoms even while being medicated just at a lower intensity.
- Monitor your child mood and if you notice the "zombie" effect that is a sign that the dosage is too high.
- You can't medicate away, lying, teasing, low self-esteem, poor social skills and an obsession with video games
- Never ask your child "did you take your medication" in the same conversation as a behavior issue.
- ALWAYS maintain control over your child medication no matter there age.
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