Any advice from parents with teenagers with ADHD?

hi after years of fighting with doctors my son at 15 has just been confirmed as suffering with ADHD, now because he is 15 they say they do not know if Ritalin will help him, he is behind at school, also has dyslexia, the doctors want to put him on ritalin but i have heard some horrible things about it, i do not want to change my son he is a great kid as he is i just want to know if it will help him with his concentration and school work he only has 18 months left at school so we do not have the luxury of time, we have coped with his behaviour up to now with little or no suport but as he reaches pubity it is getting harder, he is not violent the only down side is he steals and lies a lot, and is generally unorganised and is very inattentive any advise or tips on dealing with his behaviour would be greatfully received, and any feed back on teenagers on ritalin or starting it in teenage years would be great, thank you in advance to anyone who has advice it will all be greatfully receivedAny advice from parents with teenagers with ADHD?
My son was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 15....11 years ago. He was prescribed Ritalin...and refused to take it. He was a nightmare. like your son, not violent...but with a tiny attention span, no patience with anything - eg, if the bus or train wasn't going fast enough, he'd get off and start RUNNING! No teacher could handle him - yet he was, and is very intelligent.





I kept his diet free from all artificial colours and dyes, and that included Coke and sweets...it helped. I also got him to join a football club, because when he was physically active, he thrived. He left school early, at 16, and his father got him into a trade; he trained as a plasterer. As long as he is busy with his hands, he is OK.





My son also stole and lied; in fact, I was in the children's court with him more times than I care to remember. i am so glad I stuck with him; he has turned out to be a great guy; he is getting married next year and has two lovely little boys. He still has no attention span; still restless and impatient.





Hang in there, I totally understand how hard it is, loving him while trying to explain his behaviour to the world!..I grew very strong while he was growing up, and learned never to be shocked at anything he did.





Be the one person in your son's life who remains stable and constant. And I don't think that drugs are always the answer.


Good luck.Any advice from parents with teenagers with ADHD?
im sorry i dont know anything on this subject but my thoughts are with you.
Its such a shame it wasn't picked up earlier. My son was diagnosed with that at 6 although I had to fight since he was 3 but he had a short spell on Ritalin but to be honest he was losing far too much weight so they put him on Straterra which is reletively new as its a 24 hour drug and it worked up until December.





Now we manage without medication, he's 12 this year and I guess it will have its ups and downs. He will have it into adulthood and he will learn to manage it. So many kids slip through the net and it causes so much upset that its left undetected. He and you as a family will need as much support as possible.





I have waited 2 years to have him referred to a psychologist and now thank god we have an appointment next month. I wish I could set up a website or support group for other families going through this- I have been through the mill and so has my son and I have a lot of advice.





Good luck with it- if you need any further help email me
becareful ritalin and adderol and vivansye are the new street drug, they had me on so much speed from 12 -18 i became dependent on it and it blew up into a drug habit. just becareful and keep the medication with you
Look, drugs are not always the answer. I am 15 and my bf who is 23 was diagnosed with adhd when hes was 14. But he manages his condition with diet. He excludes artificial colours and flavours. And things like that. He only eats natural foods. And he takes vitamins. He is really happy and runs his own business training horses, and he is doing very well. Go and see a very good naturopath, you won't realize what wonders they can do for your son until you go see one.
sorry but it is bad parenting skills this was not around in the 80s etc its aload of poo





give him a kick up the back side show them who's boss!