Deciding whether or not to put your child with ADHD on medicine is a big decision. It is one that most parents wrestle with after their child is diagnosed. That is because we know it’s a long-term decision that requires maintenance medicine usually during many years. I remember that my husband and I had some long discussions about medicine for our son J after he was diagnosed as well as a couple of talks with his pediatrician before making a final decision. So how do you decide whether you should medicate your ADHD child or teen?
Consider the severity of your child’s symptoms
One of the biggest factors in a decision regarding medicine for your child is symptoms and their severity. Is your child doing poorly in school because they cannot concentrate and focus in class? Do you have homework battles every day because they are fidgeting too much and focusing on anything other than their assignment? Do they act as if they are running on a motor and cannot sit still during times when it’s important that they do so?
When our son J was younger, I felt like his symptoms were off the charts for inattention and hyperactivity. It was hard to keep up with him, and his behavior was exhausting for us as parents. I was definitely looking for treatments that would help improve those symptoms.
The severity of your child’s symptoms also may determine if alternative therapies or lifestyle changes can help ease them.
Try alternative therapy
Whether or not you ultimately decide to go with a medicine treatment for your child, behavior modification will be key for your child’s success. These could include cognitive behavioral therapy, organizational changes at home or behavior charts. An important intervention is parent training. Through parent training – such as the program offered by CHADD – we as parents can learn to better manage our own expectations and behavior and help direct our kids with ADHD more effectively. Our children’s behavior will improve if we understand how to help them.
Make some lifestyle changes
Lifestyle changes also can benefit your child, including the following:
- Many kids with ADHD have sleeping difficulties. By helping them improve their sleep, you can help reduce the severity of their symptoms and also increase their quality of life overall.
- Exercise is important for all of us, but it provides even more benefits for children with ADHD and autism. Check out this blog post for more information about how to encourage your child to exercise more. (A quick helpful tip is to always request that recess not be taken away from your child as part of their Individualized Education Plan for elementary school. It’s important that they can run and let off some steam and energy during the day! This can help improve their behavior in the classroom.)
- Mindfulness exercises can help your child focus on the present and slow down. My son J says his brain works so much faster than other people’s, so he can get impatient and frustrated when he thinks others are not talking and thinking fast enough. Slowing down the mind could help, along with many other benefits.
- Diet changes for children with ADHD also can help improve symptoms. These can include reducing artificial coloring and additives, increasing intake of omega-fatty acids, identifying gaps of certain micronutrients and more.
Weigh the benefits and risks
Every medicine has benefits and risks of taking it. Talk to your child’s doctor to understand what benefits you should expect to see with any medicine prescribed to your child and what the potential side effects could be. It’s important that you compare those with severity of your child’s symptoms. Good efficacy could lead to improved attention and hyperactivity, resulting in better behavior, grades and social interactions. Yet, that needs to be weighed with types of side effects that are commonly experienced with these medicines.
You also need to evaluate how these medications may interact with any other medications your child may be taking already for another condition. This is important to consider as you decide whether you should medicate your ADHD child.
Do your homework to understand the medicine options
Before you talk to your child’s doctor in depth about medicines for your child, do your own research to understand the types of medicines used to treat ADHD. There are two primary categories: stimulants and non-stimulants. They work differently in the body, and their timing of effectiveness is not the same.
By doing your homework, you will be more informed for your discussion with the doctor as well as better understand how medicines could help your child.
What factors went into your decision about if you should medicate your ADHD child? Share your experiences with others in the comments. Let’s connect and support one another!
