Hi all, I'm a newbie and this is my first post. I am glad to have found this forum. My son is on his fourth school, and he's in Kindergarten. We've been asked to leave two schools, been ostracized from playgroups, and dropped out of more sports activities than I can count.
My son is bright and can be very sweet. But he wants to monopolize every conversation, and get his way in any situation. He doesn't pick up on social cues or make much eye contact, and he can't sit still or upright for very long (low tone). He's also very anxious and follows me everywhere in the house so he won't be alone.
We've done Occupational Therapist (OT), homeopathy and the Feingold diet, as well as a positive parenting program. These have helped, but then in the last month he started telling me that he wants to kill the cats. He has always been rough with them, but this really freaked me out. So it was time to try the medications.
We did a trial of generic Ritalin over the Christmas break. It helped a lot with the hyperactivity and I got some really delicious eye-contact from him. But it also made him sad and more anxious, to the point where he was screaming and crying under the furniture because his ice cream cone didn't have ice cream in the bottom.
I've just been working with my son's pediatrician to get the ADHD diagnosis. But I feel like he's limited in what he can provide. What kind of doctor should I be seeing for this kind of help? How do I know if what they are suggesting is a good idea? Any advice is welcome here...just glad to get a chance to tell my story to folks who won't just tell me I need to be more strict or spank him.
My son is bright and can be very sweet. But he wants to monopolize every conversation, and get his way in any situation. He doesn't pick up on social cues or make much eye contact, and he can't sit still or upright for very long (low tone). He's also very anxious and follows me everywhere in the house so he won't be alone.
We've done Occupational Therapist (OT), homeopathy and the Feingold diet, as well as a positive parenting program. These have helped, but then in the last month he started telling me that he wants to kill the cats. He has always been rough with them, but this really freaked me out. So it was time to try the medications.
We did a trial of generic Ritalin over the Christmas break. It helped a lot with the hyperactivity and I got some really delicious eye-contact from him. But it also made him sad and more anxious, to the point where he was screaming and crying under the furniture because his ice cream cone didn't have ice cream in the bottom.
I've just been working with my son's pediatrician to get the ADHD diagnosis. But I feel like he's limited in what he can provide. What kind of doctor should I be seeing for this kind of help? How do I know if what they are suggesting is a good idea? Any advice is welcome here...just glad to get a chance to tell my story to folks who won't just tell me I need to be more strict or spank him.