My 5 year old was just prescribed a combination of Azstarys in the morning and Clonidine at night to help with sleep and anxiety. Curious if anyone has any experience or words of wisdom to share about either of these meds or both together. I appreciate it!

For reference, she has tried Strattera, which we discontinued because it caused agitation and aggression, and Vyvanse, which we are discontinuing now because it made her anxiety so bad.

We've recently switched our 5.5 y/o son to Focalin XR. We are noticing him crashing just as we are getting home around 5:30.

What snacks are you giving your kiddos? Trying to come up with ideas that are easy to take on the go so I can give him one when I pick up from summer camp (and eventually school in the fall). He's wanting chips or candy. I'm trying to get him to eat protein. It's hard trying to keep weight on him while on medicine. (I swear he's also borderline ARFID.)

Hi everyone,

I have a 5 year old son who very likely has ADHD, I am starting the process of getting him evaluated and have had an OT working with him since December to help regulate his emotions. His father has it, and up until now I didn't want to label him, but I am not doing anyone any favors. After all the reading, research, trying out approaches, there is no way he doesn't have ADHD. He is my middle child, so I have experience with other kids, too.

Anyway, we have recently entered a phase of extreme defiance and verbal abuse. We are the stupidest parents he has ever seen, I am an F word Mom and so on and so forth. That's daily now. I don't take it personally, I know he is not regulated, but it's new. It used to only happen at home but it's now happening outside of the home.

I am finding myself walking on eggshells and snapping at him a lot more lately. It's as if I don't realize how stretched thin I already am and then he will throw something unsafe to his sibling and I start yelling.

Since his father has ADHD too, he gets overwhelmed himself, and isn't the most helpful, he does try and sometimes can take over to give me time to regroup, but I feel pretty lonely.

What are you all doing to stay calm and composed? It seems that he is ALWAYS out of control these days.

He is in his last week of preschool and then we have two weeks of being at home + a camp before Kinder, so some unusual scheduling coming up, and I hope that's what's causing this. I am terrified this is not the hardest :(

My older son (14) got diagnosed with ADHD fast — Vanderbilt scale, done. My younger son (10) has documented tics, sensory issues, and a pattern of masking all day at school then falling apart at home (hour-long meltdowns, screaming, throwing things).

Neurologist isn’t dismissive, just wants to do a neuron cognitive testing before he can diagnose.

Let’s also add that they won’t take our insurance beginning August 1 so I wanted this diagnosis now so we can begin working with school on his accommodations.
Why was it so easy for one and needs more testing for the other ?

I’m hoping someone out there has a child like mine because I feel so incredibly alone.

My daughter is 5 and has ADHD, but I truly feel like there is something more going on. She can be the sweetest, funniest, most loving little girl, and then it’s like she suddenly goes completely “offline.”

There isn’t always a big trigger. We can have the best afternoon, and then something tiny happens (being told no, bumping into something, transitioning to the next activity), and within minutes she’s screaming, refusing to cooperate, throwing things, and completely unreachable. Once she’s in that state, there is absolutely no reasoning with her. It’s as if she cannot hear or process anything we’re saying.

One of the hardest parts is how incredibly mean and hateful she becomes during these episodes, especially toward her siblings. She says things that seem intentionally cruel, screams at everyone around her, and it’s like she doesn’t even recognize the people she loves. It is completely opposite of who she is when she’s regulated.

These episodes have become so severe that she’s thrown heavy objects, hurts herself during meltdowns (including banging her head), and I have to focus entirely on keeping everyone safe. Then, when it’s over, she’ll often go back to being herself and even apologize, almost as if she wasn’t fully in control of what happened. But often she’s right back in another episode within 10-15 minutes.

We’ve tried parenting strategies, worked with a parent coach, and are working closely with her pediatrician. We’ve tried OT, speech therapy, and even medication. I’m not looking for judgment or advice that boils down to “be more consistent” or “set firmer boundaries.” We’re already doing everything we can.

I’m just wondering: does anyone else’s child have episodes like this? If so, what ended up being the diagnosis (if there was one), and what actually helped? I feel completely overwhelmed and would really appreciate hearing from parents who’ve walked this road. She is completely explosive and I feel horrible saying this but I genuinely dread her.

My ex wife has BPD
She has been locked in a dramatic and painful battle with my 15 year old son. He lives with me, and is dealing with some intense trauma from their conflicts— multiple of which involved her calling the cops on him, threatening him, calling kicking him crazy, kicking him out of the house.

Despite being deeply intelligent, he has struggled mightily with focus in school, and exhibits all the symptoms of ADHD. I’m working to get him professionally screened. He is in reunification therapy with his mom les by a paychologist, has seen a psychiatrist who diagnosed him as suffering from “situational anxiety” ie the situation being his mom’s house

I know I have undiagnosed ADHD. I’m a very high performing person who has rawdogged it my entire life and do not want my son to have to walk that road. It’s spilled over into my own relationships and I do not want that for him. While sober now, I definitely self medicated with alcohol and marijuana my entire life. Somehow I maintained that and became an executive. I harbor my ADHD like a secret. I think my son’s, heightened by trauma, is worse. We are very open and he has told me he has tried marijuana and it calms him. Caffeine has no effect on him. He has extreme focus for music production, but says his brain in class is a storm.

I’m considering stimulants for both of us via traditional health care. But Im highly skeptical of big pharma and wondering if there are better peptide options for a young, beautiful, developing mind.

Some of his ADHD could be AuDHD. He has perfect pitch, gets stuck on topics (cars or music for example). Has a lot of verbal stims. He is seeing a therapist, but none of them seems to have a silver bullet for him.

If you were 15 again, struggling like this, what would you want your dad to do? I will do anything for this kid.

Whyyyyyyyy can't my kid stay in bed??

I know why. Because ADHD paired with FOMO paired with a hyper focus on staying the fuck awake, that's why.

He's a master at staying awake. I'm at the end of my rope. He's turning 8 next month, been diagnosed and medicated for a few years now, and every night it's a battle to get him to go the fuck to sleep.

Most of the time it's 10,794 trips to the bathroom and requests for water and hugs and saying goodnight to the cats and dog and his brother. Oh, and looking for a toy he hasn't thought about or touched in months. Oh, and complaining about something a kid at school did or said 6 months ago that he's just now decided to be mad about because getting mad helps keep him awake.

A few times a week, it's an absolute battle to even get him into his room. Screaming, throwing things, punching and kicking us, throwing himself on the floor, trying to bum-rush past us and out the door, refusing to listen or move and resulting in one of us fireman-carrying him to his room. Followed by yet more screaming, throwing things, punching and kicking us, throwing himself on the floor, trying to bum-rush past us and out the bedroom door, refusing to listen, and trying to climb off the foot of his loft bed.

After the battle, he starts the 10,794 trips to the bathroom and requests for water and hugs and saying goodnight to the cats and dog and his brother. Oh, and looking for a toy he hasn't thought about or touched in months. Oh, and complaining about something a kid at school did or said 6 months ago that he's just now decided to be mad about. Like any normal night.

It lasts for hours. Every night. Nothing works.

Later bedtime? The battle and the 10,794 trips to the bathroom starts later and lasts just as long.

Earlier bedtime? The battle and the 10,794 trips to the bathroom starts earlier and lasts just as long.

Sitting in his room until he falls asleep? 10,794 trips to the bathroom etc, plus making up stories to tell us plus climbing on us plus endless requests for hugs plus flopping around like a fish out of water and endless requests to be covered back up.

Sitting outside his door? 10,794 trips to the bathroom etc, plus turning on his light, removing all the books from the bookshelf, using every blanket in his room to make beds for various stuffed animals, playing a harmonica, and pretending to be a dog or a cat.

Nothing works. He also has a penchant for sneaking into any screen he can get his hands on. He figured out how to open his brother's (17) privacy door knob even when it's locked and gets on his computer on the middle of the night. I bought a keyed entry lock for that door so his brother can keep it locked at all times, I have the spare key for safety reasons. I think my 7 year old fights sleep so hard because he's trying to wait for us all to go to sleep so he can sneak into a screen. I had to lock up the WiiU pad because he'd get it at night. Then he found the key to the locked drawer and got it out, as well as the label maker and used up all the labels. We're constantly having to find new places to hide remotes and keys and have all phones and tablets password protected to keep him out of things, and he finds other things to get into.

And the screens turn him into even more of a gremlin. Most other parents of ADHDers I know can have their kids fall asleep watching something boring.

Not mine. We tried Pandora on our bedroom TV one night thinking that because there's no animation he'd close his eyes and fall asleep to the music. Music sometimes does help. But because it was music from a screen, he was wide awake watching the album art bobbing up and down on the screen for hours. I even tried David Attenborough documentaries. He still wouldn't sleep.

I'm about ready to tie him to his bed, it's so bad. Obviously I'd never do that, but good lord do I want to at times! JUST STAY THE FUCK IN BED! GO TO SLEEP!

Hey everyone, truthfully, I’m not really sure what I’m looking for by posting this, maybe some insight, maybe just some support. At this point I’m just not even sure. I have a six-year-old male child who has been diagnosed with ADHD and on Focalin for one year. Things were generally doing great at first and around the middle of the school year. He started having issues with his eyes deviating we saw a pediatric neurologist who thought he maybe was having focal seizures. He’s had an EEG and an MRI. The results were inconclusive, but they started him on seizure medication out of precaution. Since this point, over the last six months, we have noticed regression and increased agitation and aggression. Today feels like the final straw. I have requested a referral to have evaluated for autism given his severe issues with some sensory things as as well as I’m having nonverbal episodes. Today, he was so angry. He was moving and entering over furniture, throwing porch, furniture off the porch, hitting, scratching, screaming, biting, all for something I could never fully identify the issue of. All his basic needs were met.
Again, I’m not really sure what I’m looking for in this post, maybe tell me what’s worked for you or that I am at least not crazy going through this.
I appreciate all of you, and the struggles you are going through are never unseen

I don't even know, this is all new to me. I'm a Single parent and just finding things tough right now. Looking for some support guidance on this...

My 6 year old Son was diagnosed with Combined ADHD in May. One of the biggest challenges for him is his impulsivity and reactions to seemingly innocuous things. I'm fairly certain that Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria is part of this. Given the time of year, all the kids in the estate tend to play outside a lot more on their bikes and scooters. But this is a breeding ground for trouble. If he's bumped into or he trips over, he will get really upset. If there is any sort of disagreement about something, he will it personally and it's the end of the world. They are out to get him and sabotage his good name. I wouldn't mind as much if it was just this, but it also seems to happen over the slightest thing that literally means nothing. Even if someone says that he looked funny doing something, or sounded funny, he gets so angry and upset. Then we end up coming in because the conflict is too much. And it's with specific people.

He has one best friend who's great, and he would happily play with him all the time. It's rare that they have any issues with one another. And if they do, it's usually down to tiredness, etc. But there are two other kids in our estate whom my Son seems to regularly clash with. Sometimes it's fine, when it's just him and one of them together, but when there's a group, chaos ensues. There's nearly always a problem. I don't know what to do. I've had to stop him playing with them for the time being just until I figure out some better ways to help him manage his responses. For some reason he's just really triggered by them.

They are all 5/6/7 so similar in age. And most of the other parents are also there supervising. The Mother of my Son's best friend knows that he has ADHD and understands completely. She tries to reassure me and say "It's not just him, other days my Son is the same!" But none of the others have ADHD, and it wouldn't happen half as frequently as it does with my Son.

In the spirit of being inclusive and not wanting anyone to feel left out, all the kids generally play together. So this has become somewhat of an issue because my Son seems to be the common denominator. I don't want him to feel like he's being punished, but at the same time, he's going to really struggle if he can't better manage his emotions and how responds to things. I'm trying to get him into play therapy, just having a bit of difficulty finding someone local to us that works around our schedule.

It doesn't help that my Son is in full time daycare during the Summer when he's not in school. I know this isn't ideal for him, but there's nothing I can do. I have to work, it's just me supporting us so I need to do full time hours. The other kids in the estate seem to only do a few days a week in daycare, or not at all. One of the parents isn't working, or they only work part-time.

It's hard going sometimes, sorry, just venting a bit as well. Thanks for listening!

I’m hoping for some perspective from the experienced parents! My 6 year old son has been medicated for a month now, taking methylphenidate er, 10mg. After the first 2 days taking it, he said he was feeling really sad so we stopped giving it to him. He had a meltdown at summer camp the next two days in a row. I thought stimulants were supposed to only be in his system a few hours, so i don’t know if his reaction was because of the medication or because of the lack of medication - or something else!

I put him back on the meds after that but the meltdowns at camp happen like once a week. This was never a problem before. He’s always been inattentive but not violent at school.

Everything about this process is just guesswork and it’s so frustrating! I don’t know if I should take him off the meds and hope he goes back to normal. Or if I should ask to up his dosage. Or something else. Trying stimulants was supposed to be strings free because they’re short lasting but I’m so worried that his new behaviors are permanent. We’re in a much worse position than we were before we started meds.

My son is about to be 5 and his confidence is basically gone due to constant correction. He says things along the lines of “nobody likes me” all the time. In daycare, he was receiving bad reports every day, they nitpicked him so bad that he eventually labeled himself the “bad kid” and recognized he isn’t the “same” as the neurotypical kids. He was kicked out of 2 daycares, and during his time at his 3rd daycare I noticed him start saying these things and become obsessed with his clothes and what others think of him. I walked in one day to pick him up early because of a bad report and a teacher was mid yelling at him telling him “I don’t like you, don’t look at me!” It was breaking my heart seeing him become insecure so I removed him from the daycare to have grandparents watch him one-on-one and so I would know he is in a place he is unconditionally loved and have all the attention. Since then, it’s gotten a little better but I’m still hearing it and he’s still obsessed with his clothes and what people think. He has such attention seeking behavior. He constantly wants someone to “watch this”. Since pulling him out and getting an ADHD diagnosis, we really focus on positive reinforcement and compliment him constantly. I just really want to boost his confidence before he goes into public preschool. I don’t want him to fall deep back into the “bad kid” category in his own little mind.

5yo was diagnosed with ADHD and Gifted in the 99% and that was unexpected but honestly not surprising.
I know this is rare, but I’m just looking for anyone in a similar boat and if they have any resource recommendations or advice.

My 7 year old has an ADHD diagnosis, but he also has some OCD/anxiety tendencies around separation anxiety and difficulty throwing things out/donating. We trialed both Ritalin ER prior to straterra and Guanfacine ER before and during straterra. Guanfacine ER helped an initially, but the side effects were too much and it stopped working, so after a year, we got off that. Ritalin ER (lowest dose possible) would work for the first couple hours and then be awful- ragey, hyper aggressive. Straterra— despite the side effects, it was a great med for a long time when it came to anxiety and impulsive control. It never helped focus. But around the spring, it really stopped helping and at times, we wonder if it is making things worse. He can’t handle standard doses of medication, so he isn’t on a high dose.

Ritalin IR- we got a prescription and are considering trying it out. We got 5 and will initially split it and do 2.5, once a day. The reason being, we figured out that the issue with ER may be that it essentially dumps a second dose 4 hours in and maybe that causes the problems. So even though this is such a low dose, for my kid, it’s not.

Has anyone had success with both Straterra and IR Ritalin who is super sensitive like us? I am nervous that taking them together will increase NE too much. Already, there is an activation effect in the mornings. We don’t want to drop straterra yet because weaning is such an issue. Basically, we can not find the right med because everything is activating, but we also struggle going sans medications. And yes, we consult doctors, and so far, no one has been helpful. They do agree 2.5 IR once a day might be the way to go, even if it doesn’t provide full coverage.

My 4 yr old is still pending formal eval (I started this process in January of 2025) military move and we are back to square one. One year waitlist for eval.

He was started on Guanficine in March. Some improvement but has started to show lessened efficacy. I needed a refill and called to get appointments/refill. Doctor who prescribed left, get a new appointment with new doctor but needed refill before appointment time. I asked for a med bridge to get us to the appointment. Suddenly they could get us in sooner but needed a 40 minute appointment to discuss the plan. I knew then. This doctor didn’t want to prescribe it.
She did do the bridge.

Cut to today, exactly what I thought. She wants to wean it and get formal eval (I asked for repeat referral in March for eval just for the record). In the same breath she wants to get an eval she wants to cut out meds. Are you kidding me? I’m solo parenting while my husband is deployed, I wanted to this appointment to discuss increase of dose not be rid of it.

Once the meds wear off, my son is screaming every day, hitting, trying to run off. I have two other children. I’m struggling now with meds and she wants to take them away. I reminded her the meds cannot be stopped cold turkey. And I cannot even risk him regressing any further. The meds at least last long enough at daycare I can go to work.

I just need advice, support idk. This is so lonely. We can’t leave without him throwing a fit or trying to elope. He starts pre k in the fall and I worry he will be kicked out.

I’m so discouraged in the healthcare system. Another year waiting for an eval. At our previous duty station it was 9 month wait and I thought that sucked.

We are having a hard time. My beautiful sweet little boy is raging at us every day after school since he started ridilin and I just want to cry. I didn’t want to put him on this medication but I feel I’ve been pressured into it by the school because he cant sit still.

The feedback has been that he is focusing better and he is less handsy with his peers.

All I’m seeing is a kid that is so angry his face is turning red at me offering him the wrong food or saying the wrong thing. I feel like I’m walking on eggshells and I feel awful.

My child is academically advanced, has good friends. Is it worth it just so he sits still and stops figuring and humming? I need a reality check because this is tough.

Anyone see a post they wrote 2+ years ago and marvel at how far things have come? Would love stories of hope!

We had a long day in the city (we live rurally) doing some shopping. While in the book store our 4 yr old found some toys which we let him walk around with but said we would not be buying. I often wonder how much he truly picks up. I’m in the process of getting him evaluated. We go to leave the store and husband (god bless that man as he took on the brunt of our child today) and my 4 yr old falls to the floor and screams. He picks him up to remove him the store and later I was told he did everything he could to get of his arms. Hitting, biting, screaming you name it. This was just the first of many incidents today. And when he wasn’t hitting us he was running around, touching everything. Honestly feel like I have ptsd because when I hear a different child scream I tense up thinking it’s my kid! I love him dearly and I can’t wait to get help for him, for us…..

I’m so overwhelmed with my 13 year old’s behavior. He is talking non stop, he follows me around the house all day long talking about the same subject he has been obsessed with for 4 months already. Nights are so rough. EVERY SINGLE NIGHT IS A BATTLE FOR HIM TO STAY IN HIS ROOM, and go to sleep, he gets up screaming and running. His behavior is so annoying. He always insults everyone and mocks us, and when we react or discipline him, he laughs. Im so annoyed and tired. Im just venting. I love my son. But it is tough!

My 9 year old over the summer has started having facial tics. They are pretty frequent. She blinks a lot and scrunches her nose. She can feel herself doing them but can’t really stop them. She does have diagnosed adhd but she is currently on a med break over the summer. She’s also in therapy because she has been having anxiety surrounding bedtime and death.

I know, I know talk to her doctor. I messaged them asking if I should make an appointment but they said it’s okay to wait for right now. A little over a year ago she had, idk if I would call it a tic but she would constantly wipe/rub her nose with her hand. But these are new. I know tics can be common but idk I’m still worried about them.

5 year old, ADHD and anxiety, and has recently started chewing shirt collars or sleeves SO MUCH. Shirts are being destroyed, and it's gross and smelly by the end of the day. Probably also not good for his teeth at the rate he puts holes in the fabric. We have tried to redirect onto chewelry but silicone just doesn't seem to satisfy his needs - it gets cast away and back to the shirt he goes. We have also done the plastic coiled bracelets and necklaces but they dont hold up well and get lost very quickly too. I have been able to redirect onto bandanas around his neck, which saves shirts and is easier to change out through the day but it is still pretty disgusting. Any other clever ideas to try? He has challenges with oral motor skills so chewing gum is still a bit risky (and also not school approved). Hoping someone has a brilliant idea that we can get him onto!

We’re trying Focalin as a first med. We’ve started a few weeks before school starts so we can observe/adjust decide on path forward. 5 mg XR- it’s day 3 and she’s been especially wired/talkative, definitely gets hyper focused on things. Will these things settle out as she adjusts or is it indicative of this med maybe not being the right fit?

I’m really struggling with my 11-year-old son and honestly don’t even know exactly what I’m looking for by posting this. I think I may just need advice, support, or to hear from other parents who have felt this way.
My son has inattentive ADHD and is an only child. He is constantly bored unless he is on a screen, but he won’t really participate in hobbies or activities. He has friends at school, but doesn’t seem to have anyone he regularly spends time with outside of school.

He also struggles significantly with emotional regulation and impulse control. He is constantly making noises, being loud, shouting, getting in people’s faces, moving around, and having difficulty sitting still or controlling his impulses. It feels like he is constantly seeking stimulation and attention, and I feel like I am redirecting him all day long.

The hardest part for me to admit is that I find myself getting incredibly irritated by him. I love my son more than anything, and I feel horrible even saying this, but sometimes his behavior genuinely gets on my nerves to the point where I feel like I can barely tolerate being around him. I worry constantly about how he comes across to other kids his age and whether his behaviors are affecting his ability to make and maintain friendships.
I also feel guilty because he is getting older, and I worry that as he gets older, some of the behaviors that people may have found “cute” when he was younger are now just perceived as annoying or immature. I don’t want him to feel rejected, and I don’t want to be constantly irritated with my own child.

I’m feeling really overwhelmed and honestly kind of spiraling. Has anyone else experienced this with an ADHD child around this age? What has actually helped with the constant boredom, stimulation-seeking, impulsivity, noise-making, emotional dysregulation, and difficulty finding activities or hobbies they enjoy? And, perhaps most importantly, how do you manage your own frustration and irritation as a parent without feeling like a terrible person?

I need some advice on communicating with my in-laws about how they talk with my kids. My kids are 10yo girl (ADHD/anxiety) and 7yo boy (neurotypical). I’m married but my husband is minimally involved in anything regarding our kids (his mental health is very unstable, which is a whole separate issue but that’s how it is for now). My husband’s parents help me often with the kids, currently watching them a couple days per week during the summer. For the last year or so, my daughter has said she hates going to their house and that they are mean to her. I don’t believe there are any immediate safety issues with them. They take them places like the pool and local museums, etc, try to have fun activities planned. But they are not very patient or compassionate when it comes to kids emotions. They have a very “suck it up” mentality about most things. My daughter can get dysregulated easily and they treat it more as just her misbehaving.
They also can be very judgemental, not just of her but of everyone and everything. They always make negative/judgemental comments about other people/topics, typically as the first thing they say. It is so second-nature to them that I don’t think they even realize they are being judgemental. My husband says they have been like that ever since he was little (also a factor in a lot of his mental illness issues). Daughter feels this judgement a lot and really feels put down, even if the words they say aren’t clear insults. Also, it’s a lot of nonverbal things they do that signal disapproval, like clicking their tongue at something she says or does, eye rolls, etc.
Also, daughter comments that they like her brother more than her. He’s an easy-going, neurotypical, and doesn’t need much redirection. He also doesn’t get dysregulated as easily as she does, so I can see that he probably gets more positive interaction while a lot of her interaction with them is corrective or negative based on what she is struggling with (I.e. she needs lots of reminders/redirection to get things done, gets overwhelmed easily, gets worried to go to public places, etc).
How can I approach this conversation with them? I know it should be my husband having the conversation with them, but that is not going to happen. He can’t even set boundaries with them for himself. A lot of this stuff really seems to be personality-based and not just toward my daughter, but no one has ever told them that how they talk to/about others is rude and hurtful.
Any advice is appreciated.