Edit: Several drug brand names have been mentioned in this thread and I just wanted to add (courtesy of my biochemist husband) that we're all actually talking about the same medication. Focalin is dexmethylphenidate, which is the single isomer version of methylphenidate (sold as Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate, Methylin, Rubifen, Daytrana and a bunch of other names). With Focalin you take half the dosage of the other drugs, because it contains only the active dextro isomer, instead of being a racemic mix of dextro and laevo isomers.
Original post:
My 7yo just started taking Focalin XR (10mg) about a month ago.
I completely sympathise with your frustration. Having a special needs child (or children in my case -- my younger son was born with a cleft lip and palate) is terribly stressful. Along with the work involved in caring for them, you're prone to all sorts of illogical feelings -- guilt, anger, resentment, depression. I've certainly done my share of screaming.
My Alex was oxygen deprived at birth and has some brain damage -- tiny spots of dead white matter. He had developmental delays from the start, went through the Early Intervention program in Los Angeles (we recently moved to Indiana), and has had quite a collection of diagnoses. At first his motor delays were the most obvious (not crawling, not walking) so the diagnosis was cerebral palsy. Then with intensive therapy he caught up physically, but didn't talk, so they said maybe autism. He still fits some of the criteria for autism, but his biggest problem in the last year has been an inability to do schoolwork. Homework has been a nightmare -- a worksheet intended to take 10 minutes could easily end up being over an hour of struggling. Our new doc in Indiana gave us a referral to a psychiatrist, who prescribed Focalin on the basis that since Alex doesn't fit neatly into any diagnosis, we may as well treat the symptoms without stressing over the labels. The difference has been nothing short of amazing. His teacher is blown away -- he's getting his classwork done and getting it done flawlessly. Homework is soooo much easier. The other day I sat him down at the table with his worksheet, and went to get a cup of coffee to fortify myself for battle -- and came back to find him doing the last question on the sheet! Wow!
How has your son responded to the medication? How have you responded to his being medicated?