goingcrazy24

MoMoF1bOy5
My son is 5 and has been diagnosed as adhd and o.d.d. Not only is he hyperactive but he is very aggressive and stubborn. I am finding it very difficult to get him to sleep at night and am looking for any advice to help. I am a single mother working 2 jobs and a 3rd job being taking care of my uncontrollable child. He takes Adderall XR 15mg a day and clonidine .1 at night and he still doesn't sleep:angry-very:. ANY SUGGESTIONS????? Thank You
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Who diagnosed him, and do you feel the diagnosis is correct? Adderrall can keep kids awake. It made my son mean and aggressive--it turned out the ADHD/ODD diagnosis. was wrong. Do you have any psychiatric disorders on either side of this child's family tree? Any odd development--speech delays, inability to relate to his peers, unusual behaviors such as clicking his tongue or spinning or flapping his arms or any repetitive behavior? Any obsession? Can he make eye contact with strangers and does he transition from one activity to another without any trouble? Has he ever been assessed by a neuropsychologist? How does he do in school?
Welcome to the board :) Sorry for all the questions, but they help us help you.
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
Welcome. I'm sorry you had to find us. MWM asks some excellent questions. What sort of childcare setting is your child in while you work? Some settings can be very over-stimulating for some kids. You may want to grab a copy of The Explosive Child by Ross Greene and Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (can't recall the author offhand). I would put a call into the prescribing physician because it sounds like the medications aren't working may be making his symptoms worse. One thing I want you to know is that it's really not uncommon for young children to be misdiagnosed because many of the symptoms overlap with different disorders.
 

lillians

lillians
when our daughter was younger she also didnt sleep, i sat many --most nites outside her door to be God and put her back to bed,, 3 hours was her max, she also had a form of picca as they say and ate everything outside of dog poop,, and given a chance likely--so we could take no chances,,finally the phsychyatrist at childrens hospital wrote a perscrition for meletonin,, and altho it wasnt perfect the strength i guess compared to over the counter stuff did its job,, and finally there was a wee repite for all,, ask-- meletonin is actually something a person can be lacking,,
 

adhdparenting

mom never taught us this
I read a report recently out of Australia I believe it was that said that 50-73% of kids with ADHD have sleep problems. 50% of them have severe sleep problems.

I heard an international children's sleep expert from London say that often children have entered the late sleep phase, meaning they're getting to bed so late that they're not able to sleep right.

So she suggests that parents - one hour before the child naturally falls asleep - turn off the overhead lights and turn on only lamps. This creates natural melatonin in the child's body.

Turn off all media. She said that parents need to remove TV and computers from the child's bedroom in all cases.

Feed the child something without sugar or high carbs - perhaps bananas, bread, cheese, and then give the child a warm 5-minute bath. No toys - to warm up the body temperature and create natural melatonin- then to go straight to the bed where the lights are turned off.

And the parent sets beside the bed quietly bared touching the child only if necessary. The goal is that the child goes to sleep within 15 minutes of getting in bed.

Then each week set this time 15 minutes earlier until the child is going to sleep at the desired time. She said that she gets a 97% success rate with this method.

Hope that helps a little.

ADP
 

goingcrazy24

MoMoF1bOy5
For a couple years now I just noticed that there was something not right with his behavior. They diagnosed him as a severe ADHD with O.D.D before any medication. He has become very aggressive and defiante. I am also looking for some advice on different medications. They have upped his medications. to 25mg a day but still 1 .1 clonidine at night. He now takes 5 5mg pills and he doesn't want to take them anymore. I would like to find something more efficient and less aggravating. If you all know what I mean.. Thanks for all the support and information.... Glad I found this site.........
 
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