[kimby2]

My 4 year old son is VERY active, aggressive, loud, talks all the time; he just "doesn't get it" when you try talking to him; very defiant. I'm exhausted. Dr thinks its adhd and that his cocaine exposure has nothing to do with his behavior. We have him on a med to help him calm down but it doesn't seem to be working. It makes me sad to have him on medication; wondering if we're doing the right thing. I just wonder if he's getting the right treatment. How do we know if the cocaine isn't the cause? How do I know I'm giving him the help he needs? Anyone have any words of wisdom?


Thanks,
Kim

[LeighM]

ADHD is very common in drug exposed children. You can google it and find a lot of information. Our ad was drug exposed and is ADHD. No one wants to medicate their children however have a bio son who is also ADHD and I waited to medicate him. It is something I regret all of the time. If I had done it sooner he would have been able to focus better on the things we tried to teach him and his school teachers.

[Barksum]

ADD/ADHD is very common in drug and alcohol exposed children.

If you are not wanting to medicate, or want to do other things along with medicating, you might check out diet and vitamin/supplement therapies. One diet that many parents find helpful is the Feingold Diet. Other families have found that their kids are sensitive and sometimes allergic to certain foods. The top 5 in the food allergies are dairy, soy, wheat, corn, and...uh...give me a sec...got it! Eggs! Some kids with FASD don't digest gluten and dairy very well so they do better with a gluten and casein free diet.

We're working with a health professional to try to fine tune diet and supplements with one of our kids. We do give all of our kids a daily multivitamin and fish oil supplements. Additionally we try to be careful about sleeping habits and making sure that they get outdoor exercise (vitamin D plus the fresh air), adequate sleep, and plenty of water. Sometimes kids without adequate sleep have more trouble regulating their behavior so a simple solution is making sure that bedtimes are maintained. Same with dehydration; without water our bodies can't eliminate the sludge from our system efficiently so that needs to have attention paid to it as well.

We've not found any magic formula, but we're working on it from several angles. Also my personal experience has been that for my kids the year they were 4 was pretty big, developmentally speaking. It's as though they saved up their "Terrible Two's" until they were four. I've been wondering if here is an actual biological growth or brain development spurt that happens between year four and five or something because it has been SO obvious that my kids that there was much going on inside during that time. (Not that they aren't growing and having obvious jumps in development at other times, but just that at 4 it seemed to be a Big Deal for them.)

[vegaslilqt]

You may want to check out a book called The Out of Sync Child We are looking into adopting a 4yr old who has been diagnosed with ADHD and possible FAE. His case worker says he hasn't been fully evaluated and has noticed a lot of adversion issues with him. (doesn't like to be messy, loud noises startle him, things are too loud/too bright, etc) Many are signs of FAE but often times the child has a Sensory Integration disorder which can cause hyperactivity many times it can be helped with Occupational/Physical therapy.

[mypov]

My 4yr old son sounds just like that. He is hyper, defiant, loud, aggressive, and bedtime is always so hard because he can never unwind. We too came to the conclusion he needs to be medicated and through trial and error he is on adderall in the day and melatonin to help him sleep at night. It may be the inutero exposure to cocaine but we still pursued the treatments bc if it works iit works. He is still a very- no, extremely difficult child but I have raised him since he was 4 days old and I often see in him the potential that exists. He is intelligent, creative, imaginative, sensitive and caring. I told him just yesterday he was driving me crazy and he said, "oh I'm sorry Mommy, I want you to be happy so I will stop!" He gave me a big hug and was much better for about....ten minutes!

I try to tell people (warn them) occassionally but until you meet him you just can't comprehend it. I worry about preschool this fall but hoping the structure will help him. Still, sometimes I see he is that kid that other grown ups look at and just think we must not be strict enough. That hurts because we love him so much and only thru the use of medication do others get the glimpses of what we see in him.

Its that alone that takes away the guilt of medicating him. Keep searching for the right drug in the right dose as our children do not like to feel out of control either!

[abensonslaton]

We struggled forever to medicate our son at 3 years old. It was such a hard decision but wow his self esteem soared up so high as we were not yelling at him all the time exact opposite. He did better at preschool and making friends. During the summer when we are more active and outside we don't give him his second dose. He takes Ritalin 5mg twice a day. For us it was a safety issue always getting into everything and disappearing and be down the road and didn't get why it was wrong etc. It was downright scary. Now he can understand why it is wrong etc. He was tested than before we could give it to him. They said he has ADHD with some austic features but he is not that basically he is different and couldn't tell us how. So we did what we could medicate him, got him early intervention services throught the school district, and sensory ingeration therapy (BTW gymnastics is cheaper and better). I work with the symptoms and not the diagnosis. Sometimes we want the diagnosis so bad but it's not the simple most of the time.

[leatherette]

Kids with sensory integration or sensory processing disorders can look like they have ADHD. Meds will not necessarily help a kid with sensory issues, anyway (unless they also happen to have ADHD!). Anxiety, which is often present in kids with sensory issues, can also look like hyperactivity in children.

I would take your child to a very good Occupational Therapist if possible before trying meds. And I am not anti-meds. I take them myself for ADD.

[grandmommie]

Our 5yr old was drug exposed in utero and has a dx of PDD-NOS with the dx of ADHD being kept on the back burner for the time being. Many of the symptoms that he displays as a result of PDD-NOS are the same as many of the symptoms of ADHD. I've been told that it is not unusual for a child to have both dx.

I'm not opposed to medication especially if the behaviors begin to hinder the education process. We currently work with a behavior specialist and we have theraputic support staffing in place for both school and home. In addition he receives both OT and SLT.

Even if medication does become necessary we will continue with the behavioral and other therapies also. Our goal is to have him absorb and learn as many self management strategies as possible so that he is able to self regulate. We never know what tomorrow might bring but we never have a dull moment in this household.

[Roche1967]

Which state do you live in? If you adopted through
DCFS, contact your Adoption Specialist and tell him/her that you need a referal to a therapist who specializes in adoption issues/drug exposure. Your DCFS will either be privately contracting to a therapist or they will use a county or state therapist. We had the choice of going to Davis County or to a private contractor, Touchstone Therapy. We went with Touchstone Therapy out of Salt Lake City because they specialize in adoption/foster/attachment issues/drug issues, etc. Our adoption specialist changed our Medicaid coverage to include this facility. They have been lifesavers to our whole family, because we adopted a meth baby. He is now five years old and since young he has had incredible tantrums, rages, spits, pulls hair, scratches, throws things, etc. We initially thought he was adhd, but our therapist recently said that because of drug exposure, it basically damaged the central nervous system. Therefore he is overstimulated in about a split second, and he responds dramatically to any thing. He also has attachment issues. We have basically been in therapy for two years, and he is also on meds. Drug exposed children have a harder time assimilating the concept of "cause and effect" and therapy has helped tremendously. We are still working on it and probably will long term, and his sunday school teachers and preschool teachers say that he is extremely well behaved and doing well. I highly suggest you contact DCFS for help as a family doctor doesn't have the same exposure to these issues.

hth, Roche1967