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Panorama tonight - ADHD

31 replies

Whizzz · 12/11/2007 17:14

BBC1 Mon 12 Nov, 20:30 - 21:00 30 mins

What Next for Craig?
Following the story of 14-year-old Craig Buxton from Stoke on Trent who suffers from ADHD and has been on medication since he was five. But are the drugs working?

Might be of interest

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Whizzz · 12/11/2007 20:26

on now

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Evenhope · 12/11/2007 20:50

My 18 yo watched the footage of Craig and said "he hasn't got ADHD- he's just badly behaved" and stomped out (he has ADHD himself)

Didn't know we could get priority at Alton Towers

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magso · 14/11/2007 12:29

Did anyone else watch it? What did you think? Personally I would like to see the science behind the claims that medication was not in the longterm helpful. (Does anyone have the reference so I can look it up?) Does it mean that medication alone has no long term helpful effect or that medication in combination with behavioural therapy? I have seen very convincing evidence that giving severe ADHD kids no treatment at all is very bad for their long term health and happiness. I suppose the programme did highlight the (almost total) lack of support for families coping with ADHD.

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Whizzz · 14/11/2007 16:04

Evenhope - I'd be interested to hear what your DS thought 'real' ADHD looked like in comparison ? I watched it as I'm a TA & we have a few kids with ADHD statements & was interested in the opinions given.

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magic5 · 14/11/2007 18:30

I thought the boy was badly behaved, ive one ds1 with adhd and ds2 adhd/asd. ds1 he peaditrion says he is what you call pure adhd. He has no behaviour problems but does suffer from lack of danger awareness,hyperactivity,inattention,poor memory,sleep difficulties to name but a few.
I feel children should be corrected despite their conditions and taught boundries. My ds2 is aggressive triggerd through anxiety but he is giving boundries and conquences. ADHD etc are not excuses to behave badly.

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magso · 14/11/2007 20:46

I agree with magic! ADHD kids perhaps need the most skilled vigilent parents and teachers! I thought the whole point of medication was to 'slow' child down enough to start to develop impuse control, learn to inhibit inappropriate thoughts and actions, remember boundries, etc and learn.
Apparently the study was done at U Buffafo. I found the program deeply disturbing.

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Evenhope · 14/11/2007 20:54

Whizz, as a TA what did you think? I was a TA many years ago and have seen others apart from my DS, and I felt he was just badly behaved and not managed properly.

Mine used to behave like that at 6, but no way did he still do so as a teen on meds.

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Whizzz · 14/11/2007 21:08

I've not got a huge amount of experience but I have parents try to explain kids bad behaviour by trying to get them diagnosed with ADHD. Agree, I would have thought medication would slow the child down so that boundaries & behaviours could be more effectively taught - rather than give the meds, sit back & expect a major change.

The lad on the prog did seem to have huge mood swings - his violence was scary to watch but I didn't know how much was bad behaviour or not being able to cope with his emotions / what was happening or ADHD. Thats why I wondered how your son would have viewed it & what he sees as 'real' ADHD

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Whizzz · 14/11/2007 21:09

The bit I thought was the most intersting was the girl who took herself off the meds & seemed to be coping very well with everything - althoguh it dodn't really explain what treatment she had when she booked herself into the clinic place

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magso · 14/11/2007 22:11

Good point Whizzz- the girl was interesting it left you wanting to know more about how to get good outcomes. I suppose what I found so distressing (as a parent with a ds with ADHD/asd/LD) is what the future holds for my DS. Its the stuff of parents nightmares. Evenhope it is good to hear that your teenage son behaves better than at 6 it gives hope (the programme itself was bleak). I suppose the undercurrent to the program is that kids with ADHD are vunerable.
There is a report in the BBC news (health)today that Susan Greenfield is to call for an investigation into the increase in ADHD diagnisis. So perhaps there will be progress - if not in time for 'Craig' and his family.

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magso · 15/11/2007 11:54

Diagnosis even!
What I meant to say is that the situation with Craig had deteriorated with the years. The natural order of things is for behaviour control to improve with increased maturity; when it doesn't it is pathological. It seemed to me (no expertise so MHO)that Craig at 14 had problems beyond ADHD and teenage hormones. The programme left a lot of unanswered questions!

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Evenhope · 15/11/2007 12:39

Whizz, he says now the boy may have ADHD but what came across was the parents have sat back and said "he's got ADHD- we can't do anything with him" and not set any boundaries or tried to control him.

DS has had counselling and behaviour management training as part of his treatment and we have learned over the years that ADHD allows no grey areas- something is right or wrong. We have to have very strict routines with him (very hard for us as we are naturally quite freewheeling) and instructions have to be short, clear and concise with no room for misinterpretation. Punishment has to be immediate and consistent.

magso we were desperate when he was 6, fearing we'd have an out of control adult on our hands. He has his moments but he is in 6th form and doing reasonably well, has friends and a Saturday job, and is very attached to me, moreso than DS3! It's turned out to be quite a blessing

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dustystar · 15/11/2007 12:56

evenhope is your ds on meds?

Ds started ritalin today and i'm feeling a bit anxious.

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magso · 15/11/2007 13:17

Evenhope, thanks for replying it is good to know your DS is thriving and attached to you! I can see Ds (8) has matured behaviourly in the last couple of years and know that medication in combination with loving but concise informed 'hard as nails' parenting (all the things you mention) have contributed.

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Whizzz · 15/11/2007 14:49

yes I agree with your sone Evenhope. The prog did tend to suggest that nothing else much was done apart from the meds. I assume, if nad bhevaiour is left unchecked (for whatever reason), it will get worse with age - until a point (maybe?) that the child realises and understands the consequences of the beahviour??

I had a classic case the other day where a lad was refusing to do what was asked & his reply was 'it's not my fault - I've got ADHD'

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magso · 15/11/2007 15:54

I hope you put him right on that point lol!

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Evenhope · 15/11/2007 16:09

duststar DS started on ADs then went onto ritalin after a couple of years. He is now on concerta XL. He has been on meds for 10 years.

We were warned it might stunt his growth but he is huge

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dustystar · 15/11/2007 18:10

Thanks evenhope that gives me real hope for ds

He had a good day apparently. He started off badly and the little toad told them that i had sprinkled the ritalin on his breakfast without telling him and that was why he was angry When i asked him why he had told them this he said that he thought they would be worried about him having medicine wrapped up in plastic (they are capsules lol)

He calmed quickly though and had the best day he's had for ages. He told me that he loves the tablets becuase they help him work better and be more sensible and that makes him happy He ate all his lunch too which was another thing i was a bit worried about.

He's at a kids club now and hopefully when I get him he will be tired and will sleep as well as he always has before.

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dustystar · 15/11/2007 18:12

evenhope - how long does the concerta xl last for? Ds tablets last 8 hours which I am happy with for now but its good to know what else is out there.

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magso · 15/11/2007 18:29

Glad things went well Dusty. Ds also on Concerta XL (extended release capsules). They are supposed to give up to 12 hours coverage. However in my Ds (on a low dose) the effect is shorter than that, perhaps 9 - 10 hours. He is still very tall for age, eats and sleeps well, although he is a bit of an early waker! I think he eats better at breakfast and tea.

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dustystar · 15/11/2007 18:40

Does anyone know if you can sort of mix and match tablets with different duration of effect? I should have asked the paed but I didn't even think about it at the time.

DS has drumming lessons at 5.30 and he struggles with behaving. His teacher is great but last week I had to take him home as he simply wouldn't do anything he was asked. Obviously his current tablets wouldn't last until then but i am reluctant to go for a 12 hour form as that may disrupt his sleep.

Is there a really short acting tablet - say 2-3 hours that I could speak to the paed about to use on this sort of occasion? Or would i be able to use a 12 hour tablet on that day and an 8 hour one on other days?

Sorry - lots of questions i know but suddenly I realise there's a whole lot more to this than just deciding to give ritalin a go

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magso · 15/11/2007 19:03

Well normal fast acting mythyphenidate only lasts 3 - 4 hours (as opposed to the slow release). My son was prescribed some of these (Equazyme 5mg )to cover Beavers as his concerta has worn off by then. It may be worth asking the paediatrician. You have to be careful about the timing ofcourse so its worn off by bedtime. HTH

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dustystar · 15/11/2007 19:09

Thanks for the reply magso

That sounds ideal. If i gave him his 8 hour tablet a bit earlier than usual it would have worn off enough to give him the short acting one after school to get him through drumming and then hopefully it would have worn off by bedtime.

I will ring the pead and ask about it.

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dustystar · 15/11/2007 20:39

DS is still awake and not sleepy. It may be just that today has been a lot to cope with but does anyone have any tips for helping them sleep?

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dustystar · 15/11/2007 21:51

finally finally there is snoring lol

Any adice still appreciated

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