My 9 year old daughter was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD near the end of the school year and had great success on her medication. Her grades and behavior improved immensely, and her self-esteem improved as well. We decided to not medicate her during the summer to allow her appetite to return to normal because she is very small for her age already, but I am now rethinking that decision. I want her to read during the summer, but the poor girl can't stay focused long enough to get into a book. She wants to read so badly, but she keeps stopping after every page or so to summarize the book to me, move seats, get a drink, etc. :) Are there any other ADHD parents out there with advice for me on medicating or not during the summer? Thank you!
Edit: I always think of more information that I should have included after I post! My daughter has no trouble focusing on activities that she finds interesting, like her dance classes and summer camps, and I have minimal problems with her behavior at home. She struggles with focus and organization in school and with some chores at home, but I haven't noticed her struggling with her focus this summer except with her reading. I'm a teacher and am home with her in the summer, so our household is very relaxed.
Edit: I DID discuss this with her pediatrician, and it is perfectly safe to take her medication as needed. It does not need to build up in her system. I am looking to hear experiences from other parents with children that have ADHD. Thank you for your kindness!
I appreciate the thoughtful advice! It's always nice to hear from other parents with similar experiences. My daughter decided that she would like to take her medicine on the quieter days that we are spending at home so she can read, but she won't take her medicine on days when we're more active. She was relieved when we talked about it and told me that she couldn't even focus enough to read in the bookstore long enough to pick out a book.
Jill K., you're right about people not being aware of the different kinds! I find some people doubting her diagnosis because she can sit for hours drawing and writing stories and she behaves so well in her dance classes, but they don't understand that she can't focus in school.
Thanks again, ladies!
While I understand that you would be concerned about the side effects of medication, I honestly feel that it's not great for their bodies to go on and off medication. Good luck.
Her brain chemistry doesn't become normal and her ADHD disappear just because she isn't sitting in a classroom.
Would you take her off other medication for other medical conditions if it was working?
I really know what you are saying. I'm also a teacher who's off for the summer, and sometimes I forget to give our son (6 years old) his meds. It's kind of hard to talk to him about it, but he has let me know that he feels more in control when he takes his meds.
As you know, it's not just about them doing better in school. For us, it has a lot to do with his mind and body being in sync. He tends to move around a lot and not be able to stand still or even keep his hands still when he's not on the meds. So, for us, it really seems like keeping him on his meds is the right thing to do FOR HIM.
Have you talked to your daughter about it? I'm sure she feels different on and off the meds. Have you had a conversation just about how she feels? Maybe she could tell you whether or not she wants to take them.
Another thought is to give her something to eat or drink with caffeine. I know that sounds ridiculous, but if she feels fine over the summer and doesn't really want to take the meds, maybe you could give her some tea or something - just a little boost of caffeine. That might give her brain that little stimulant it needs to focus.
I hope you know that I waas being absolutely serious about the caffeine. One day (when I was at work) my husband was home with the kids and forgot about the meds. (No big deal - no school, and meds was still new to us.) Our son snuck a Mountain Dew out of the fridge at the club and drank it. It made him really mellow. I did some research, and that is very consistent with how ADHD works. Stimulants often help their brain's function better and help them concentrate.
We made the decision with our son to continue medications over the summer time. Not only did him not being on medication affect his ability to enjoy reading, puzzles, etc., but he has an easier time with his siblings when he is on his meds. He does have some chores that he simply cannot do unless his meds are on board, too. Even settling down enough to brush his teeth can be a real task!
Obviously each parent has to decide what is right for their child, but keeping up with medication all summer was the best choice for us. As far as the decreased appetite, that may resolve itself with time. Our son has been on ADHD meds for quite awhile now, and it seems like after about the 1st 6 months or so, his appetite kind of bounced back to "normal". While we were waiting for that to happen, we did 6 "meals" a day (3 regular, then a morning snack, afternoon snack, and a bedtime snack) to make sure he was getting enough to eat.
Good luck!
My daughter does not take her meds during the summer, at her doctor's recommendation for the same reason you stated above. I get the struggles with summer reading, as my daughter does the same thing. We take turns reading to each other. Also if she wants to walk around while she reads or take a break, it's fine. ANY reading is good. If she's not taking a test on it or has to memorize it, there's no need to worry about how much she reads at a time or what else she's doing. As long as she gets the reading practice, that's what I think is important.
no personal experience with ADHD, so keep that in mind. i totally understand your desire to let her have some med-free time, and to let it flow during the summer. if reading is really the ONLY struggle she's having, i'd compensate by reading TO her more, and just letting her read a page at a time. if SHE'S unhappy with how quickly her brain's moving, or if the lack of focus affects her life in other ways, well, that's what the meds are for.
good luck!
khairete
S.
My daughter is the same as yours, at least based on what you've shared here. As much as I would love for her to read during the summer (being a reader myself) I don't medicate her. Don't kid yourself, it's speed. I hate it, but it's a low dose and it will get her through school and then she will be free to explore work that doesn't require the same kinds of monotonous attention that school does. Let her be busy and happy and active in her own way during the summer.
We are in the same boat =) We aren't medicating during the summer, unless we absolutely need to. Our son can have fun and burn off that energy with all of the fun adventures this summer.
My son and I both take medication for ADHD. He stays on his during the summer, I don't (I'm a teacher, so I don't go to work in the summer). I also skip the meds on weekends, but he stays on them all days.
It really just depends on what aspects of her life are impacted most by ADHD and the degree to which she can cope without the meds. When I'm on medication, our house is neater, I don't forget things, we get out of the house on time, and I'm less overwhelmed by large tasks and prone to procrastinate... BUT, I'm grown and know these things about myself and it's summer, so I cope...ish. DS is different: He's combined type in every way and his hyperactivity and impassivity interfere hugely with his social interactions, and his ability to engage in pleasure activities (he inadvertently breaks toys or rips pages etc. and loses everything). He has a ton of school work to do in summer and trains seriously in ballet which requires complete self-control.
As someone who goes on and off of medication, I will tell you that while it is "safe" it isn't 100% smooth and easy. It takes time to adjust and feel yourself again as you get back on the meds, and most meds can cause some moodiness which has to even out a bit.
The reason I come off when i can is that I tend to lose weight while on the meds and then it's almost impossible for me to gain it back (hard to get much sympathy, but it's a real issue), the off and on seems to help that. DS is also very thin, but he's not willing to go without the medicine so we just push the calories particularly early breakfast and late dinner.
HTH
T.
We don't medicate our ADHD boys during the summer unless they are at camp or we are traveling. It was cleared by the pediatrician years ago. I have seen no evidence of bad choice. Plus it allows them to grow just a bit more.
People often don't realize that there are several types of ADD/ADHD and not all kids need medication on a daily basis. You know to pass over the replies that are not aware about the topic. :-)
My son has Inattentive Type ADD without the hyperactivity and without behavioral problems. His medication is solely for focus in learning and crowd environments. He takes his medication on school days, but not weekends or summers, unless at a camp or similar situation.
Since you want your child to read, and if she wants to be able to focus on more than 2 pages at a time, then you could choose one day per week as a summer learning day and medicate for that day. You'd still get the off-meds growth benefits by being off on the other 6 days.
Have you tried encouraging her to read right after she's been active? I can focus so much better after a run or other type of workout. This is one of the ways I made it through grad school, scheduling my studying time for after a workout.
This has been confirmed by research. If you haven't read "SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain" by John J. Ratey and Eric Hagerman, I highly recommend it. It helped me make sense out of my constant life-long issues with focus and to understand how exercise helps these symptoms/issues.
I'm certain I would be diagnosed with ADD, and have been told so by professionals, but as a self-insured person haven't been able to afford the $1000 it would cost to go through the evaluation.
Perhaps it would help to make a list of pros and cons. From your post, I'd start with the pros of increased self-esteem, improved behavior, increased attention. And the con would seem to be low appetite. Then you can add more as you consider what is best.
It is often helpful to continue the medication, as ADHD is not a school issue, it is a neurological life issue. If you choose to keep her on the medication, I would speak with a nutritionist about her low appetite and your options to address this. All my best.
If she's doing other stuff and reading is the only thing she's having issues with I'd put off the reading and let her go have a fun summer. We give our guy his ADHD meds because he starts winding up and acting out. He takes a whole Ritalin in the morning and a half at lunch or a bit later if he has something else to do later in the day.
We need to give it to him to be able to manage him better, he will be out of control and bouncing off the walls. We did take him off a lot of other stuff at the end of the school year though.
We decided not to have my son on his meds during the summer. Mostly because we pay for him to go to the Boys and Girls Club and they keep him busy enough that he doesn't need it. It's a personal decision. If it affects her appetite but she can't focus, that is something you need to decide which is more important. Our psych said it was up to us and if we tried him off it and it didn't work to just put him back on. No biggie. Good luck.
I do not have personal experience but my nephew is medicated. It is a tremendous help. His parents decided one year to stop. bad decision. It was not just a matter of not paying attn for him. But they did reduce his meds for the summer. The doc worked with them to get him to the point that he could take a minimal amount. This helped him behave in summer camp and do things he wanted to do without causing problems. The later afternoon was harder but not horrible. My nephew was later to sprout and a bit shorter than we expected since my family is tall and my bro is very tall but he has caught up since they have lowered the dose as he grew. His appetite has also grown with him.
I would talk to the doc and see what can be done and make sure that if you do stop for the summer, there won't be a problem restarting on the same meds.
I have ADHD and so do my boys. My 3rd kiddo has inattentive/hyperactive type. We do the occasional day without stimulant meds, but for the most part he doesn't like how he feels when he cannot focus or complete a task and chooses to stay on his meds. On days where we're not going anywhere and he's okay with it, he'll skip. He usually eats everything in the house. :-)
I'm not for completely going without all summer. It's h*** o* everyone involved, but most of all, it's h*** o* the child.
