No need for ADHD meds during the summer

amother

Yellow

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 9:08 pm

I am trying to understand and excuse me if I sound ignorant . I do not have any children with ADHD but I have a couple of friends that their children are on meds for ADHD during the school year, but during the summer months they don’t give them their meds because it is a more relaxed, unstructured schedule and there not as many demands placed on their child. their children (some of them ) behave as children should behave, a little hyper here and there etc but without the meds they behave just like any child would behave.

My question is, if a child is able to function properly without meds during the summer then perhaps the problem is the rigid school environment and not the child.
This may sound completely ignorant because I do not have any children with ADHD, I am just trying to understand based upon what I see

imasinger

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 10:59 pm

I think I understand your question.

Here are a few points to consider.

1. Over time, the body becomes accustomed to stimulant meds. Taking a break allows maximum effect in the beginning of the school year, when there are heavy challenges for someone with ADHD.

It's not just about focusing in the classroom. It's also about organizing materials, getting through transitions, dealing with the new social cues and expectations from new teachers and classmates for the new school year. All these are frequently areas of concern for those with ADHD.

2. Many kids with ADHD are very bright, and often go back and forth between excelling under pressure, way above the norm, and tanking under pressure, way below it. But while they may struggle, they may prefer not to be treated as incapable of handling pressure, and being sent to a "lightweight" alternative.

It really depends on the child.

3. In terms of the "rigidity" of a school environment, it's helpful to remember that most people with ADHD do better with a clear structure. Again, it really depends on the individual. And on what you mean by a rigid school environment.

Some schools are far too quick to punish, rather than responding to a poor behavior by analyzing it and finding the right way to reach and teach.

IMO, those schools may not be ideal for anyone, but may be less ideal for a kid with ADHD.

If you are talking about that in general, there are high expectations of students during the school year, and you'd like to see things as relaxed as the summer, you then have to ask the question, "so, which area of learning is unimportant enough for us to let go, in order to provide a more relaxed experience?"

That's a hard call to make.

amother

Blonde

Thu, Jun 28 2018, 1:34 am

I was almost at the point of putting my daughter on meds because she was acting cookoo at home, unfocused, constantly on the move etc., and the teachers were getting annoyed at her constant chatter, etc...

And then the school year ended. And stress lifted from her. She became calm and collected.
I was shocked. I asked her if she feels differently. She told me yes. When asked why, she said, "School is too much for me. Just... too much."

From the mouths of babes.

amother

Oak

Thu, Jun 28 2018, 1:52 am

I have a number of adhd kids
some will have their medicine in the summer and some won't

the ones that won't is because they can manage without them but in school they can't - and unfortunately if they don't manage in school they become outcasts and it ruins their self esteem - and low self esteem causes many other issues...

ora_43

Thu, Jun 28 2018, 2:33 am

A few things

1. In the summer, kids don't have to learn any one subject in a concentrated way - like, every day for longer than two months. But obviously they can't go an entire lifetime without sitting and learning one subject for a significant period of time. So a kid who studies much better with meds will do better taking meds at some point.

2. Similar to #1 - the work/play ratio of summer can't usually be extended to the entire year. Most kids with ADHD might do fine without meds if they could run around for 70% of the day and learn for 30%, but that's not really sustainable over time.

3. To some extent, it is about the school environment. But:
- there's a limit to how much the school environment can be changed for the sake of kids with ADHD. A lot of schools should be more flexible than they are, but schools can't be exactly what kids with ADHD need without hurting kids who don't have ADHD. Even kids with ADHD don't all need the same thing - some can't concentrate day-to-day, others have ups and downs over longer periods of time, some struggle with one subject and others with another, etc.

- it's all well and good to say the school should be flexible, but if the school isn't flexible, it's often better for the kid to bend themselves to match the school. In other words, on a system-wide level the options might be "flexible school" vs "kids on meds," but for the parents the only options are "child is on meds, does well in school" vs "child is not on meds, behaves poorly in school, develops poor self-image."

amother

Mint

Thu, Jun 28 2018, 5:38 am

I grew up going to public school and non-frum camps. The summer before 8th grade I worked in a day camp with a boy going into 7th. I didn't have much to do with him personally, but he seemed like a nice enough kid and was easy enough to work with. Normal, friendly, nothing too strange. Then we started school again and my friend and I passed him in the hall. He seemed like a zombie! I think he was in a special ed class, but not sure. Turns out that he was on meds in school. I just thought it's so sad that he can't be his normal self all year.

amother

Aquamarine

Sat, Jun 30 2018, 6:22 pm

I used to do that - ritalin during the school year, off it for summer. Just because I didn't need it in the summer.

I do agree that the school system is really just not an environment that is designed to be good for an ADHD child. The truth is, I'm not sure the 'sit down and listen quietly for 8 hours' model is really a good approach for any child. But, I know if there had been a school just for kids with ADHD and it was amazing, I never ever would have agreed to go, because I just wanted to fit in with the other kids. Also, the advantage of having been through the regular school system and learn to deal with it really prepared me for higher education and a career - without having had to develop the skills I needed in elementary, junior, and high school, I never would have been able to succeed in college, graduate school (summa come laude), and work in a career where I have been promoted to management - and I was able to stop taking ritalin as a teenager and functioned fine in school and my career. But, I suffered literally every minute of school for my entire life, and I had a very strong love-hate relationship with college/grad school, but it all really did prepare me for having a successful career which I love and I don't think a different schooling model would have done that. I do think some middle ground is needed, as I don't think anyone should ever have to suffer through school like I did (even with medication which helped amazingly), and schools could do so, so much better in expanding different types of teaching and learning, but learning to work with an existing framework is still a skill that is critical for success in life. So some sort of balance and improvement is needed, but I am not sure that such a huge radical change is necessary.

That's just my 2 cents.

amother

Mistyrose

Sat, Jun 30 2018, 6:40 pm

DS needs Ritalin to help him focus. He is not a bouncing off the walls ADD kid, rather he is extremely distracted, can't keep his eyes on the line he is reading or focus until the end of the test. He also is a huge mess, loses things and gets very emotional - either sad or angry - and can't regulate his emotions. In a classroom setting, he does terrible without medicine - he walks around during class, has trouble reading, gets upset, and had a low self esteem because he couldn't do what everyone else was doing.

He doesn't take his Ritalin on shabbos or during vacations. During those time, he can run around and doesn't need to sit in one place for long, so it's fine. He has trouble controlling his emotions on those days and there are sometimes that I wish he was on the medicine, but his dr. said that since he is not out of control, the break is very good for him and he should only take Ritalin on school days,

amother

Mauve

Sat, Jun 30 2018, 10:20 pm

True story:
When dd was young her school principal said to put dd on medication. She said dd has adhd and she recommended a psychiatrist who would prescribe adhd meds.

Instead, I took dd for a full psychological exam. Costed about 3k. The recommendations were for the school to adjust to my child shock

instead of the other way around.

That must've been some progressive psychologist.

amother

Yellow

Sun, Jul 01 2018, 12:07 am

Thank you all for your responses! My question was also triggered after speaking to a teacher that jokes “we should put Ritalin dispensers in the hallways, there are so many kids on Ritalin” coupled with the info that some of these kids are just on Meds during the school year, my question emerged and I commented that perhaps the rigid school system is at fault and not the child.

I know NOTHING about mental health and medication!

For those that take their children off Meds during the summer months I am curious. how would your child have fared 150 yrs ago when farming was the primary way of life and school was not as intense? Would they have carved a life out for themselves based upon their strengths and abilities or would they have suffered as they were before taking adhd Meds?

amother

Orange

Sun, Jul 01 2018, 12:18 am

amother wrote:

I don’t think any of us can postulate what life may have been like 150 years ago on a farm with our children.

Assume that most parents are just trying to do right by their children.

amother

Firebrick

Sun, Jul 01 2018, 12:33 am

OP:
my daughter blossomed after school. She became beautiful, vibrant, happy and is earning a degree at her own pace.

Videtape the mean teacher language and you will see why so many children cannot
focus and blossom in school.

Videotape the dynamics of same age children in school settings, study the interactions and you will see that it literally chokes the life out of some of the children.

I could go on and on...

You are one lucky person that you never figured this out on your own back!

amother

Mistyrose

Sun, Jul 01 2018, 12:24 pm

What would DS have done 150 years ago?

He wouldn't have had enough patience to be a farmer. No planting straight rows, watering, weeding and waiting for things to grow.

But he loves animals and is great with his hands. He also loves being outdoors. So I can see him as a shepherd, a carpenter or a blacksmith.

He's great at numbers so he would manage well with money and he has an amazing memory so he would know how to daven, sing zemiros and make brachos by heart.

BUT he would be illiterate and would not know how to read or write.

amother

Amethyst

Sun, Jul 01 2018, 12:43 pm

My teenage daughter is on meds for ADHD. I did not Medicate her so she can succeed academically and sit still all day. She is not hyper , she is inattentive .
I medicate her because it helps her succeed in school and thereby helps her self esteem . I medicate her because without the meds she acts immature and struggles socially .
So no , medicating a child is not simply so that she can be a cookie cutter student in a cookie cutter school and be able to sit for 8 hours . And yes , she takes meds in the summer as well because it helps her socially which helps her self esteem as well.
Hope that clears up some of your misconceptions, OP.

PinkFridge

Sun, Jul 01 2018, 1:37 pm

amother wrote:

This and the earlier amother who has some kids on, some kids not.
Note: I don't have kids on meds. But I appreciate the deep though that goes into the decision, that each case is individual, and that some kids will need it during the summer too.

amother

Goldenrod

Sun, Jul 01 2018, 5:04 pm

DS is on medication for ADHD and we take it off and on during summer or weekends as needed. We are in a school that is phenomenal at working with him even before the meds. Pre-meds, his kindergarten teacher made him the class chazzan because it meant he could stand up, back to the class, and focus on davening. So the school did not tell us to medicate him or pressure us in any way. We chose to try medication because DS told me he was having an impossible time focusing and I asked him "if there is a medication you could take that would slow your brain down a bit so you could focus, would you want it?" and he shouted "Does that exist?? Yes!!".

We started medication last December. DS started 1st grade not even reading at a kindergarten level and by December, despite one-on-one Title 1 for 30 mins ever day of the week, he was not doing much better. By January, he was reading basic words and at his end of year conference we were told he is at grade level and may not need Title 1 anymore.

When he is off his medications, he argues more with his brother, cannot play a game or focus on building, and definitely can't sit and read. So if it's a rainy Shabbos or hot summer day, I will give him the medicine to help him (and he is always happy to take it). He is on Focalin, is most definitely not a zombie, and still has all of his amazing character traits on or off his meds.

I know this is long, but I hope it addresses your question. To summarize, the first day he was on medication I asked him how it was going and he told me "It's like every day there's a loud microphone blasting ideas into my head and I have to go go go to listen. Now, it's like the microphone is still there but it's behind a wall so I can ignore it if I want to".