Another thing to try is to cut out all artificial food coloring/dye. It causes hyperactivity and irritability in some kids. Go read some labels and try it for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference. You'll be shocked at how many products have red 40, yellow this, blue that, etc.

Doritos and other chips
Colored Gatorade and lots of drinks.
Majority of boxed and processed foods.
Candy, gum, ice cream treats, mints
Etc...

You have to change the way you shop but it might make a difference. Never will know til you try it.

I speak from personal experience with my oldest son and various physician consults.

Getting a second opinion is not a bad idea. One of the problems with ADHD is that there are a number of different disorders that have similar symptoms so it can be misdiagnosed. If it is ADHD medicine is just 1 part of controlling it. Many times ADHD children learn differently and require some adjustments in the classroom. They are not stupid (in fact some of the greatest minds in history showed signs of ADHD like Einstein) ADHD has been around for a long time but in the past the world was different and people did not have to sit down and do tedious tasks for hours at a time. I can get you a lot of information on ADHD and I work in Mobile so if you want just send me a pm.

Colbie, I've been to hell and back with Drew over the years and I could offer a lot of opinions but these guys are right about being consistent. You and the old lady better be on the same page but even more important, you MUST have more patience than him. If you give up because you are too tired to force discipline then you lose ground. You have to be firm but that's only half of the equation.


The other half is time & affection. All kids want their parents attention and approval. You have to praise him when he does right and you must be consistent. Take him hunting/fishing a lot. Drew was attached to me at the hip on the weekends and I can assure you it made us both better people. Lastly, make sure he is scared of you.

Sounds like my son. I tried everything , but nothing worked. The letters kept coming in from school. It seemed that the teachers hadn't challenged him enough. He did his school work but as soon as he finished it, he would disrupt everybody. I saw that he hated to write anything extra so i started making him write lines. If he got a letter for excessive talking, I'd make hime write 100 times that he wouldn't talk excessively in class. I also had him give it to the teacher to sign each sheet and bring back to me. After about a 3 month period of writing lines he started acting like a gentleman in class. I'm not saying this will work for you but it worked for me.

Kids DON'T need meds, they need parents. Sry but thats the Gods truth. Hate me if you will.

It's already been mentioned but it's worth mentioning again....diet, I know of a family that had kids with the same issues, they changed the kids diet and the problems they had went away.

A boy in my sons class was on meds for adhd. He was on a strict diet. But also he seemed to get worse. After he went on a stabbing spree in the class room with a pencil the parents took him to see a mouth dr. He pulled him off the meds. As far as I know he hasn't taken anymore since then. Hes one of most well behaved kids you can meet now. The meds had him messed up.

It won't teach you how to spell express though!

Please read the links I posted. One talks about exercise and the lack of it being a contributing factor and one about diet and other causes.

I'm not saying it isn't serious. All I'm saying is explore all the causes before just treating the symptoms.

I'm gonna host a ass whipping similar here shortly if any one wants to attend..no queers

I have raised 5 kids and I may be wrong about this but I think it is because kids are bored and don't get enough exercise at home and at school. Kids at one time when they got home from school they would go outside and play now all they do is sit on the sofa and watch TV or play video games. At school kids would go play in the yards now all they do is sit on benches and do nothing. They don't even use their minds, they do nothing creative at home or school. They build nothing, everything is on computers or calculators. When is the last time you saw a kid cutting grass or building something in the yard? They hate to get out of the AC because its to hot outside or to cold outside.
Most are overweight and eat junk food instead of healthy food.
Don't blame the kids as it is the parents fault.
This doesn't apply to all but most.

Hey top_cat, I am going to have to agree AND disagree with you.

Yes drugs are over prescribed!!! Usually so that parents don't have to do as much parenting.

On the other hand...

I am living proof that sometimes it takes more than parenting! I was exactly like the OP's kid. I am almost 31 and I STILL take ADD/ADHD medications and I know of a couple of friends that do as well. It took both parenting AND medication to help me. Yes, I have tried to come off the meds several times and go back because of the benefits.

My 2 cents on the subject. My son was diagnosed with ADHD a couple of years ago. He could not swallow a pill so they put him on the liquid Ritalin twice a day. We kept in touch with the GP and he let us modify the dosage based on his ups and downs. What did it for us was two fold. He was having difficulty in class for two reasons. The first of which was the fact we had put him in a Kindergarten class that was WAAAY behind in the learning curve based on the criteria of Calera Elementary. He was judged to be around 3-4 months behind and he struggled to do the work. I worked with him daily and his mom did when she could. We took him the see a child psychologist who worked with him for a period of 3-4 months and her judgment was that he was frustrated in not being able to learn the material as fast as the others even thought his vocabulary and other skills had reached the 4-6th grade levels in some instances. We ended up modifying his diet to restrict the sugars (helps with the outbursts of frustration and the like). We limit the "junk foods" to rewards mostly on the weekends and we got him on a firm (for the most part) schedule. He is in bed by 8pm. We have given him certain responsibilities such as gathering his pj's and underwear each night and starting his bath or shower, taking it, putting dirty cloths in the hamper at which time he can have a snack and spend a little time before bed doing something quiet. We do not let him sit in front of the xbox for more than 30 minutes a day IF he has performed at school and gotten on blue or purple. The doctors told us that the instant gratification received from playing the games on the xbox, cell phones and such provide too much stimulation for him and when he is in schools that stimulation is mission leaving him bored. When I wake him up at 6am the first thing he wants to do is hit the tv and watch cartoons. I might let him watch for 15 minutes or so to wake up then I change it to something more positive like the History channel or the science channel to interest him in learning. Since starting this regimen he work at school has leveled out and he is consistently on blue with an occasional purple brought home. Now he does have off days and rarely brings home a green for not paying attention or for not following though with a task. I got him involved with scouting and became a Den leader myself. I have taken up the Cubmaster role this year to give myself some distance from him so his self worth would have a chance to grow under another leader but still be there and be involved. He was always wanting to climb the rock wall at the Calera 1st UMC where we have our meetings but was afraid to actually go through it, Well, last night not only did he try it but got in line to do it 3-4 times. He only climbed up about 12 feet out of the 20 but his self confidence was boosted 10 fold! I am sorry for the long post but get him involved in something like scouts or something that makes him use his brain, then plan out his days and nights and don't vary, After a few weeks or a couple of months it will stick and like us, we took him of the meds and he is doing much better. Good luck and be tough. I know it is tough not to yell at them sometimes but use a constant level in your voice and make hi focus on you when you talk to him. This contact and looking him in the eye along with asking him what you just said (and if he understood it) will reinforce the structure you are putting in place. I hope this helps in your situation.

My son is only 2 so haven't had much experience with the exception of raising my little cousin who was Diagnosed with ADHD. He was on the track to going to Jail. My uncle sent him to live with me and my dad. My dad was a hard ass and he had to grow up quick or he would get smacked down. We took him off all the meds he was on and he straightened up. He didn't want to get in trouble at school or he would face the wrath of my dad. And it wasn't always physical punishment. But making him wash the car, vacuum it and do it over until it was right. Mow the yard no TV no Games. I still believe to this day he saved my cousins life.

One thing to think of if he is very smart like one other guy mentioned his child was. Is he might not be being challenged enough in school. Hes bored which in turn would make any one of us act up or go do something else.

My .02 is that the schools are co-ed and the have established their curriculum to mainly meet the needs of girls and underactive males. Expecting a normal 6 YO boy to remain inactive/sit still most of the day is ridiculous. Home schooling or some specialized private schools with separate curriculums for boys and girls is the only real solution I have heard of. Neither are real practical for most people. Maybe you need to get him into a sport or program where he can exhaust that energy. My grandson has ADHD and it breaks my heart to see the change in him when he is medicated enough to mellow him out. But that's his mother's call, not mine.

That's one of the problems that I had in school. I was always ahead of the other kids and was typically the first one done with my class work. Little boys and free time don't go well together!

Some kids work better with the stick method of punishment.

Others work better with the carrot method of motivation.

Mine has always done better when motivated by reward of some kind (emotional and not just monetary) than with threatened with an azz whipping. Don't get me wrong, the whipping makes a difference, but he does better when he has an achievable goal and some kind of reward for completing it correctly and on time.

Criticize him and you can see him withdrawing. Praise him and you can see him light up and try harder.

I've had an exceptionally good kid for the last 17 years, despite a few moments recently where I've wanted to throttle him. I can't complain. I'll be saying a prayer for you to find the right answer for your sons sake.

THIS!!

My 2 sons were both diagnosed & medicated & it was horrible! Mood swings, sleeping disruptions, irritability, just terrible! We eliminated all MSG & food dyes over the summer, red #40 seemed to be the worst, and miraculously nearly all the problems went away. Nearly half our population has reactions to MSG & don't know it.
IT TAKES A LOT OF EFFORT!!
There is petroleum based food dyes in nearly all processed or canned food. You have to read labels religiously, and monitor constantly, kids always want things to be like "normal" kids eat, drink etc. A Dominos pizza or can of ravioli can ruin all your efforts and you have to start over. It's hard work, but your kids are worth it. You'll feel better not eating that crap too! My wife became "Lola Granola", she is adamant that a lot of our society's problems are because we eat things that literally change your body chemistry and then ingest other chemicals to counteract it. Read labels & look up the various chemicals, you'll be amazed that you've been eating this stuff without knowing it!